Lately the Community Playthroughs have allowed us to play a handful of incredible games. Coming right off of Ico I'm facing the question of how video games use or misuse narrative.

Whether used well or not, a game's narrative pulls in and ties together the experience the game is attempting to illicit for the player. Just like the laces on a pair of shoes, you can haphazardly tie them into a knot, but you may look a little odd and your shoes might fall off your feet. Without a story, a game can't effectively gel with the player, which at worst, results in a game left unfinished. Sometimes tight, solid gameplay can't redeem a game with a lackluster story. The narrative of a game serves a key role -- it is the foundation that the game's motifs and objective(s) rest upon.




Narrative as a foundation can work one of two ways (one of which is arguably an inappropriate use of plot, which I will discuss later). Used appropriately, the plot frames the game as a whole and provides context to the plight of its characters by informing the player as to why they should be emotionally invested in what happens on screen. Used this way, the narrative is like a contract between the player and the game, and it is a motivating force to egg someone on to see how the experience will wrap up. The player's experience can sometimes be described as a roller coaster ride as they can live through the protagonist's ups and downs in tandem, i.e. their opportunity to step into the shoes of the character. Such is the case with Ico; the titular hero wants to escape imprisonment with a mysterious girl, and in an empathic way. As a result of being drawn into the narrative, the player also fears the oppressive confines of the fortress and also desires to escape.

The arguably "wrong," but definitely less effective, way of utilizing narrative is to justify a situation the game presents by making a player to jump through imposed hoops. While not entirely bad, this use really diminishes the intent of a game's story.  This method assumes that under duress, you will perform deeds because they are required, even if the actions conflict with what the story says about the character. BioShock Infinite, which is a great game and very entertaining, suffers from this poor use of narrative. When tasked with arming the Vox Populi, Booker seeks out a gunsmith who he eventually finds dead. Thanks to a story that incorporates a "many worlds" theory, he can simply hop from universe to universe until the mission is completed. While an author is free to use their creative license this way, it typically comes off as an easy way out of a situation that is otherwise extremely complex. If the narrative only justifies the action, it serves as a "crutch" for the game instead of being an element of the game which can offer insight into the mission and make the player understand why it has to be done. This use of narrative assumes that the player will take on a supplicant role for the sake of progressing toward a conclusion. For a narrative to be successful, the player needs to relate to and understand the situation the characters, and by extension they, are facing.


Poor narrative doesn't necessarily make a game bad, but it takes the player out of the moment and makes them question the purpose of their actions. Sometimes this means that the game ends up unfinished, its story untold. A person can still like a game that is subject to a lousy story, but they are likely aware that it was merely shoehorned into a game for utilitarian purposes. A story which only justifies the action might be well written, but it's typically nothing special; the player comes away feeling that it's a suburban bungalow, as opposed to the lakeside oasis it could have potentially been. No matter how good or bad, a story should be present in a game -- unless the game is Tetris, though even some puzzle games incorporate some form of narrative structure.

A well told story is captivating an unobtrusive to the player. They offer just enough narrative to spur the player into action and rely on the imagination to fill in the finer details. This use of narrative makes the experience engaging, memorable, and personal because the player becomes cognizant of the situation that happens both on screen and sub-textually. If told too overtly, a narrative comes across clumsily and heavy-handed. If a game is to be remembered, the impression it leaves on the player should be rewarding and satisfying; there should be an understanding as to what the character(s) experienced and why.

When asked what a certain game is about, I'm presented with a chance to judge its use of narrative. If I can only retell the events of the game, the narrative did not succeed in reaching its full potential. However, if I can relate to a character's motivations or feelings and discuss them, the story typically hits its marks.

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