Computer and Video Game Narratives are Getting as Linear as a Line, But are there Really Any Ways Around It?

Assassin's Creed

Running through the streets of history within the Assassins Creed series, you feel the need to accomplish your missions as set out in order to progress further into the story. This is typical in any game, otherwise it would simply not be a game if there were no obstacles to overcome.

Every game has its own beginning, and every game has its end, however it is the journey to reach these two points that make the game as it is. Some narrative structures within these involve a simple point-to-point path, while others may allow you to obtain the illusion of freedom and travel across a span of land as you would in a “sandbox” game such as Skyrim. I mean, lets face it, which doesn’t like to kill dragons every once in a while.

Rest assured, narrative is one of the main focal points on this media, however it is not the predominant focal point. Yet somehow it is taking away some elements of the agency for the player and is becoming nearly as linear as film and television. Sure the graphics are breathtaking in the cut scenes, and the voice actors bring impressive believability to the characters, but it is still taking elements away from the playing factor of the game and the agency of the player.

Despite its importance, it has been difficult to prove the real definition and its purpose in a normal video game. If it was to be explained as a method of a series of events that unravel throughout a time frame, with each event triggering the next, then it makes it not much different than a classic novel. It also differs in a small amount from a film and perhaps even a classic family board game.

Perhaps the only key element that sets it apart from these is that the player is, essentially, playing through the story – The game-play. This gives them that false illusion of importance and control of that story (which the filming industry has so little of).

This also allows the most high-end computer and video game that are recently released to also be no different than the classic arcade Space Invaders when following the basic guideline of narrative structures.

 “Instead, the agency of a protagonist takes over, and we are swept up in observation of his struggle, more or less from his point of view, as though we were some invisible spirit or angel perched upon his shoulder, watching but never interfering”. – Ken Perlin

What we need to consider when tackling the problems of linear narrative, are ways to break through this barrier and what methods there are that can be used to help us achieve this goal; problem is, are there any ways for this to work?

Perhaps the very nature of the game itself to be linear and to just simply let us play through.

The Struggle

Possibly the most grueling processes within the creation of any game, is the art of story telling itself and how to make this co-exist with the game-play, without allowing one to dominate the other. The game is then built around this and then molded into shape.

Unfortunately there have been cases where the graphics were simply too intense in any game, therefore allowing the your control to be almost taken away from you which is obviously not intended for a video game. Final Fantasy 13-2 by Square Enix have subtly broken out of this, by allowing you to watch the (beautifully envisioned) cut scenes, then all of a sudden you are alerted to press a button on your controller. This tells you “don’t put down your controller just yet, we are just getting started”. Despite being criticized heavily, there are still parts such as this, which could be included into future games to keep that game-play factor intact even in the scenes. This also allows games to be broken further away than films, boosting your sense of agency.

There are some game developers out there who wish to advance this feeling of agency to the next level, almost giving us absolute power to the game play making us feel like immortal gods. This then labels these games as “God games”.
The Sims series is a classic example of this term. Being a highly addictive game that probably takes over our lunch breaks, it grants us the chance to take control of this world and shape it as we wish. However this game lacks narrative and therefore does not really class as a game, despite the awesome power you obtain with controlling peoples lives and possibly even locking them in a room with no doors (come on, we have all done this).

Live Trigger of a Multiple Choice Question in Final Fantasy 13 - 2

Can the line be broadened?

The next generation graphics and cut scenes are usually undoubtedly impressive, but really, if you are playing a game for these you may as well watch a film.

By using elements of the Final Fantasy 13 – 2 with gaining control during the scenes, there is hope for the line to be expanded, to make more immersive games. Also, the element of time travel is refreshing and innovative as it grants you the chance to explore multiple areas and almost break the linear factor of a typical narrative in story telling within games.

There is also multiple answers of the protagonist within this game, and also deepens that illusion of agency. Even though this has little effect on the story as a whole, it still gives that little bit extra within that game.

Perhaps this series is underestimated (despite its downfall of battle controls) and could be used to beat the linear side of storytelling in the gaming world today.

This is also the same process from the latest of the Zelda series, Zelda – The Skyward Sword. This included multiple choice answer responses that the player could choose, along with beautiful traditional style graphics to go along with the game-play, but still lacked major effects to follow through from each chosen answer.

Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation 2 took an interesting approach, which in turn did affect the overall game-play, but not so much in a narrative format. At the beginning you were given a set of questions from characters in the game, and the answer allowed the game to calculate what style of game you should play e.g. magic, defense or attack based. This approach to gameplay did make the outcome more interesting as it shaped it to be more in the style and preference of that player.

As computer and video games develop further, developers need to find ways to give the player more control, and perhaps less cut scenes for the playability factor to be heightened further. New games will bring forth new elements that make the game as it is, and perhaps the linear narrative cannot be completely broken, but a walk down the right path of experimentation from the developers could allow new ways for the game to be innovative and an all the more brilliant experience for the player.