Video Game Design: Narrative

Narrative in video game design is much more important than in table top game design.  In table top games, narrative is generally limited to providing a motive for the player to play the game.  It explains why the player wants the most points, to control the most territory, or to complete some goal before everyone else.  In video games, narrative is not a static answer to the questions, "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" in the context of the game.  In video games, the narrative is the story the player is either playing through or creating.

Some games do not need narratives.  An excellent example of this is Tetris.  There is neither room nor need for narrative in Tetris.  Unlike table top games though, most video games are designed to be played for more than just an hour or two.  Many games have transitions between levels, regions, or even activities, and each transition often needs some kind of narrative.  Because the narratives for a particular game need to be associated with each other, that means games need stories, where each narrative is a progression of the previous narrative.  While not all video games need narratives, most do, and many need narratives that fit together into a whole coherent story.

Video games are a form of art that turns many different artistic elements into complex compositions.  The obvious artistic elements in video games are visual art, music, and sound effects.  Stories are art too though, and many of the best games integrate narrative art forms into themselves.  Unfortunately, narrative is frequently added to games as an afterthought.  This can result in games with awesome graphics, audio, game mechanics, and so on, but with terrible, unmotivating stories.  Narrative is often an essential element in the composition of video games, but it also tends to be overlooked, resulting in mediocre games.

Narrative in a game should answer a few basic questions.  It should explain who the character is and why the character is there.  This, in turn, should provide at least initial answers to the question of what the immediate goals of the character are, and ideally it should motivate the player to want to achieve those goals.  In video games, the narrative should form a story, that explores the goals of the character, revealing new goals when necessary and helping the player understand how his or her actions are helping the character to achieve those goals.

Especially good narratives also explore the development of the character, and they can even ask hard questions designed to make the player think.  For example, in a serious game, the narrative might prompt the player to consider whether the things the character is doing are wrong or right.  It might ask questions that encourage the player to reconsider his or her point of view on something.

As with books, television shows, or movies, narratives can add spice by throwing in plot twists.  Engaging the player with narrative is often just as important or even more important than engaging the player with pretty graphics, good music and sound effects, and well designed game mechanics.

Narrative also provides an additional setting for exploration, which can be a very strong motivator.  Players like to explore, because they can find interesting things.  This may be new scenery, interesting locations in the game, new items, new friends, or new enemies.  A good narrative also provides room for exploration.  The Myst series is an excellent example of this.  There are many places where you can find books or other text that reveals back story, information about the relationships of the characters, how things work in the game worlds, and more.  There are also occasional opportunities to explore narrative by talking to people in the game.  A vast majority of the narrative, however, is revealed through settings found during physical exploration.  In the original Myst, you can learn about the personalities of the brothers by exploring their dwellings in the various Ages that are available for you to explore.  This provides more motivation for physical exploration.  In Myst 3: Exile, a man that got caught up in the schemes of the brothers reveals back story and plot information at various points during the early and late game.  This narrative exploration is at least as interesting as the physical exploration of the game.  Wanting to know more of the story can be a very strong driving force, when the narrative is well designed.

For many genres of video game, narrative is critical.  Not all games need narrative, but when a game needs narrative, it is important to do it well.  Just like artists do not put epic paintings in crummy frames, because the frame will detract from the painting, game designers should not combine poor narratives with epic graphics, sound, and game mechanics, because the narrative will devalue all of the higher quality art work.  The popularity of retro games has also shown that narrative quality is often more important to players than the quality of other art in a game.  Good narrative might be hard to do, but it is very important to many kinds of video games.