Video games are here to stay for a very long time. We have come a long way from the days of legendary 2D games such as Tetris and expanded to new heights people might not have even dreamed about. From technological advancements to a deeper understanding of the extremely tall ceiling and potential of the medium, we have seen some truly great products across the years.
While nobody denies the genre’s growth is positive, recently, there has been some discussion among the community about so-called movie games and the potential problem their popularity may cause. The argument is that video games should mostly be judged by the gameplay, which is typically true, and that focusing on other elements with the same devotion may inevitably take away from that core aspect.
I am sure it is clear what the main element in question is in the story. Writing is incredibly difficult, even when it is the only task. Constructing a compelling narrative with a tight plot, a well-thought-out world, and sympathetic characters is challenging. Especially considering the audience’s perception of the story is usually subjective and based on their tastes.
Exploring The Narratives
Some find it easier to relate to more grounded narratives, where a character clashes with conflicts often present in real life. Take stories like The Gambler, for example, about delving into psychology and exploring that thrill that keeps one coming back to live casinos and gambling activities, a conflict that many find easy to relate to. Based on the Dostoevsky novel, The Gambler presents the character’s gambling addiction as a spiritual problem, dealing with existential struggles and self-destruction.
The Gambler truly tackles the everyday struggles of gamblers, while the movie couples the plot with dramatic soundtracks and dynamic visuals. As a complete contrast, take the superhero genre and look at its success and common criticism about the genre being shallow and not cinema, as Martin Scorsese put it.
This indicates that while the most important thing in a narrative is the actual substance instead of the appearance, that same appearance/genre may turn many people away from the product. This is relevant to video games because alongside the classic way of gameplay to story mix, the medium is the only one out there that has true potential for implementing an interactive genre of storytelling.
Below we will explore the commonly used methods in which video games tell their stories through specific examples, talk about the pros and cons, and address the initial argument of whether or not focusing heavily on this element takes away from the truly important thing.
Telltale Games
Let us start with the most extreme examples in which the narratives are prioritized. Telltale games are described as the pioneers of episodic delivery of game content, focusing heavily on interactive stories through dialogue trees and decisions and extremely limiting gameplay.
We can explore this through their most popular game, Batman. The gameplay is essentially quick time events or QTEs, and the main focus is the mystery and the atmosphere of Gotham, as well as character work. While the various character interactions throughout the game have consequences, showing in the form of relationships with the said characters, the common criticism often used against Telltale games is also relevant here. Regardless of choice in dialogue and action, the events will always lead to a singular plot point or a final choice in cases of Life is Strange, for example.
This does ruin a lot of the interactivity and makes it look fake in the eyes of many gamers. However, it is a great example of the obvious limits of game storytelling. While I mentioned interactivity multiple times, the games can never be entirely dynamic and shaped by player choice because of our technological restrictions. We will always have to fall into the pre-coded paths created by the developers beforehand, even in games that pride themselves on interactivity. Perhaps this may change in the relatively distant future with the implementation of Ai, but so far, this is the reality.
Overall, the criticism of the games does seem to be valid. However, it still does not take away from the other aspects of the game’s storytelling: the quality of dialogue, atmosphere, characters, etc. It does depend on the individual project. Telltale games were important to mention as the absolute pinnacle of “Movie-games,” they undeniably have very limited gameplay with a huge emphasis on interactivity and story.
From Software Games
This is a massive jump from the Telltale games in gameplay quality and approach. Souls and others from soft games are notorious for incredibly complex and challenging mechanics, complete freedom in exploration, and massive worlds with difficult enemies.
They offer a different kind of choice to the player regarding narrative, which is not engaging in the story at all if one does not want to. These games are so fascinating in this specific regard because they always have incredibly rich worlds in history and lore, yet they never spoon-feed the player any information.
Instead, it is tied to the game’s other mechanics, mainly exploration. Of course, you are given the bare minimum of what is happening and why you are here, but the rest is entirely up to the player to decide to explore. Their latest project, the game of the year 2022 Elden Ring, had its world designed and written by the legendary author George RR Martin, most famous for A Song of Ice and Fire, a novel adapted to a famous TV show Game of Thrones.
Martin received much praise for his work with the game, even though Elden Ring stuck by the Souls game formula of storytelling. This means that because of other aspects of the product, such as the visuals or the scope of the world, people wanted to find out more about it through lore and exploration, and they did just that. Many gamers prefer this approach, as the focus remains on gameplay and mechanics, and the lore remains rich and interesting.
Mainstream Balanced Games
Now that we looked at the two sides of the extreme when it comes to storytelling approaches, the only thing remaining is the mainstream, most popular way. To keep it as short as possible, these games are all about individual cases and how the developers mix gameplay and story through pacing. No evidence suggests a game is inherently bad if it focuses equally or 60/40 on the two aspects.
We have had both mediocre and incredible games in the triple-A industry. God of War Ragnarok, the runner-up for GOTY 2022, gave us a perfect conclusion to one of the greatest character arcs in the industry’s history, all the while maintaining a massive, beautiful world filled with great bosses and side quests, a decently complex and engaging combat system as well as scale, visuals, and audio that justifies its budget.
Overall, the “Movie-games” does not threaten the industry, with gameplay and story-driven games coming out today at high rates. As for the triple-A games, as mentioned, it is all about individual cases and execution.