David Jaffe made some interesting comments on the state of narrative in games. However, Mr. Nash feels that the problem with storytelling in games may have more to do with fundamental approaches to design rather than these stories' inability to effectively tap into gamers' primal emotions.

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A few days ago, David Jaffe, the man behind Twisted Metal and God of War, made an interesting post on his blog, stating how he has lost interest in making games with stories of late, and is getting a lot more out of purely gameplay-oriented titles like racing games, or online games. He goes on to discuss how these sorts of games evoke very raw emotions out of players, and are the core of a game playing experience.

Jaffe then continues to suggest that perhaps interactive gameplay and narrative don’t necessarily mesh well together, making an analogy about using a trumpet for music, then scratching a story on a wall. Granted, much of what he is talking about is more of a reflection of how the man sees himself enjoying game development in the future, but, whether intentional or not, it does help to re-air the question of how effective storytelling is in games.

Can the free-wheeling ways of The Elder Scrolls or Grand Theft Auto be the best solution to how developers can improve storytelling in games?

While I have spent my fair share of time lambasting the sorry state of storytelling in this industry, Mr. Jaffe’s words got me thinking about narrative in games, and how it can be improved. There have been a few story-based games to come out over the years that I have very much enjoyed, mostly of the adventure or RPG variety, but while the stories were good, I often wonder if the way in which they are told could stand some improvement. As it stands, stories in most games tend to be fashioned much like one would approach writing a book, or a screenplay. They have passive, narrative underpinnings to them, meant to be watched and not experienced.

Now, as we all know, games are meant to be interactive, so we already have a problem with the action being ground to a halt so that the game can arbitrarily push forward a morsel of its story. However, let’s take this whole thing a step further and apply it to real life. If you went on some crazy adventure over the summer, and were telling your friends about it six months after the fact, it would probably make for a very interesting tale. So, how can this story be reverse engineered from things like telling your buddy about being run out of town by a group of peg-legged albinos to the moment where you were actually experiencing it yourself.

Looking at how stories are told in games today, there is this mix of passive storytelling combined with interactive gameplay. Separately they work fine, but when put together, the two fail to act as seamlessly as they probably could. There is this constant issue of being yanked from the experience to be presented with narrative no matter how hard developers try to make the two work well together.

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This brings us to another problem, that being how doable it might be for a game’s story to have a presence, and be the guiding force of the game without abruptly asserting itself at key points. With single player games, the vast majority of the time there is an ultimate goal that players are being driven to accomplish. Whether it is a very

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linear RPG where the game is on the rails from point A to B to C up until the end game, or one of these sandbox titles where players are presented with all manner of distractions to occupy their time, these games are nudging the player along a given path.

If one were to take away these points where the storyline is advanced, be it done through cut scenes, or being directed to talk to one NPC or another in-game, how would a story be told, and how would it stay focused? As non-linear as a game may appear, there is almost always framework in place, no matter how abstract, which is meant to help get the player to that last big boss encounter (of course this won’t be the case with something like a sports or racing title…usually). The Elder Scrolls and GTA series may feel like they’re oozing with freedom, but when you get right down to it players need to perform specific tasks in order to proceed. Maybe they are on the right track by trying to present multiple means by which to advance the story to the point where it feels like the player is in control of the game, and not that the game is in control of the player. Then again, it could just be a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Perhaps MMORPGs could spark new ideas in how stories are told in games.

That being said, maybe MMORPGs are an example of where storytelling can go in the future. Let’s take a look at World of Warcraft for an example. Yes, there are tons of NPCs ready and willing to hand out tasks to players, and yes there are a lot of fed ex quests to embark on. However, there is a constant sense that players are much more in control of how, when, and where they will interact with the stories being told is Azeroth. Someone could just as well venture off into the wilderness and grind off of monsters all the time, never once talking to anyone else if they chose, or they could talk to everyone and learn all sorts of things about the world around them. What has the most potential, though, is the fact that players can read books laying around in the cities, or stumble across ruins, and learn about people, factions, or mythology of the game world at their leisure. More importantly, this often has the effect of peaking someone’s curiosity. They may hear about an ancient race that has long since died off, but left amazing technology or treasure to be discovered, or about a line of kings, whose political policies have shaped parts of the world in ways that can still be seen today. Whatever the topic may be, discovering these things often gets players to want to learn more, see these things with their own eyes, and almost go on their own self-imposed quest to satisfy their curiosity. This isn’t mutually exclusive to World of Warcraft either, as it has been done to varying degrees in plenty of other MMOs as well.

Maybe that’s something that developers can use to help improve storytelling in single-player games. Even though they’re still being guided, perhaps there’s a way to better make the player feel like they’re moving forward without being guided. Perhaps there’s a direct relation between linearity and passive storytelling. When we make the stories that are our lives, we certainly aren’t on some linear path (unless you believe in some sort of predestination, I suppose). Why does this have to be the case in a game? Most of us have learned valuable life lessons in our decidedly non-linear lives, and we’ve had prolonged experiences with logical beginnings, middles, and ends throughout which we’ve made conscious decisions that could have set us on any number of paths. Nonetheless, games haven’t been able to recreate this. Instead, we make our way through a game’s narrative like we would a book, or a movie. Can games make the shift so that storytelling feels more like real life? That’s a tough question. It seems that games would need an almost limitless set of possible outcomes, and I’m not too sure that technology is up to the task, or if any person is either, and even if they were I would have serious concerns that such an undertaking would have on their mental well-being.

Mr. Nash

(July 22, 2006)

This is a topic with no easy answers, but we would certainly like to hear what you think on the matter. Feel free to email Mr. Nash on the subject, or make a post on our message boards (sorry, you’ll need to register to post a message, as we’ve been have some issues with spam bots of late, unfortunately).


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