Minimum Tempo

Welcome to Part 1 of 7 of a new video game-focused series of editorials on Minimum Tempo called “The Art of Storytelling in Video Games.” This series will analyze some of the problems that video games face with narration and storytelling and suggest possible alternatives or solutions to these problems.

In the past four years, people that normally did not play games - seniors, mothers, etc. - have picked them up and actually enjoyed them and appreciated their value. PopCap Games produced many popular casual titles such as Bejeweled and Zuma that have spread like wildfire onto mobile devices, consoles, and PCs. Harmonix and RedOctane’s Guitar Hero series reached millions of people that never even considered playing a video game before, and now that’s even further expanded by MTV and Harmonix’s Rock Band. But most of all, the Nintendo Wii landed in November 2006 that could safely be considered the largest push of video games into the mainstream audience. The Wii’s simplicity and uniqueness (as gimmicky as some of the games are) appealed to these millions of Wii owners with titles such as Wii Sports and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree. The “Blue Ocean” strategy that Nintendo discussed two years ago has proven successful, and publishers are scrambling to release titles (unfortunately often quick PS2 or PSP ports or just complete trash altogether) on this platform.

These new gamers are loving these games - but can we show them that there is more to gaming than just pretty puzzle games or low-budget movie licensed titles? Can we bring them to play large blockbuster hits like Halo or enjoy quirky but excellent games like Psychonauts? Are they willing to try games that may deliver a similar emotional experience to movies or literature? Movies, TV, music, and literature affect and influence an incredible amount of people; far more than gaming will perhaps ever reach. So how can the video game industry, which is still admittedly in its infancy, deliver the same breathtaking, tear-jerking, and/or epic experiences that other media bring? Or do gamers not want such experiences at all and prefer the same old stuff available today? Games like Bioshock and Ico, however, prove that deep, immersive stories can be told through this medium, but maybe not everyone knows about it. It can be assumed that the average person’s perspective on video games is this: game stories don’t offer anything deep and worthwhile and are basically the same generic sci-fi or medieval tale regenerated over and over.

This applies to the business side of video games as well, and publishers do not want developers to waste money and precious time concocting some kind of epic masterpiece if the consumers are asking for better graphics or something quick and fun. This is disappointing to say the least, because gamers have cried in moments or were personally touched or affected by a game’s events. Excuse the spoilers here, but Aeris’s death in Final Fantasy VII is a clear example in which the fanbase cried foul when the villainous Sephiroth murders Aeris. Character attachment is often a crucial point in a work’s success, and this applies for all forms of media. In literature we have the international sensation and moneymaker that is Harry Potter. Fans left and right argue endlessly and needlessly over romantic pairings, character backstories, and the mysteries behind some of the events. In gaming culture, there similarly exist gaming icons that even many non-gamers recognize such as Mario, Sonic, and Master Chief; the difference is that these characters have no real emotional value to them. Mario’s backstory is near non-existent and unclear while Sonic’s origins are also undetailed. Master Chief’s past is well explained in the Halo novels, but the games don’t really make an effort to immerse the player into empathizing with Chief. Developers have so much potential in expanding the stories instead of creating one for the sake of matching the gameplay (such as in the case of Super Mario Galaxy), but no one seems to care about the story.

And this is where I realize that some games do not need an epic or thought-provoking storyline. But would it hurt to add something decent? If I spend twenty hours playing a game, it wouldn’t hurt to have some moments that really make me question life, the government, the economy, people, or whatever. Books, television, and movies can do this well, so why can’t games? From what consumers have shown, it can be concluded that most gamers are not looking for incredible story and characters. Even president of 2K Boston and creative director of 2007’s multi-award winning BioShock Ken Levine just recently said at the Game Developers Conference (GDC; an annual game industry event for developers to focus on learning and discussion):

“The first big secret is, the bad news is for storytellers is that nobody cares about your stupid story… no matter how detailed or lovingly you craft it.”

After mulling over the details of Levine’s statement, I first believed that he was right. Although the narrative may seem quite important, it is more or less a tacked-on element that only serves to provide a meaningful purpose for the gameplay (in most cases because there are exceptions such as the Guitar Hero series and Audiosurf, etc.). There are tons of examples for this, but I’ll use Portal, an amazing game with a phenomenal gameplay concept that had not been executed well until its release. Without the story element and the characters, Portal would not have been the blockbuster hit it was. But would people have still played it? Yes, because it had gameplay that was fun and challenging regardless of its short length. Everyone likes puzzle games at some point, and this is the genre that most casual gamers get hooked on anyway. So do people not care about story?

Wrong. Gamers do care about the story and can become attached to the characters if the execution of the narrative is done perfectly. The absence of a clear and well-presented story in any single-player game (with the exception of the puzzle, simulation, and sports genres) will raise complaints or draw criticism from both the community and the media. Ironclad Games’s recent Sins of a Solar Empire was well received by the gaming press but nearly every review cited the lack of a single-player campaign. Retro Studios’s critically-acclaimed Metroid Prime was not well received by much of the mainstream audience, many saying that the lack of a story in the game was a major factor in its lack of popularity as well. Although Metroid Prime did have a story and was told through the various scans and logs downloaded via the Scan Visor, gamers were frustrated that there was seemingly no plot and that it did not smack them in the face, openly revealing its details and backstory.

Ken Levine described the three levels of story for BioShock:

Level 1 - “Where do I need to go, who do I need to kill? If you don’t hit those people you will be making those games, as we did at Irrational, that sold 150,000 units.”
Level 2 - “I need to kill this guy Andrew Ryan, there’s that Fontaine guy, there are those little girls. I’m usually in this group in games, some interest in the story.”
Level 3 - “Think about music. There’s the weird kid in the back of the classroom who’s writing all the Nirvana lyrics on his notebook. That’s the hardcore fan… you have to give them all of that love, a novelistic level of detail. That has to be there but it can’t get in the way of the experience of the guy who just plays Madden and Halo.”

Despite my disagreement with Levine’s earlier statement, I do believe his attitude and approach toward a game’s narrative is spot on. A game must be created with the “Level 1″ people in mind. Not all gamers care about the story, I understand that, so it is best and most effective when a game can successfully tackle all three levels. It’s even better if a Level 1-type of person returns to the game and begins to later appreciate the story at Level 2 or Level 3. If a game enables gamers to willingly “push” into a story’s narrative and the gamers actually do that, then it has succeeded in telling the story.

Before discussing a method to reach new audiences or the casual audience with narrative, however, the art of storytelling must first be refined and improved for these hardcore and mainstream gamers that will first appreciate and understand the stories. Then later we can refocus and strive to captivate the audiences that the industry doesn’t have. There will be arguments that video games are a completely different medium that cannot be compared to other media such as literature or film, but the interactivity of video games provide opportunities and a level of immersion and depth that other media do not or cannot. The industry should take advantage of this and offer an experience that cannot be matched by casual games, movies, books, music, etc.

That wraps up Part 1 in this 7-part series that will extend until the beginning of May. Part 1 briefly touched on the storytelling in video games and Ken Levine’s GDC 08 talk. Part 2 will detail the common methods of storytelling in video games. Part 3 will list the critical flaws in video game narratives and critique various games and their stories. Part 4 will discuss any story-related GDC 08 keynotes in greater detail including Ken Levine’s talk. Part 5 will suggest paths that developers may take to improve their stories and better integrate them into the final product. Part 6 will explore developers and publishers’ opportunities of reaching and taking new audiences using storytelling. Part 7 will conclude with some thoughts and future outlook on video game storytelling. The future parts are subject to change, and a part will be published every two weeks at the latest.

This post is tagged BioShock, Game Industry, GDC, Narrative, Nintendo, Story, Storytelling

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