UNIVERSITÄT AUGSBURG

PHIL.-HIST. FAK.: ENGLISCHE LITERATURWISSENSCHAFT

WINTERSEMESTER 2010/11
ZULASSUNGSARBEIT
DOZENT: PROF. DR. MARTIN MIDDEKE

NARRATIVES IN VIDEO GAMES

GERALD FARCA
13. SEM. LA GYMN. ENGLISCH, SPANISCH
BERLINER ALLEE 20 E
86153 AUGSBURG
TEL: 0821-4083847
E-MAIL: GERALDFARCA@HOTMAIL.COM
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CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 4

2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF NARRATIVE ANALYSIS IN VIDEO GAMES...................................... 7

2.1. JESPER JUUL: GAMES TELLING STORIES? ...................................................................... 7
2.2. GONZALO FRASCA: LUDOLOGISTS LOVE STORIES, TOO: NOTES FROM A DEBATE THAT
NEVER TOOK PLACE ............................................................................................................. 8

2.3. SIMON E. NIELSEN: UNDERSTANDING VIDEO GAMES .................................................... 9

3. NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN VIDEO GAMES ...................................................................... 10

3.1. DECOUPLING NARRATIVES FROM LITERATURE.......................................................... 10
3.2. FICTIONAL WORLDS .................................................................................................. 12
3.3. BROAD AND NARROW APPROACHES OF NARRATIVE ................................................. 14
3.4. SOLVING PROBLEMS AND CONFLICTS ........................................................................ 15
3.5. ASPECTS A DEFINITION OF NARRATIVE SHOULD INCLUDE ........................................ 16

4. HOW VIDEO GAMES COMMUNICATE STORIES ............................................................... 20

4.1. STORY AND ITS DISCOURSE ....................................................................................... 20
4.2. VIDEO GAME DISCOURSE ........................................................................................... 23
4.2.1. PLAYER MOVEMENT AND ACTION ...................................................................... 23
4.2.2. VISUALS ............................................................................................................. 24
4.2.3. TEXT ................................................................................................................... 25
4.2.4. CUT SCENES ....................................................................................................... 25
4.2.5. SCRIPTED EVENTS............................................................................................... 27
4.2.6. CHARACTERS AND DIALOGUE ............................................................................ 28
4.2.7. STATIC IMAGES ................................................................................................... 29
4.2.8. IN-GAME ARTIFACTS .......................................................................................... 30

5. WHO SPEAKS, WHO SEES, WHO EXPERIENCES? NARRATION AND PERSPECTIVE IN

VIDEO GAMES ..................................................................................................................... 31
5.1. WHO SPEAKS? ........................................................................................................... 31
5.2. WHO SEES? WHO EXPERIENCES? PERSPECTIVE IN VIDEO GAMES .............................. 37

6. PURPOSE OF NARRATIVE IN VIDEO GAMES .................................................................... 43

6.1. IMMERSION ................................................................................................................ 43
6.2. NARRATIVE REWARD ................................................................................................ 47
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6.3. IDENTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION ......................................................................... 48

6.4. BREADCRUMBING AND FUNNELING ........................................................................... 48
6.5. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES: PROLOGUE ............................................................. 52

7. FROM LINEAR TO INTERACTIVE STORY......................................................................... 54

7.1. LITERARY THEORY .................................................................................................... 55
7.1.1. STORY AND PLOT ................................................................................................ 55  
7.1.2. EVENT, ACTION AND AGENCY ............................................................................ 59
7.2. GAME AND STORY STRUCTURE ................................................................................. 65
7.2.1. LINEAR STRUCTURE, LINEAR STORY? ................................................................ 66
7.2.1.1. LINEAR STRUCTURE..................................................................................... 66                                                                      
7.2.1.2. CONTINUOUS STRUCTURE............................................................................ 69
7.2.1.3. BIOSHOCK: PROLOGUE ................................................................................. 71

7.2.2. HUB WORLDS, LINCHPIN AND PIVOT .................................................................. 72

7.2.3. OPEN WORLD GAMES: FROM INTERACTIVE DISCOURSE TO INTERACTIVE STORY
..................................................................................................................................... 74
7.2.3.1. DEFINING OPEN WORLD GAMES ................................................................ 74                                                                      
7.2.3.2. STORYTELLING IN OPEN WORLD GAMES ................................................... 75                                                                      
7.2.3.2.1. LINEARITY VS. FREEDOM ................................................................... 76  
7.2.3.2.2. CHOICE IN INFAMOUS .......................................................................... 78    
7.2.4. DEFINING INTERACTIVE STORY .......................................................................... 80
7.2.5. STORY STRUCTURE IN MASS EFFECT .................................................................. 82
7.2.5.1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................... 82
7.2.5.2. STORY STRUCTURE ANALYSIS .................................................................. 83                                                                      
7.2.6. STORY STRUCTURE IN HEAVY RAIN ..................................................................... 90
7.2.6.1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................... 90
7.2.6.2. STORY STRUCTURE ANALYSIS .................................................................. 91                                                                      
7.2.7. FIGURE 8: GAME AND STORY STRUCTURE GRADATION SCALE ........................ 101

8. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 102

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 104

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1. Introduction

The park clock is exactly ten past four. It is a dull, dreary autumn afternoon and the wind is
swirling around the treetops asking the differently coloured leaves for a dance. Meanwhile,
rustling bushes and screaming kids add a fresh and calming tone to the peaceful but
deceptive scenery. It is getting late and clouds are building up perpetually. Soon they will
have covered the entire sky. It might as well start to rain. Before leaving the park and
playground where you have spent the last few hours, you nonetheless allow your kid,
Shaun, one last ride on the carousel. Yet, all of a sudden, another blackout interrupts this
idyllic world smacking you down, leaving you unconscious. When you awake you find
yourself in the middle of a street nearby the park somehow able to dodge the incoming
truck that has almost overrun you. It’s pouring, and there’s no sign of Shaun or what might
have happened. Hysterically and full of fear you head back to the park shouting out
Shaun’s name repeatedly. But no sign of the kid. In a final attempt to find your son you
keep running homewards storming into the house hoping to find him in his room or
somewhere around. But all attempts are in vein. The kid has disappeared, leaving you,
Ethan, on the street with nothing but desperation and an origami figure in your hand.
What’s going to happen now? Has the kid been kidnapped by the Origami Killer who has
been around for some time murdering children? Will you be able to save the boy or will
somebody else? How will this story end? It’s up to you. You are in the story; it’s your
story now. And it’s up you to answer the following question: “How far will you go to save
somebody you love” (Heavy Rain).

Describing a chapter of Quantic Dream’s interactive drama Heavy Rain, this scene
gives a first glimpse of what storytelling in video games is able to achieve. Nevertheless,
before start running we should at first be able to walk, thus leading us back in time about
half a century to Spacewar and the early beginnings of video games in the early 70s. Since
then, video games have experienced a tremendous boost in both design and people’s
acceptance. While back in the early days it was the guy in his garage who invented this
form of virtual and interactive entertainment, nowadays, video games formulate the peak
of pop culture. Selling hundreds of millions of games every year and fabricating billions of
Euros in revenue, the present-day production of video games demands for teams of
sometimes one hundred people and more when trying to develop triple-A blockbuster titles
like Assassins Creed, Grand Theft Auto IV or Call of Duty: Black Ops. With the increase
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of budget, production value and personnel, a new job in the video game industry arose: the
game writer. As the name foretells, it is a game writer’s duty to incorporate suspense- and
meaningful stories into games that are structured quite differently than films or novels.
Trying to implement story into video games has long since been attempted, with varying
results however. Nonetheless, great improvement marks the recent past and story in video
games is becoming more and more a standard. This is further reinforced by the fact that
grand video game magazines or online websites mostly include story into their rating
systems.

But why study video games anyway? Aren’t they just another form of shallow
entertainment? Can they be seen as art already? Generally speaking, it is evident that video
games do not play in the same league as films and literature in particular. Being a very
young medium, academic studies are in their infancy as well. Yet, there’s always a first
time, and to my mind this time is right now!

At present, video game studies may have more questions than answers, more doubts than certainties.
The rules are still being formed; the orthodoxies have not yet been established. And for the curious
researcher, there are many worlds in need for exploration. Of course, this is part of why the field is
so thrilling. In other words, the discipline welcomes you; there is much to be done (Nielsen 5).

Moreover, Chris Bateman, game designer and writer, while introducing readers to the field
of game writing particularly emphasizes:

It cannot be overstressed that whereas the narrative language of theatre, novels, films, and television
has become largely codified and consensually agreed, the narrative language of games is still very
much in a state of evolutionary flux. We do not know what the final narrative language of games
will be like – likely we will not know until all the technology pertinent to games has been
developed, and this could take decades or even centuries. Therefore, everyone working in the filed
of game writing strives toward an ideal that lies somewhere beyond the horizon (Bateman XXVII).

Thereby, both, Nielsen and Bateman, give very good answers why the study of video
games might be so interesting and intriguing. Novelty, uniqueness, challenge,
experimentation, ambiguity and first and foremost the love and affection for our new
medium, all present attributes that transform the study of video games into this creative
and entertaining procedure with a lot of work waiting ahead.

Generally speaking, video games may be analysed by means of a myriad of

scientific fields including art, film, music, literature and narratology, as all of these aspects
are indeed incorporated within a game, at least to a certain extent. Most suitable however,
seems the approach to view them as what they are, games, including their unique structure,
design and gameplay. Consequently, it is not my intent to analyse video games as being
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narratives but to further understand how their storytelling works. Moreover, there is one
aspect in need for special consideration. Not every game genre is dependant on story and
therefore, this work will focus on the ones that do. Consequently, when speaking of video
games I will refer to story-driven video games. As such, I will compare and apply theories
from the field of narratology to the study of video games. By doing so, I will show
similarities between both as much as aspects that may cause discrepancies. Further, I will
make use of the field of game design and writing in particular. For the purpose of the
analyses, I will naturally give abundant examples of recent video games to illustrate my
claims.

In the following, my focus will be to analyse narratives in video games and how the
medium is able to spin a yarn. As a new medium, video games, depending on a game’s
genre and by including narrative delivery into their design, are certainly able to convey
stories to the players. They do so by means of own specific methods, some similar to
traditional fiction some not, and others even going beyond the field of narratology. As
such, narrative delivery in video games serves several purposes, the most important of
which is letting a player become fully immersed into a game’s fictional world (cf. Dansky
16). In addition, by playing a video game each player will be able to experience his own,
unique and vivid story sometimes being able to alter narrative delivery or even story itself.
In order to show this, I will at first give a brief overview of narrative analysis in video
games in chapter 2 to then apply former definitions of narrative to the study of games in
chapter 3. After that, chapter 4 will show exactly how videogames are able to convey
stories via specific methods, being comprised in video game discourse. What is more,
chapter 5 complements former by answering the questions ‘who speaks, experiences and
sees?’, meaning narrative situation and perspective in video games. Additionally, chapter 6
will answer the question what purpose does narrative in video games serve. Finally, I will
come to an end by answering the question whether video games allow for true interactive
stories or just give the illusion of doing so. To show this, I will analyse several game and
story structures and include a comprehensive story structure analyses of two major
productions, Mass Effect and Heavy Rain. Before continuing with chapter 2, it may be
remarked that you will find an abbreviation section on the last page of this work that will
facilitate reading this paper.
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2. A Brief History of Narrative Analysis in Video Games

Analysing video games is a science yet to be established. Due to the medium’s early ages a
grand variety of works on that topic as for instance in literature or film studies does not
exist. Naturally, the same goes for analysing narrative structure in games. Therefore, I will
delimit this chapter on works written after the year 2000 focusing on important figures like
Jesper Juul and Gonzalo Frasca with their works from early in the decade and a
comprehensive work on the study of video games written by Simon Egenfeldt Nielson et.
al.

2.1. Jesper Juul: Games Telling Stories?

In his article ‘Games Telling Stories,’ Jesper Juul features a rather pessimistic view on
whether or not video games are able to convey stories.1 To begin with, he stresses the fact
that applying theories, such as narrative theory, to a completely different medium is not
neutral and “emphasizes some traits and suppresses others” (Juul, Games 219). To his
mind, comparison is much more appreciated in this sense. In addition, he enlists several
aspects that favour games for being narrative. “(1) We use narratives for everything. (2)
Most games feature narrative introductions and backstories. (3) Games share some traits
with narratives” (Juul, Games 219). On the other hand, the majority of his work refutes
that games can be narratives. Firstly, he questions the transportability of story from the
medium film to the one of video games. In such cases, video games mostly pick fragments
of film stories like in the instance of Atari’s Star Wars game in the early 90s.
Consequently, one cannot recognize the story of Star Wars the Movie in the video game
due to the fact that some characters or events of the movie do not occur in the game.
Moreover, Juul claims that ‘time’ in video games functions differently than in literature.
Whereas in literature a clear distinction between story, discourse and even reading time is
made, this distinction, he argues, seems not to exist in video games. The events in games
seem to occur right now, in the present. “By pressing the CTRL key, we fire the current
weapon, which influences the game world. In this way, the game constructs the story time
as synchronous with narrative time and reading/viewing time: the story is now” (Juul,
Games 223). A last major claim he makes, is the fact that some video games do not feature
characters, which are the essence of stories in literature. As such, he mentions the widely

                                                                                                               
1  Every aspect of chapter 2.1. refers to Juul, Games Telling Stories?.
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acclaimed puzzle game Tetris in order to support his claim. To sum up, is seems that the
main intention of Jesper Juul is to not view video games as too dependent on any other
medium, but allow them to acquire a state of autonomy. He doesn’t neglect that video
games feature any narrative elements or stories, but is rather of the firm belief that video
games should be analysed accordingly to what they are, games.

2.2. Gonzalo Frasca: Ludologists love stories, too: notes from a debate that never took
place

In the early 2000s a debate took place between so-called ‘ludologists’ and ‘narratologists’.2
While former claim that video games shall be analysed according to game mechanics,
latter maintain that they are akin to narratives. By writing the article, Ludologists love
stories, too: notes from a debate that never took place, Gonzalo Frasca tries to solve the,
how he calls them, ‘misunderstandings’ that fuelled this debate. Therefore, he enlists
several of said disaccords this debate has generated. First, he claims that narratologists like
Genette, Todorov, etc. were never able to analyse games and that evidently, not many
recent attempts do exist. Second, ludology, which seems to have gained acceptance as a
term when used by himself in his article ‘Ludology meets narratology’ describes “ […] a
yet non-existent discipline that would focus on the study of games in general and
videogames in particular” (Frasca n.p.). However, he mentions that other theorists altered
his initial definition in a significant way excluding narratology completely while focusing
on game structure and gameplay. To his mind, ‘ludology’ in the sense how he used the
term does not exclude narrative in video games but rather suggests a comprehensive
analysis of them combining analysis of gameplay and game structure with narratology,
focusing on former nevertheless. Thus, Frasca clearly states:

One thing is not favouring narratology as a preferred tool for understanding games and a whole
different one is to completely discard it. Based on this information, the idea that ludologists want to
discard narrative from game studies seems to be total inaccurate (Frasca n.p.).

Nonetheless, he claims that ‘narrativists’ (the ones analysing video games on basis of
narratology) have not defined the term narrative exactly enough for it to be used in the
realms of video games. Therefore, they “need an alternative definition of narrative.
However, this may not be an easy task” (Frasca n.p.).

                                                                                                               
2  Every aspect of chapter 2.2. refers to Frasca.
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2.3. Simon E. Nielsen: Understanding Video Games

A more recent approach to narrative in video games formulates chapter 8 in

‘Understanding Video Games’.3 In the following, I will present the main statements made
in said chapter. To begin with, it is argued that video games differ from other forms of
media like films in such way, as they are not consumed passively but rather actively. To
some degree, the player will always create the outcome of certain actions. Further, it is
maintained, “fictional worlds prompt players to imagine that their actions take place within
a meaningful frame” (Nielsen 171). Thus, even games with no story have a meaningful
frame in some way. Further issues to be elaborated in Nielsen’s chapter on narrative
include defining narrative as composed of story, text and narration. Moreover, he
illustrates the use of game space, cut scenes and characters. For this purpose, he divides
latter into stage, functional, cast and player characters. Whereas stage characters have no
particular important function, functional and especially cast characters do. Another major
point in this work is the apparent incompatibility of story and interactivity associated with
the question of how to create plot when forcing the player to do certain things. The
solution suggested here is to create so-called “plot bottlenecks” (Nielsen 182) which
recombine branching pathways. Moreover, it is stressed that story progression in video
games occurs chapterwise and not as direct and linear as a storyline in films, for instance.
With that in mind, events are compared to quests to explain “how and why a player’s
action are connected to each other and to the end of a game’s story; […]” (Nielsen 183). A
last important issue to be addressed is how players experience story. In a video game, the
repertoire of what we know on a general basis is activated by means of certain clues, as for
example stereotypes in the horror genre. What is more, a separation between a story level
(what players experience and can be narrated afterwards) and an action level (focused on
solving problems and puzzles) is made.

Taking everything into account, I agree with Frasca that apparently the debate
between ludologists and narratologists largely stems from game scholars who want video
games to achieve a status of autonomy (cf. Frasca n.p.). To my mind, video games made a
very huge leap in their abilities to convey stories starting in the year 2007 with the release
of titles like Bioshock, Mass Effect etc. On balance, there is little doubt that some of the

                                                                                                               
3  Every aspect of chapter 2.3. refers to Nielsen et. al.
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claims made by Juul seem to be dated. In practice, the attitude towards narrative in video
games seems to shift as many articles or books include own chapters on said topic.

3. Narrative Elements in Video Games

“We make narratives many times a day, every day of our lives” (Abbott, Cambridge 1).
What is narrative? At first glance, this question seems rather rudimentary and quite easy to
answer. It is true to say that many people when being asked about narrative or narratives
come up with the simple answer to find them in novels or short stories, meaning forms of
literature. However, discussed in further detail, the concept of narrative seems to be a more
complex maze than first believed. Abbott clearly does not restrain narrative to literature
only, but includes a much wider approach hinting at the fact that there is yet much more to
be found (cf. Abbott, Cambridge 1). For this reason, this chapter will look into the concept
of narrative more closely and try to apply former definitions of narrative to the study of
video games. Therefore, it will be analysed which definitions, or elements of them,
correspond to video games and which do not. That is to say, this chapter will give first
answers to the overarching question whether or not video games can tell stories.

3.1. Decoupling Narratives from Literature

To begin with, I will take a look at a more general approach to narrative, exploring where
and in which bold-holes narratives can be found. According to Neumann, narratives can be
constructed by simply telling others what happened in their past, be it a holiday vacation or
yesterday’s work experience. In addition, she includes the idea that narrative seems to be a
sheer process of generating knowledge, which would include all types of gathering
information or learning in general (cf. Neumann 8). What is more, assuming the fact that
people tell stories every day, Neumann agrees with Crick’s statement calling the human
being a “story-telling animal” (Neumann 8) emphasizing that every story being told by one
human being to another may be seen as a narrative process (cf. Neumann 8). Imagine a
young boy telling his friend about what happened in his last play session explaining how
he defeated a boss in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (cf. Nielsen 169). Thus, there
is some truth to the claim that the retellings of certain play sessions may result in a story
(cf. Juul, Games 224); nevertheless, it does not prove that a game has a story itself. The
young boy could as well be telling his friend about a puzzle game of some sort and how he
was able to solve a certain problem. However, puzzle games most often do not include
stories.
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Secondly, when decoupling narrative from literature, Neumann comes to the

conclusion that:

Interdisciplinary research has shown that narratives are not only a literary form but a fundamental
way of organising human experience and knowledge. Narrating appears to be an anthropological
universal device used by humans in all cultures within a broad spectrum of pragmatic and artistic
contexts for making sense of the world (Neumann 8).

Taking this statement into consideration, it would seem that there are two interesting
conclusions to be drawn. Firstly, narrative can be decoupled from literature and secondly,
narrative might be applied to artistic contexts. The fact that video games are more and
more being respected as a form of art illustrates that they cannot be excluded from this
type of narrative concept. However, it does not prove anything yet and more evidence of
narrative elements in video games is to be found.

Corresponding to Neumann’s idea, Marie-Laure Ryan talks about a quite similar

approach:

An alternative to the text type approach is to avoid the notions of text and semiotic artifact
altogether, and to conceive narrative as a cognitive style or a mode of thinking. In this view, stories
can exist in the mind as pure patterns of information, inspired by life experience or created by the
imagination, independently of their representation through the signs of a specific medium (Ryan
27).

Following this definition, narratives can exist in our dreams, memories of the past or
imaginations of our future. What is more important to the question whether or not video
games can convey stories is the certainty that Ryan decouples narratives from texts or any
kind of medium. Needless to say, this leads to the assumption that narratives can be told by
different forms of media ranging, amongst others, from forms of literature, drama,
paintings, comics and films to video games, being a specific type of medium as well. Ryan,
while trying to define narrative, suggests that “a definition of narrative should […] work
for different media (though admittedly media do widely differ in their storytelling
abilities), and it should not privilege literary forms” (Ryan 26; emphasis mine). Neumann
even includes computer games when noticing that “films, comics, paintings and computer
games have one thing in common – they feature narrative elements, thus telling, showing
or evoking meaningful stories (see Ch.9)” (Neumann 9). In contrast to literature and films,
which have already proven their narrative potential, video games, being a quite new
medium, are at the very beginning of their storytelling abilities (cf. Bateman XXVII).
Nevertheless, they have seen an incredible boost in recent years. Games like Heavy Rain,
Bioshock or Alan Wake heavily focus on story and show extraordinary potential in terms of
   12  

narrative realisation. All things considered, it is my firm belief that if a definition of

narrative shall include different types of mediums, video games, although being quite new,
shall be included into this spectrum of storytelling media.

3.2. Fictional Worlds

It is quite obvious that it is not enough to formulate a definition for narrative in video
games only due to the fact that narrative shall not be restrained to any particular kind of
medium but rather be independent of one. Thus, for a satisfactory definition of narrative
for video games, it is necessary to further examine which elements of narrative definitions
coincide with video games.

When talking about narratives, Neumann illustrates another major phenomenon of

utmost importance. “They [narratives] allow for the imaginative exploration of new worlds
and can satisfy our hunger for experience, novelty and entertainment” (Neumann 8). It is a
general fact that while reading novels, short-stories, or similar forms of literature, one
might be able to become immersed into fictional worlds while constructing them in one’s
own and private imagination. Whilst it is true to say that reading a novel, a reader is
absorbed into a parallel world by transforming the words and sentences of a book,
including their vivid descriptions of places, characters, moods, etc. into something only
appearing in his mind and head, video games, though in some aspects similar, feature a
slightly different kind of approach. As a result, what is important when differentiating
literature from video games are the following three assumptions. Firstly, it is generally
known that whereas a reader reads a book a player plays a video game by means of some
kind of controller or input device. Consequently, the form of decoding the specific medium
is realised by means of playing, not reading. What is more, whereas a book consists of
letters, words and sentences, a video game is completely constructed via a certain
programming language, which is transformed by a console or personal computer and, not
to forget, by the act of playing itself to what happens and is to be seen on a screen. As a
consequence, there is little doubt that just as its letters predetermine a book, a video game
experiences predetermination through its programming language. Secondly, whilst a reader
of a book is able to construct an imaginative world in his mind only via the letters he reads,
a video game, similar to a film, constructs an imaginative world by means of a television
screen or similar visual output device. For this reason, the player not only imagines a
fictional world, but also is able to see its realisation on a television screen. Finally, what
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seems to be the most essential distinction between video games and literature or films is
the certainty of figuratively stepping into fictional or virtual worlds and being able to
explore and roam them. A game’s development team nevertheless, predetermines the limits
and rules of a particular game-world. With the intention of presenting a comprehensive
explanation of my statement, I shall further explain said predetermination and that a game-
world cannot be explored beyond its boundaries by an easy and understandable example.

Nearly every game features so-called ‘invisible or visible walls’ restraining the
possibilities a player has in a game world. A visible boundary can either be a large rock
formation that cannot be overcome like found in the northern part of the map in Red Dead
Redemption, or just be as plain and simple as a wall, which under no means can be
destroyed. Invisible walls, which are indeed very common in video games although not
very much appreciated by players, mark a barrier not visible to the player, but which
nevertheless, cannot be overcome. Video game developers tend to use such invisible walls
when implementing a more streamlined and linear approach to a game. The player shall be
channelled into a specific direction although the game world, at first glance, seems more
open than it actually is. In God of War the player, while fighting waves of enemies in
ancient Greece, is confined by these invisible walls although it seems possible to reach
these restricted areas in the game. Moreover, a video game features specific sets of rules
that players cannot breach (c.f. Juul, Half-Real 55ff.). Let us here stick with the wall
example. Some games like Red Faction: Guerrilla allow for the nearly entire destruction
of any wall or construction found in it whereas other do not. Consequently, some walls,
whatever the player attempts to do, be it using a rocket launcher, explosives, or a machine
gun simply will not break and might actually not even have a single scratch. This is due to
the fact that some things simply are not meant to happen during the procedure of play.
When making a video game, developers have to clearly sort out which element of the game
to arrange with what specific kind of function in order to not let gameplay feel broke. If
this works, and the game’s fun to play, players will be kept engaged and motivated until
the final credits role. Motivation and engagement can as well be achieved by means of a
compelling story (cf. DeMarle 72). It is evident that video games, like anything else does
in our world, feature their own sets of rules and boundaries predetermined by the
developers. It is not important whether or not these rules coincide with our real world ones,
but rather which rules were defined for the game world and for what purpose. For now, it
is important to know that video games allow for some kind of different, interactive,
   14  

exploration of fictional worlds via the player and an input device, mostly being a
controller.

3.3. Broad and Narrow Approaches of Narrative

A further issue to be discussed is whether a definition of narrative is seen in a more broad

or narrow way.

Some scholars opt for a narrow definition of narrative, restricting it to verbally narrated texts. They
understand narrative as requiring a narrator, who tells a verbal narrative, and thus define narrative
fiction in terms of mediacy (see Ch. 1. 3). Others (among them BAL 1997 [1985]; Wolf 2004; Ryan
2005) argue that anything that ‘tells a story’ should be considered a narrative. These theorists
decouple narratives from a narrator and therefore also include drama, film and poetry within the
domain of narrative. They assume that narrative is primarily characterised by the representation of
noteworthy events (Neumann 11).

Whereas a broad definition includes video games right off the bat, a narrow one requires a
narrator. Though not occurring very frequently in video games, narration, in the classical
sense, does exist. Mostly, video game stories are not told by one narrator only but by
multiple ones, meaning various characters you meet during your journey.4 Besides, story is
communicated via cut-scenes, scripted events, and different kind of artifacts like letters,
diaries, tape recordings, etc.5 What is more important right now is the statement that
narrative is made up by events. “One will define narrative without difficulty as the
representation of an event or sequence of events” (qtd. in Ryan 23).6 In fact, not only
Genette includes the concept of events to his definition but also several other academics
reaching back as far as Aristotle. Abbott goes one step further when claiming that
“narrative is the representation of events consisting of story and narrative discourse,
story is an event or sequence of events (the action), and narrative discourse is those
events as represented” (Abbott, Cambridge 23). This essential distinction between story
and its representation, the discourse, is widely found in literature.7

                                                                                                               
4  see chapter 5  
5  see chapter 4  
6  Gérard Genette, Figures of Literary Discourse. Translated by Marie-Rose Logan (New York: Colombia
University Press, 1982), p.127.
7  see chapter 4
   15  

3.4. Solving Problems and Conflicts

Now, I shall focus on Ryan’s approach that a definition of narrative requires more than just
the concept of event. For this reason, she enlists several points that, to her mind, a
definition of narrative should include. “Narrative is about problem solving. Narrative is
about conflict. Narrative is about interpersonal relations. Narrative is about human
experience. Narrative is about the temporality of existence” (Ryan 24). Moreover she
claims:

[…] ’event’ implies transformation and ‘action’ involves agents; if these agents decide to take
actions, they must have motivations, and they must be trying to solve problems. If agents have
problems they must experience some kind of conflict” (Ryan 24).

Given that video games, whether they feature some sort of story or not, do share one very
important characteristic, the fact that they are being games, makes gameplay the core
element of every video game. To my mind, a good game, beyond the fact that it should be
fun to play, has the duty to challenge the player. This opinion might be controversial owing
to the latest boom of so-called ‘casual games’, which shall be playable for everyone and
not overburden players. Nevertheless, even those games feature some kind of challenge.
Every video game, even if casual, gives you certain tasks to fulfil and thus, encourages to
dissolve certain problems or, in more complex games, conflicts. Consequently, the agent,
in the case of video games the player, needs to solve those puzzles and problems. In Tetris,
most likely the best known puzzle game of all times, you have to build up a wall by
ordering differently shaped bricks falling down from the top of screen in such way that
they form a wall with no gaps at all. As a result, if one or more lines are gap-free the wall
disappears and you are one step closer to the task of not letting the wall reach the top
screen. Yet, paying close attention to a game’s story can be essential to solving problems
as well. Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain for the Playstation 3, which shall be discussed very
closely in chapter 7, is a very good example of said issue. Moreover, with the intention of
keeping the player engaged until he reaches the final credits screen, players need proper
motivation. As a result gamers need to be given some kind of reward or credit to keep
them motivated (cf. Dansky 6).8 In conclusion, it appears that whether or not a video game
features a story, the key aspect of every game revolves around solving problems or
conflicts. Furthermore, players or agents should be properly motivated.

                                                                                                               
8  see chapter 6  
   16  

3.5. Aspects  a  Definition  of  Narrative  should  Include

A rather different approach of defining what shall be called narrative is the ‘fuzzy-set
definition’ formulated by Marie-Laure Ryan which she describes as: “a fuzzy set allowing
variable degrees of membership, but centred on prototypical cases that everybody
recognizes as stories” (Ryan 28). Although she emphasises that each of her eight
assumptions has its own personal shortcomings and controversies and that academics
highly differ in their opinions how many or which of those are needed to define a text as
being narrative, (cf. Ryan 28ff.) I shall here focus on what elements apply to video games.
Nonetheless, there are some inconsistencies that shall be further examined.

The first assumption Ryan proposes is that “(1) Narrative must be about a world
populated by individuated existents” (Ryan 29). According to Chatman, existents, which
are part of the story of a narrative, are composed of characters and settings (cf. Chatman
19). Fictional game worlds mostly feature a great many of different settings or scenarios.
Ranging from more realistic settings like found in the Call of Duty series, which tries to
imitate war scenarios ranging form World War Two to modern warfare, to an underwater
dystopia in Bioshock or the devastated wastelands of Fallout 3, to a plumber trying to save
Princess Peach, who was abducted by the vicious Bowser to outer space, by hopping from
one tiny imaginative planet to another in Super Mario Galaxy, video games include nearly
every scenario or setting imaginable to human mind. Not to mention that these settings are
populated by an utmost wide array of different characters, appropriate for each setting
respectively. Yet, there are video games, mostly puzzle games, which do not involve
characters at all. In the light of this evidence, there is no doubt that story driven video
games do feature existents, meaning settings and characters.

Secondly, going into further detail Ryan states that: “(2) This world must be
situated in time and undergo significant transformations” (Ryan 29). In practice, story
driven video games often, but not all the times, start off in a peaceful and untroubled
world. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the malicious Ganondorf, who brings evil
upon the citizens of Hyrule interrupts this peace. In order to restore said and safe princess
Zelda, ancient legends foretell a young hero, by the name of Link, who shall arise and
bring back safety and good to the kingdom of Hyrule. To do so, Link has to face countless
enemies, puzzles and nine dungeons to finally step up against Ganondorf in an epic battle.
   17  

This example, though showing a quite simple plotline, explains the basic concept of
transformations in many games: a world being in disorder and a hero, represented by the
player, with the task of restoring peace.9

Thirdly, Ryan emphasises that “ (3) The transformations must be caused by non-
habitual physical events” (Ryan 29). Resuming with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of
Time, it is most certain that by and large transformation from peace to war and vice versa
is not a very habitual event. What is more, video games need to be entertaining and
therefore, game crisis are often triggered by non-habitual events in order to motivate
players to resolve these problems. Otherwise, video games would be really boring to play.
Who would seriously want to remain in Vault 101 at the beginning of Fallout 3 instead of
heading out on this epic adventure its game world has to offer? On the other hand, there
are games like the Harvest Moon series where the premise is a quite different one and in
fact, more habitual. The game begins with the inheritance of your grandfather’s farm and it
is up to you to keep it flourishing. This example corresponds with Ryan’s critic that point
three would eliminate “enumerations of repetitive events and changes caused by natural
evolution (such as aging)”, (Ryan 29) or in the case of Harvest Moon the inheritance of a
farm.

Going on to point four Ryan notices: “(4) Some of the participants in the events
must be intelligent agents who have a mental life and react emotionally to the states of the
world” (Ryan 29). Applying this fourth point to the study of video games, it is essential to
describe the concept of Artificial Intelligence or AI more closely. Dansky uses the term as
follows: “This [AI] technically refers to the algorithms controlling their [the non-player-
characters’] behaviour rather than the characters themselves“ (Dansky 3). Nearly every
video game features characters and protagonists of some sort. Whether these are either the
dumb-witted, bullet fodder soldiers of Shell Shock 2: Blood Trails or the intelligently
acting Trip in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, both have to fulfil a certain and unique
function in the game (cf. Dansky 3). Whereas the cannon fodder soldier is just one of the
many obstacles a game throws at you, Trip is destined to follow and help the player to get
through the game and thus, provided with more elaborate AI. Not to mention that she
                                                                                                               
9   This
concept corresponds with Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero’s Journey Model’, which unfortunately cannot be
addressed here because it would blast the scope of this work. (see Joseph Campbell, Der Heros in Tausend
Gestalten (Frankfurt a. M: S. Fischer Verlag, 1953)
   18  

reacts very emotionally to the state of the game world on the grounds that she is highly
affected by the crisis the world in Enslaved has to face. As a result, it is true to say that
many video games feature a wide array of differently intelligent agents, which react each
in their own specific way to the state of the game world depending on their function in the
game. More important, however, is the fact that there is yet another, very important agent
in the case of video games to be found. This one is represented by an intelligent, breathing
human being, who under no means must be forgotten: the player himself.

“(5) Some of the events must be purposeful actions by these agents” (Ryan 29).
Amongst others, narrative in video games has the function to move forward gameplay (cf.
Dansky 5). Moreover, it is important to keep gamers interested in a game and to give
meaning to why they do certain things (cf. Dansky 5). As a consequence, every step the
player does which moves forward gameplay or narrative can be seen as a purposeful
action. On the other hand, it is not only the player who can execute purposeful actions, but
also some key characters. Sometimes, the introduction of a new character is enough to
move forward the narrative and thus, gameplay as well. One striking and, to my mind,
cleverly executed example of this is the introduction of new characters in Metro 2033, a
post-apocalyptic First-Person-Shooter set in the Russian Metro Tunnels after nuclear war
has struck and made the surface uninhabitable. These are introduced to help the player get
through the game and fulfil his mission in such a way that they freshen things up and make
it interesting to keep on playing. To sum up, it is certain that there are many events in
games that move forward narrative and gameplay triggered by important actions of
characters of the game world or the player himself.

“(6) The sequence of events must form a unified causal chain and lead to closure”
(Ryan 29). Normally, when video games feature stories, they stick for the most part to
Aristotle’s concept of a beginning, middle and end, meaning a plot with “events connected
by cause” (Abbott, Story 43) So, events occurring in a game eventually lead to each other
and may come to closure at the end of a game. Nonetheless, there are games, mostly game
series, where there might be open ends. In addition, there are some plot types, where
events can be connected loosely, meaning they do not move forward the main plotline but
extend it by giving the player additional information of the game world or presenting the
lives or problems of other, minor characters. Typical examples of these so-called side
   19  

quests are found in Fallout 3 and complement the player’s knowledge of the game world.
They are optional and not necessary for the main plot.

“(7) The occurrence of at least some of the events must be asserted as fact for the
story-world” (Ryan 29). Creating vivid and believable game worlds is of major importance
when developing a video game. Gamers are not easy to be fooled and when events do not
make sense the game is considered of minor quality (cf. DeMarle 72). Thus, the story
should not be too unbelievable and gamers should not be messed around with to heavily.
As a result, the best course of action for game developers should be to focus on believable
game worlds as for instance the one in Fallout 3 where everything adds up forming this
believable, vivid wasteland with its many cultures and different faiths.

Finally, Ryan argues that “(8) The story must communicate something meaningful
to the audiences” (Ryan 29). This, however, she states “(8) eliminates bad stories” (Ryan
30) and calls it “the most controversial condition in the list” (Ryan 30). Sadly, to put it
mildly, it is true that video games mostly feature extremely bad stories which feel tucked
on to give some rudimentary sense to why you are doing certain tasks. According to my
experience, there might only be about 10% of video game stories that are not to be
considered wasted opportunities to “communicate something meaningful” (Ryan 29) to the
players. However, there are some crown jewels among video games that this work focuses
on.

Taking everything into account, Ryan’s eight points might have their shortcomings
and are not all necessary to call a text narrative (cf. Ryan 30). Nevertheless, it is quite
obvious that video games can most certainly be applied, to a more or less extent, to all of
these eight points, which reinforces their narrative abilities.

To sum up, there are quite a few interesting conclusions to be drawn. Firstly,
narrative can be decoupled from literature and thus, be applied to other specific kind of
media, including video games. Secondly, even though a game features no story, a certain
play session can be retold as a narrative. Thirdly, story-driven video games allow for
figuratively stepping into and exploring predetermined, imaginative and interactive
fictional worlds by means of some specific kind of decoding process and the use of a
controller or similar input device. These worlds are inhabited by existents that are
   20  

composed of nearly every scenario or setting imaginable to human mind and populated by
an utmost wide array of the most different characters, each with their own specific kind of
functions. Moreover, these characters react, to a more or less extent, emotionally to the
status, or crisis of the game world at hand depending on their AI and function in the game.
What is more, game crises are mostly caused by significant transformations, which
motivate players to solve conflicts and problems of a game world in order to complete the
game. Nonetheless, there still remain some aspects, which have not been entirely answered
in this chapter and shall therefore, be discussed further in the course of this paper. Among
those are the questions of how video games exactly convey stories, what kind of narration
and perspective exists, purpose of narrative in general, and finally, whether or not games
allow for true interactive stories.

4. How Video Games Communicate Stories

Telling stories can be as diverse as it can get. Nowadays, many mediums including books,
films, TV, Internet, theatre, paintings, poems, music, video games, etc. may be able to spin
a yarn. Nonetheless, none of them does it in the same manner one of the other mediums
will do. Consequently, this chapter will explore how video games being a specific medium
are able to tell stories. For this purpose, it at first is necessary to differentiate between story
and how it is represented which will be discussed in the first short section of this chapter to
then show major methods by means of which video games convey stories to the player in
the second.

4.1. Story and its Discourse

Imagine two people having a fight over a specific issue, problem or situation. Needless to
say, it is natural to the character of a fight that people have opposing viewpoints, opinions
and perspectives. Therefore, the same issue will most likely be presented in at least two
different kinds of ways and viewpoints. Nevertheless, the story, when telling strangers or
friends what has happened, will share some common characteristics and in its core be the
same. Thus, the story, though being equal in vital key points, will be narrated or told in two
different ways, each consisting of personal opinion and perspective. As Abbott notices:

It is an implicit acknowledgement that a story is understood as having separate existence from its
narration. As such, it can be told in different ways by different narrators […] with different words,
different emotional influences, different perspectives, and different details (Abbott, Story 39).
   21  

How important to narratologists this distinction between story and discourse really is, is
emphasised by him when stating that “this analytically powerful distinction between story
and its representation is, arguably, the founding insight of the field of narratology”
(Abbott, Story 40) As such, to further understand the importance of this distinction, I shall
take in this chapter a closer look at the distinction between story and discourse before
showing how videogame discourse is handled.

In his work ‘Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film’,
Seymour Chatman delimits story and discourse as follows:

Structuralist theory argues that each narrative has two parts: a story (histoire), the content or chain
of events (action, happenings), plus what may be called existents (characters, items of setting); and a
discourse (discours), that is, the expression, the means by which the content is communicated. In
simple terms, the story is the what in a narrative that is depicted, discourse the how. (Chatman 19)

To be more explicit, structuralist theory argues that there is an evident “distinction between
signified and signifier, and the traditional distinction between content and
style/form/expression, subject matter and treatment, or matter and manner […]” (Shen,
Routledge 566). For the purpose of this paper however I will only discuss how the story
content of video games is being expressed in a specific form to the reader, not the game as
a whole. A quite similar approach to distinguish story and discourse was formulated by the
Russian formalists. Dan Shen describes this as follows: “The same goes for the Russian
Formalists’ distinction between fabula (the basic story stuff) and sjuzhet (the story as
actually told in artistic presentation and arrangement)” (Shen, Routledge 566).

This distinction has made its way to the field of game writing when Richard
Dansky talks about story as a “launching point for the narrative, not the narrative in toto”
(Dansky 2). According to him, “story is what happens, the flow of the game that can be
separated from the game mechanics and retold as a narrative” (Dansky 2), whereas he
defines “narrative as the method by which the story materials are communicated to the
audience” (Dansky 2). When speaking of ‘narrative’, Dansky obviously refers to the term
‘discourse’ and though it seems that game designers, game writers and even academics of
literary studies tend to intermingle the terms narrative discourse, narration and narrative
when talking about ‘how the story is communicated to the audience’ (cf. Abbott, Story 41),
I will stick to the literary term ‘discourse’ to avoid misunderstandings.

But what exactly is this ‘how’ and how is it defined in narrative theory? Chatman,
when speaking of narrative discourse, divides this concept further into
   22  

the narrative form itself -the structure of the narrative transmission- and its manifestation- its
appearance in a specific materializing medium, verbal, cinematic, balletic, musical, pantomimic, or
whatever. Narrative transmission concerns the relation of time of the story to time of the recounting
of story, the source of authority for the story: narrative voice, ‘point of view,’ and the like.
Naturally, the medium influences the transmission, but it is important for theory to distinguish the
two (Chatman 22).

Chatman here notices an important fact, namely that the transmission of the story depends
on the medium itself. As such, video games offer their own measures of how to
communicate story, some similar to how story is conveyed in literature, some not. For
instance, due to the fact that video games, just like film, are a visual medium, description
of certain object is not needed because they are obviously visible on the screen (cf.
Chatman 44). Consequently, a narrator is not so essential to visual media as he is to
literature. Yet, there are games like Alan Wake where a narrator is omnipresent what in my
opinion adds considerably to the atmosphere and the quality of how the story is
communicated.

In addition, there is one interesting controversy Abbott notices when discussing

story and discourse that can be vital to the examination of game narrative, the question
whether or not story “pre-exists its rendering” (Abbott, Story 41). On the one hand he
notices:

Story seems to pre-exist its rendering (note how often stories are narrated in the past tense) yet,
Culler argues, the rendering also seems to generate the story, which would make it follow rather
than precede the discourse (Abbott, Story 41).

As a result, if discourse can generate story, there is another question that immediately
arises, namely, whether or not the act of playing might generate a specific kind of story or
storytelling, slightly different during each play session.10

As a consequence, and to define the use of story and its representation in this work
I shall, when talking about story, follow Chatman’s definition of story being comprised of
events and existents (characters and settings) (cf. Chatman 19) and that “it always proceeds
forward in time.”(Abbott, Story 41.) On the other hand, there is the concept of the narrative
discourse, which in this work, and according to Dansky’s definition, will be used to
describe ‘how a specific story is conveyed in a video game’ (cf. Dansky 1). It is not

                                                                                                               
10   Chapter 7 will discuss how players can influence narrative events or even story by making certain
decisions while playing.

 
   23  

important whether or not the discourse features every method we know from literature but
instead how story is communicated in video games. Naturally, as literature is thousands of
years old and video games only about 40, comparison is essential and helpful and shall
thus not be discarded.

4.2. Video Game Discourse.

When spinning the yarn, modern video games do not rely only on one specific method, but
instead, intermingle a zillion of possibilities. In the following, the most important methods
of how to convey story in video games will be presented.11

4.2.1. Player Movement and Action.

“[T]his is a video game, so nothing will happen unless you act.” (Nielsen 170) In a video
game, players obviously need to act for the game and its story to proceed. If players do not
move their player character, no events in the game world will and can happen. As Boon
mentions: “In a game story, the majority of narrative elements will be presented to the
player in response to the player’s actions” (Boon 46). In video games, triggers, players or
the game itself activate, move forward story. Mostly, triggers are location-based. In this
case players trigger narrative events only by moving forward and entering new areas (cf.
Boon 63). As a result, a cut scene may be triggered. Another possibility for triggers Boon
mentions is the event-based method. Here, players have to fulfil various tasks or defeat a
certain amount of enemies to trigger the next story event (cf. Boon 63). Further, players
can trigger certain dialogues by pressing a button standing in front of a non-player
character (NPC) or by simply approaching him (cf. Boon 64). In general, players create
events by means of their own actions. Even random fights or small sections of a game can
be given the status of an event and certainly, bigger ones do. Remember the fight between
Kratos and Hades in God of War 3. Even if there is some dialogue in the beginning and
along the way, the vast majority of the event is told through action, to be specific by the
battle they lead. An even more impressing event, or to be more precise, a serious of such,
constitutes the game’s beginning, depicting Kratos climbing mount Olympus alongside the
Titans in order to defeat the gods. Combined with the breathtaking vistas, sound effects,
some dialogue and cut scenes, most part of the event is assembled by player action and
movement. Additionally, depending on what type of game they face, players can wander
                                                                                                               
11  Narration and perspective will be dealt with separately in chapter 5.  
   24  

the environment at their own will witnessing the game world as it is presented. The ability
to freely explore the game environment is however only possible in open world games.12

4.2.2. Visuals

Being a visual medium, it is quite obvious that part of the story and status or theme of the
game world is told by the game’s graphics and presentation. Seeing Super Mario Galaxy’s
coloured fantasy world obviously triggers quite different imaginations than the war
scenario of Call of Duty 4. When experiencing the dilapidated ruins of Washington in the
Wasteland of Fallout 3, one can easily assume certain things even if not having played the
game from the beginning and consequently, not knowing the story so far. Something
horrible must have happened and some reason why people act so hostile needs to exist.
This phenomenon, Seymour Chatman calls ‘reading out’. By analysing a comic strip,
which does not feature any text, Chatman stresses that even without text or dialogue one
can read out a certain story only by interpreting the comic’s images. Due to the
conventions that exist for this sort of medium, as for example the clouds of dust a character
leaves behind when running, or assuming a sunny day on account of a sun depicted in the
comic, etc, one can easily reconstruct the comic’s story (cf. Chatman 36 ff). Besides,
speaking of how to tell stories in action-adventure games, John Feil mentions that
“locations are the setting for your story, and as in any storytelling vehicle, should reinforce
your narrative and characters” (Feil 33). Moreover, he stresses: “A Location Is Worth a
Thousand Words. No part of the game promotes and reinforces immersion more than the
locations that the player travels through. As the writer, you use that setting to reinforce
your narrative and characters” (Feil 33). What is more, as graphics evolve, more realistic
and detailed game worlds can be created. In Bioshock one can certainly read out a lot about
what happened in Rapture only by seeing the cities’ appearance with all of its signs and
references to certain past events. One example of such is the propaganda of using ADAM,
a substance to alter genetic code in order to enhance yourself, which is found all across the
game, and especially in its beginning. According to Lucien Soulban, Bioshock’s world “is
lovingly detailed and deeply immersive, a perfect example of using environment to further
the narrative” (Soulban 57).

                                                                                                               
12  See chapter 7.2.3.
   25  

4.2.3. Text

Narrating story via text is most easily the “simplest and cheapest method of narrative”
(Boon 49). Text can occur in a vast number of different application areas. Outside from
subtitles, Boon mentions three important areas text is used. Firstly, it occurs in games with
low budget and very long stories to tell. Secondly, text is used in in-game artifacts like
diaries, letters, computer-files, etc. However, these should only be used to extend the story,
not to present the main one, as not all players are willing to read every single note the
game throws at them. Thirdly, text is used as some kind of artistic device in Japanese
console games. Here, subtitles are accompanied by sound effects to simulate recorded
dialogue (cf. Boon 49f). According to Boon, this “preserves a certain almost naïve tone,
which only Japanese developers seem to be able to achieve” (Boon 50). In the times of
Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 written text to convey story was mainly used due to
cartridge storage limitation. However, even nowadays, Nintendo refuses to include
recorded dialogue into its most precious titles like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario.
To my mind, this has several reasons. First of all to preserve said ‘naïve tone’ (cf. Boon
50) that these games are famous for and secondly, due to Nintendo’s fear of giving speech
to important characters like Link and Mario. According to Nintendo, they don’t want to
ruin gamers’ imagination of major characters by forcing a certain voice onto them. In
general, text is incorporated in many ways into a video game including text in pause
screens, in-game artifacts, subtitles, dialogue, etc. There are also some games that are
made up entirely out of text, like text-adventures or interactive fiction (cf. Boon 49).

4.2.4. Cut Scenes

Cut scenes in video games represent non-interactive movies between gameplay sections in
which the player sits back and watches. Here, important events are depicted to move
forward the story (cf. Dansky 4). When discussing cut scenes several important functions
and aspects have to be taken into account. First of all, cut scenes are non-interactive,
meaning that they remove player control (cf. Boon 54). Consequently, the game writer
does not have to anticipate players’ actions and is under full control of the content (cf.
Boon 55). Secondly, cut scenes with gorgeous visuals can be seen as reward to the player
after having accomplished difficult tasks or hurdles in the game. As such, they constitute a
measure of pacing in which players can rest from tense action sequences (cf. Boon 54).
Moreover, Boon mentions that cut scenes, in terms of reward, shall not be longer than a
   26  

couple of minutes except in opening or ending sequences of a game, or when delivering

vital information at branching points (cf. Boon 54). To his mind, the “player’s attention
span” (Boon 55) shall under no means be exhausted by watching and not being able to play
(cf. Boon 55). In general, players don’t seem too amused when they are being interrupted
from fun to play gameplay (cf. Feil 30). What is more, cut scenes are the most expensive
measure to convey story and may “cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to create” (Feil
30). Furthermore, it is not possible to alter them at a certain point in the production span
what requires accurate planning on the beforehand to not lose money (cf. Feil 30). Another
function cut scenes should provide is visual variety in terms of perspective. As video
games mostly use one specific camera angle, cut scenes may spice things up and shall
differ themselves from actual gameplay (cf. Boon 55).

Examining cut scenes more closely, they can be distinguished into three different
types. Cut scenes that use in-game graphics, cut scenes that are pre-rendered and differ
themselves from in-game graphics by means of better and more detailed visuals, and cut
scenes in form of FMVs (Full Motion Videos) which are actual filmed movies (cf. Soulban
54). In the days of the old Playstation with its coarse pixel graphics, cut scenes were
almost entirely pre-rendered and distinguished themselves form in-game graphics by their,
in comparison, almost photorealistic visuals. As video game graphics improved, cut
scenes, nowadays, rather use in-game engine and consequently provide visual continuity
(cf. Boon 55). Moreover, these type of cut scenes seems to be slightly more cost saving
due to the fact that in-game engine is used and consequently no further graphical
improvements are needed (cf. Boon 55). However, in most games it seems that even cut
scenes utilizing in-game graphics are tweaked to a certain extend resulting in slightly
enhanced visuals in comparison to gameplay sections.

To my mind, cut scenes are nice to watch movies in between gameplay sections to
pace the game effectively after intense sections. They provide variety but should not be
used too extensively. Metal Gears Solid 4 for instance included many hours of cut scene
ranging from 10 to, at times, 60 minutes of playtime, effectively pulling me out of the
immersion and extending my attention span beyond its limits. Moreover, checkpoints
should be placed after cut scenes heralding difficult gameplay sections and not before.
When playing Army of Two: The 40th Day I had to experience some cut scenes a great
many times owing to the fact that every time I died I had to watch the same thing over and
over again. Naturally, developers could as well include the option to skip already watched
   27  

cut scenes by the press of a button. Generally speaking, there are more effective ways to
present story, namely by intermingling gameplay with story and not strictly bordering the
two things.

4.2.5. Scripted Events

One of the possibilities of merging story and gameplay are scripted events. The most
important feature of a scripted event is that it doesn’t interrupt gameplay and thus, action
(cf. Soulban 61). Further, they constitute events, which at some specific point during the
game or in accordance to player movement will be triggered. Most importantly, players
remain in control of the action, at least to some extend (cf. Dansky 4).

A single scripted event can be as simple as pulling the camera angle around to show a looming
surveillance camera (also known as camera case) or as complicated as setting up a sequence of
events involving multiple NPCs to illustrate a game point (Dansky 4).

Action titles, such as Gears of War, Call of Duty 4 or Army of Two: The 40th Day very
often pull camera around to show certain events as for example airplanes crashing into
buildings, enemies attacking from above, or explosions, or sets of those, blocking off
certain routes the player was about to take. Lucien Soulban nails the function of these
kinds of events when stating:

They [scripted events] are cinematic as hell, they pump up the adrenaline, and they accelerate the
story while keeping the player involved. They also drive home the fact that unlike movies, games
are all about being inside the action. They allow players to legitimately participate in the story
(Soulban 61).

A very impressive use of scripted events is depicted in Bioshock, to be precise, the

scene when the player meets a big daddy13 for the second time. Moving across some kind
of grid placed beneath the ceiling of a room, the player espies a little sister sitting on the
floor. Hereupon, he descends to the level below to witness the forthcoming scripted event
through a thick and bulletproof window. A splicer attacks the little sister. Split seconds
later, the big daddy jumps to her rescue and kills the splicer gruesomely. First, he presses
him against the wall by means of his drill arm to then break him through the window on
the other side of which you are watching. During the course of the event you remain under
full control and are able decide whether to watch or not. However, control is restrained by
the fact that the game doesn’t allow to proceed until the scripted event is over.

                                                                                                               
13  In
Bioshock, big daddies are one of the games most difficult to overcome enemies. They guard the little
sisters, which are in possession of a substance called ADAM the player character strives for.
   28  

4.2.6. Characters and Dialogue

According to John Feil, one very important method to convey story is via the characters in
a game. “Your characters are going to be your primary method of delivering what you
write to your audience. By what they say and do, you’ll expose the beats of the story,
reveal the personalities of the characters, and unveil your plot” (Feil 32). Character
dialogue can either be depicted via cut scenes or simulated directly in-game between your
player-character (PC) and non-player characters (NPCs) or between NPCs only. Here, your
PC can either remain silent while listening to what NPCs have to say and consequently be
rather a listener than an active participant of dialogue. This is most often used in first-
person-shooters (FPSs). Or, developers have chosen to give your PC voice, letting him talk
to other NPCs on his own, mostly occurring in cut scenes or during gameplay when having
a companion accompany the PC. Another option is that the game tries to simulate actual
dialogue between you, the player manoeuvring your PC, and NPCs. Mostly in role-playing
games (RPGs), you have the possibility to choose between a certain amount of
predetermined responses to give the player the illusion of agency in terms of dialogue and
as such, to personalize dialogue. Choosing a certain dialogue option may trigger more
dialogue options or may personalize your PC according to the dialogue choices he made.
In Mass Effect’s branching dialogue system, players may choose between paragon, neutral
or renegade responses, which in the end may trigger one of the different endings of the
game. Play as a bad guy, or play as hero. The choice is up to you.

Talking about NPCs in video games Feil mentions:

Non-player characters (NPCs) should be the primary vehicle for you exposition in your game. They
can tell where to go, where the plot currently stands, and information that the player needs to
overcome the various puzzles he will face. Most importantly, the dialogue of your NPCs helps
reinforce the personality of the game world. […] One of the best ways to tell story through dialogue
is by having two non-player characters talk with one another (Feil 32).

The main advantage of letting NPCs talk to each other, or NPCs talk to the PC, is that
players are able to relax and listen without much distraction. They can now focus on the
things and story NPCs have to tell. In addition, what seems to become standard in video
games is letting the player-character have a companion, which does the majority of the
talking (cf. Feil 33). Famous companions in video games include Alyx in Half Life 2, or
Trip in Enslaved Odyssey to the West. They do not only help the player to get his bearings
and move forward in the game, but also narrate a large part of the story.
   29  

However, dialogue needs to be implemented cleverly. Yes, it is advantageous to not

interrupt the player while playing and letting him simultaneously listen to what NPCs have
to tell (cf. Boon 51). Nonetheless, dialogue can be disturbing, for instance when fighting
intense battles or trying to solve difficult platform sections of a game. Accordingly, Boon
mentions:

A good game writer uses the ability to play dialogue at any point in the game. Key information
should be reserved for times when the player is focused upon listening – if the information is
absolutely vital to the game progress, it should either be delivered in cut scenes or be somehow
replayable (as NPC dialogue, for instance). Nonessential dialogue may be played at any time,
however. Even in this case, there are good and bad times to play recorded dialogue. The player of a
fast-action melee combat game is unlikely to be able to concentrate fully upon dialogue in the midst
of an intense battle, for instance, On the other end of the spectrum, a long ladder climb or elevator
ride may benefit from incidental dialogue, to keep the player engaged (Boon 51).

In Red Dead Redemption for instance, missions are commenced by giving vital
information what to do in a short cut scene. Afterwards, players mostly saddle their horse
and begin to tackle the mission. At times, they may be accompanied by one or several
NPCs. In these cases, these NPCs give further, less essential information, during the ride
by means of dialogue. As such, the instead, boring ride, which at times can take up to
several minutes, is spiced up by some dialogue the player can easily concentrate on,
besides riding his horse.

A last important measure of passing on information can be realised by means of

interior monologue (cf. Soulban 61). Here, your player character may tell you what to do
next by reminding himself what he was about to do next. This method is heavily used in
Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain. However, not only interior monologue can remind what
players shall do next, but also NPCs are able to fulfil this role when the player is lost or
doesn’t remember what to do.

4.2.7. Static Images

Another method to convey stories visually is by means of static images. Paintings,

drawings, or even entire comic strips can be used to tell the story or to further elaborate it
(cf. Boon 53). Mostly,

images in such sequences are composited in a dynamic manner – pans, zooms, fades, and so forth
distract from the fundamentally static nature of the images. A narrator vocal is usually used to
deliver exposition over such scenes, but more inventive methods may be found (Boon 53).

Infamous, for example, makes use of dynamic static images delivered via cut scenes to
further elaborate its story. Meanwhile, a first-person narrator in the form of the game’s
   30  

main character, Cole, comments on the events depicted in these scenes. Moreover, static
images can be used to bridge long periods of leading screens and as such seem appropriate
to further elaborate the plot (cf. Boon 53).

4.2.8. In-game Artifacts

The last measure how to incorporate story in video games I want to explain is by means of
in-game artifacts. In-game artifacts are “objects in the game world that serve to advance
the narrative. They can roughly be defined as narrative that the character, not the player
finds” (Dansky 4). Among others, they can occur in text form as in letters, e-mails, diaries,
notes, or other sorts of documents the player encounters (cf. Dansky 4). In modern video
games, in game artifacts can as well take on the form of answering machines, tape
recordings, TV or radio transmissions, mobile phones etc. (cf. Soulban 54). Due to the fact
that it is mostly up to the player whether or not to collect and read every single note or
listen to every tape recording they find along the way, using in-game artifacts should rather
extent the story not tell the main one (cf. Feil 31).

To sum up, stories can be told in a lot of different ways. Narration, text and
dialogue is vital to literature, visual and oral presentation is the essence of film, expression
and interpretation define stories in paintings, dialogue constitutes the main form of
expression in drama or theatre, hyperlinks are a vital aspect of the internet and sounds and
melodies compose music. Video games are the format which allows for the combination of
all of these individual methods while adding something new: The active role of a breading
human being, the player, who not only experiences the game’s story but actively
participates in it. Even if the use of these methods is in its infancy, video games may be the
next step of telling stories interactively.
   31  

5. Who speaks, Who sees, Who experiences? Narration and Perspective in Video
Games

At first glance, answering the question ‘who speaks?’ seems to be a rather vexed
enterprise. Mostly, there is no obvious narrator, and story in video games is most often
presented via dialogue. However, there are some instances where voice over narration is
implemented, occurring mostly during cut scenes. As a result, the first part of this chapter
will show some examples of narrators in video games analysed according to Franz K.
Stanzel’s and Gérard Genette’s theories. Further, I will try to answer the question ‘who
experiences?’ meaning what role does the player and his player-character incorporate due
to the fact that they are the ones experiencing a story and thus, can be given the status of
‘experiencer’ through whose eyes and point-of view players immerse into a story and
actively participate in it. Associated with answering this questions is the one ‘who sees?’
Trying to apply Genette’s theory of focalization, I will discuss perspective in video games
focusing on the two prevalent ones: first-person and third-person perspective.14

5.1. Who Speaks?

“They told me: Son, you’re special. You were born to do great things. You know what?
They were right!” (Bioshock, prologue). Opening the game, Jack, the main protagonist and
first-person narrator of Bioshock, hereby sets the frame for the forthcoming events you are
about to experience and participate in. This introductory narration, according to Genette’s
definition, happens on an extradiegetic level (cf. Herman, Routledge 359) and this first
narrator of the game can obviously be called a homodiegetic narrator due to the fact that he
constitutes the game’s hero narrating his own story (cf. Neumann 93). According to
Stanzel, this introductory part of the game formulates a first-person narrative situation.(cf.
Stanzel 339f.) In the course of the game however, Jack will not speak again thus forming a
so-called ‘silent-player-character’ (SPC). From now on, different fist-person narrators
situated on an intradiegetic level will mainly narrate story. One example of such is Andrew
Ryan, first introducing himself to the player on the bathysphere ride via a slide projector.

I am Andrew Ryan and I’m here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his
brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No says the man in the Vatican. It
belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers.
                                                                                                               
14  The
terms first-person and third-person perspective must not be confused with the first, second, or third-
person narrative situations. While former stand for the visual perspective in video games, latter answer the
question ‘who speaks’ standing for narrators.  
   32  

Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture. A city where the
artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where
the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow. Rapture can
become your city as well (Bioshock, prologue).

Not talking directly to the player, but rather being some sort of pre-recorded message to all
of those who enter Rapture, Andrew Ryan, introduces himself and the city by narrating
what he had in mind, what his vision of Rapture was, thus giving a first glimpse what
happened there. Later, you will talk directly to Andrew Ryan. Stepping out of the
bathysphere, Atlas, the game’s unreliable first-person narrator on the intradiegetic level
and end-boss, introduces himself to the player. Keeping his true identity to himself, Frank
Fontaine, or Atlas, as the player gets to know him, is one of Andrew Ryan’s archenemies
in the struggle for power in Rapture. At this time, the player doesn’t know that Jack is
actually Ryan’s son owing to an affair he had with a woman called Jolene. Nevertheless,
she never gave birth to Jack, but instead sold him as embryo to Frank Fontaine. Altering
his genetic code, Fontaine designs Jack to execute all his commands by using the trigger
phrase: ‘Would you kindly…’. This phrase he uses very often, even to ask the player to kill
Andrew Ryan. Later in the game, when confronting Ryan, this one reveals the truth to
Jack. Now, the player realises that Atlas, or Frank Fontaine, was misleading him the entire
time. As such, Atlas misleads the player by what I may call ‘simulated dialogue’. Not
being able to answer Atlas, Jack, who in the introduction sequence obviously constituted
the first-person narrator on the extradiegetic level, now remains silent, thus shifting the
narrative situation towards figural narration (cf. Stanzel 339f.), seeing the events of the
story through the eyes of a so-called reflector character, (cf. Jahn, Routledge 365) being
Jack and thus, the player himself. In Genettean terms, this reflector character is called
‘focalizer’ (cf. Neumann 93). Nevertheless, the PC and most certainly the player himself
do not narrate but instead, how I call it, ‘experience’ (cf. Neumann 93), ‘participate’ in the
story, they (re)act. Here, ‘telling’ shifts to ‘showing’ (cf. Fludernik 47). Indeed, it seems to
occur something that is not possible in literature in this way. By the withdrawal of the first-
person narrator the game leaves the perspective to the player. Further reinforcing my claim
is Birgit Neumann, when explaining the figural narrative situation in a “passage from
ANITA BROOKNER’s novel Hotel du Lac (1984).” (Neumann 86)

‘Slightly more alert by now, she looked round the room, but there was little to see; the grey men
were still absorbed in their conversation; two young couples, from the town, obviously, having a
   33  

night out, had been placed near the windows, overlooking the invisible garden’ (qtd. in Neumann
86).15

Rather than narrating a story, this passage creates the illusion of permitting immediate access to the
perceptions of a character, thus inducing readers to activate the viewing frame. In this case, readers
become witness of the experiences and perceptions of a reflector character rather than the narrator’s
addresses (Neumann 86).

Narrating a story segment of Bioshock in this manner would result in something like this:
‘Glimpsing from the ceiling above he (referring to the player-character) saw the little sister
sitting on the floor of the room. The girl, sitting there in a peaceful manner, was about to
be attacked by a splicer when all of a sudden her guardian angel, a big daddy came to her
rescue.’ Nevertheless, a video game doesn’t necessarily require this kind of narration
because it will be experienced first hand, visually depicted on the TV screen. In this sense,
a video game combining first-person perspective (in a visual sense) and a silent-player-
character as protagonist, even more than a novel with figural narrative situation, may
create this “illusion of permitting immediate access to the perceptions of a character, […]”
(Neumann 86). To a large extent it is you, the player that immerses into a character’s role.
According to Genette, however, this use of a reflector or, in his terms, focalizer and
focalization shall be separated from narration (cf. Neumann 93). As a result, he separates
the questions ‘who sees’, strictly form the one ‘who speaks’ (cf. Genette 132). I will
further elaborate this concern later in this chapter.

Moving back to Bioshock, the narrative situation on the intradiegetic level

conversely remains a first-person narration stemming from characters you encounter in the
course of the game, and mainly from Atlas.

Would you kindly pick up that shortwave radio? I don’t know how you survived that plane crash,
but I’ve never been one to question Providence. I’m Atlas, and I aim to keep you alive. Now keep
on moving…we’re gonna have to get you to higher ground. Take a deep breath and step out of the
bathysphere. I won’t leave you twisting in the wind (Bioshock, meeting Atlas).

Helping the player to get his bearing and to escape the splicer being around, Atlas
continues: ”We’re gonna need to draw her out of the hiding. But you’re gonna have to trust
me” (Bioshock, meeting Atlas) A little later, he comments on how a flying robot eliminates
the splicer: “Just a bit further… how do you like that, sister” (Bioshock, meeting Atlas)?
After the splicer’s demise, he again uses the trigger sentence for the player to pick up his
first weapon in the game. “Now would you kindly find a crowbar or something? Bloody
splicers sealed Johnny in before they… goddamn splicers” (Bioshock, meeting Atlas).
                                                                                                               
15  Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac (1984) n.p.  
   34  

Gaining the player’s trust and indeed helping him somehow, these sorts of ‘simulated
dialogue’ or instructions the player receives from Atlas continue throughout the majority
of the game. As such, Atlas constitutes the main and most important intradiegetic first-
person narrator the game features. On the other hand, Andrew Ryan narrates another
important event in the game, the plot twist. Again this happens on the intradiegetic level.

The assassin has overcome my final defense, [sic] and now he’s come to murder me. In the end,
what separates a man from a slave? Money, Power? No. A man chooses. A slave obeys. You think
you have memories. A farm. A family. An airplane. A crash. And then this place. Was there really a
family? Did that airplane crash, or was it hijacked? Forced down. Forced down by something less
than a man. Something bred to sleepwalk through life until they are activated by a simple phrase,
spoken by their kindly master. Was a man sent to kill? Or a slave? A man chooses, a slave obeys.
Come in. Stop, would you kindly? Would you kindly. Powerful phrase. Familiar phrase? Sit, would
you kindly. Stand, would you kindly. Run. Stop! Turn. A man chooses. A slave obeys. Kill. A man
chooses. A slave obeys. OBEY. (Bioshock, encounter with Ryan)

Now, Jack has killed Ryan having had no choice due to the fact that Atlas using the ‘would
you kindly’ phrase triggered this objective.

In the end, the narrative situation can be either be seen as extradiegetic or

intradiegetic, when Dr. Tenenbaum narrates one of the three possible endings of the game
presented via cut scene. In the following I will present the ‘good’ ending.

They offered you the city…and you refused it. And what did you do instead? What I have come to
expect of you. You saved them. [the little sisters] You gave them the one thing that was stolen from
them. A chance. A chance to learn. To find love. To live. And in the end what was your reward?
You never said. But I think I know… A family. (Bioshock, epilogue)

Supporting the claim of an intradiegetic first-person narrator is the fact that Dr.
Tenenbaum is a character in the story world just as Atlas or Andrew Ryan. Moreover, in
this passage she directly addresses you, the player. On the other hand, supporting the claim
of a first-person narrator on the extradiegetic level is the fact that by narrating the final cut
scene of the game via voice over, Dr. Tenenbaum somehow closes the narrative frame
Jack, the first-person narrator on the extradiegetic level, has opened. She not only
addresses the player directly, but also gives a glimpse of Jack’s future.

Another possibility of examining Bioshock’s intradiegetic narration level is by

means of second-person narration (cf. Neumann 88). All the NPCs talk to you by means of
the ‘simulated dialogue’ frequently using the pronoun ‘you’, referring to Jack and the
player, respectively.

A further example of hybrid narration between first-person and figural-narrative

situation can be found in Infamous for the PS3. Here, by contrast to Bioshock, Cole, the
   35  

first-person narrator and main character of the game, connects the various gameplay
sections of the game by means of a voice over narration commenting the events of the
game during cut scenes in form of static images. Moreover, the two narrative situations
occur simultaneously, alternating between first and figural narration. What is more, the
game is played from a third-person-perspective (in the visual sense).

While sliding into unconsciousness I could somehow, I don’t know…hear the voices of the dying.
Thousands crushed by failing buildings, or burned alive in the fires. Trish lost her sister. Almost lost
me. Zeke was always there, somehow sure that I’d wake up. While outside, the city fell apart. A
plague struck. Followed by rioting. Theft. Rapes. Civilization committing suicide. In a bullshit
attempt to contain the biological threat, the federal government locked down all access in and out of
the city. Now we’re stuck in this cage with the psychos. Cops are all but gone off the streets. Either
dead or to chickenshit to stand against the gangs that control things now. Outside, things were bad…
but inside – inside me – something was beginning. Scary as hell at first. Gotta understand there was
no one to talk, no experts to consult. But with time I’m learning to control it. Master it. Just hope it’s
not too late… (Infamous).

Meanwhile, during gameplay, story is communicated by means of dialogue between Cole

and other characters or NPCs in the game. An example of such is a conversation between
Cole and his companion, Zeke.

Cole: I thought you were going to watch TV? Zeke: Batteries are dead again…you mind puttin’ on
the freak show? Cole: Sure. Glad it’s good for something. Zeke: Probably need to charge ‘em all –
TV’s a hog (Infamous).

Now, while Cole, manoeuvred by the player, starts injecting the generator with electricity,
Zeke comments on his actions: “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” and “Nice job man, boob
tube’s workin (Infamous)! In these dialogue sections, the narrative situation thus shifts
towards a figural-narrative situation. According to Stanzel, with the increase of dialogue,
the authorial narrative situation shifts towards figural narration (cf. Stanzel 244). In
Infamous conversely, the narrative situation shifts from first-person narrative situation
towards the figural. In short, figural and first-person narration alternate, thus formulating a
hybrid form of narration. Cole, the first-person narrator has his narrative passages during
cut scenes. In dialogue passages, between Cole and other NPCs, the narrative situation
tends towards a figural one. The focus however remains on the figural-narrative situation
as dialogue occurs more frequently than voice over first-person narration.

A last, and to video games special, narrative situation I want to present is depicted
in Remedy’s Alan Wake. The clue in this case is that voice over narration occurs in both,
cut scenes and during gameplay, a form of narration not widely spread among video
games. To my mind, this however adds considerably to the atmosphere and demonstrates a
perfect match for a horror story written and experienced at the same time by a writer
   36  

named Alan Wake. The game begins with a cut scene and the following voice over
narration.

Stephan King once wrote that ‘Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in
explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.’ In a horror story, the victim keeps asking
‘why?’ But there can be no explanation, and there shouldn’t be one. The unanswered mystery is
what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we we’ll remember in the end. My name is Alan Wake.
I’m a writer. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, but this dream unsettled me. It was wild and dark
and weird even by my standards. So yes, it began with a dream. Following a typical nightmare
pattern, I was late, desperately trying to reach my destination – a lighthouse – for some urgent
reason I couldn’t remember. I’d been driving too fast down a coastal road to get there. I’d seen the
hitchhiker too late. He was dead. I was convinced they’d put me in jail, and I would never see Alice
again. Suddenly, his body was gone. I was in shock from the crash. I could hardly stay on my feet
(Alan Wake, prologue)

Narrating the prologue, Alan Wake impersonates a narrating-I accompanying his

experiencing-I and thus, the player through his adventure. Here, though having some kind
of identification with the PC and often dialogue with NPCs, I would settle the narrative
situation as well in between first-person and figural narration, with a heavy focus on
former nevertheless. In Alan Wake the narrating-I frequently comments on things and
perceptions you and your PC experience in the course the story. In the following
quotations there are some examples of voice over narration during gameplay. Examining
the car from the crash the narrating-I mentions: “The radiator had broken when I’d hit the
hitchhiker. The car wasn’t going anywhere.” (Alan Wake, Chapter 1: Nightmare) In the
immediate aftermath, while walking along a mountain road he again comments: “I had to
go to the lighthouse. I knew there was something important waiting for me there.” (Alan
Wake, Chapter 1: Nightmare) These sort of commentaries appear frequently throughout
the entire game.

Another interesting example of narration in Alan Wake are several manuscript

pages mysteriously found during the course of the adventure. These seem to be pages from
a book, titled ‘Departure,’ the narrating-I has written and which events the player and his
PC are now about to replay. When found, the pages can be read by the player on screen
and are narrated by Alan simultaneously. In the following, I will present two of said
manuscript pages that left me impressed.

I stepped into the gas station’s garage. It was dark and quiet. The place was a mess. It looked like
someone trashed the place, or that there’d been some kind of fight. Light spilled into the room
through an open door at the back, and I made my way toward it. Without any warning, I was blinded
by a bright light. An old portable TV on the shelf had come alive by itself. Impossibly, I could see
myself on the screen, talking like a madman. (Alan Wake, Manuscript page: TV in the Gas Station,
Episode 1: Nightmare)
   37  

This manuscript page, found quite early in the game, depicts and forebodes the gas station
event, which is about to happen. A little later in the game, it is the player who actually
enters said gas station and experiences exactly the same event the manuscript page
foretold. During this incident, the narrating-I comments the situation: “The garage was a
mess. It looked like someone had trashed the place, or that there’d been some kind of
fight.” (Alan Wake, Episode 1: Nightmare) The following manuscript page foretells
another impressive event.

The air in the vistor center was heavy with an awful smell, as if some rotten drowned thing had
crawled up from its grave. Rusty kept coughing blood. My eyes were drawn to the twisted shape of
his broken leg. The attack had been vicious. Max whined in his cage. Rusty’s eyes were wild with
fever and terror. He gasped: ‘Mr. Wake, it happened just the way it was on that page.’ (Alan Wake,
Manuscript page: Rusty Dying, Episode Two: Taken)

Again, the event will happen exactly how it is depicted on the manuscript page found
beforehand.

To sum up, it is my firm belief that Alan Wake is the best example of a video game
making use of voice over narration during both cut scenes and, most importantly,
gameplay. By commenting on the events you, the player, is about to experience or
experiences right now, narration in this sense adds considerably to the drama. Moreover,
manuscript pages depict a form of foreshadowing which is very impressive and fun to
experience when finally playing out the events as foretold earlier.

5.2.Who sees? Who experiences? Perspective in Video Games.

In video games, choosing a certain perspective is mainly a question of design and genre.
Playing a football game like FIFA 11 is certainly much more fun when presented in a TV
broadcasting style perspective giving the player a clear view on the action. Similarly, real
time strategy games (RTS) like Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars are dependent
on clear and far away views of the scene allowing players to act and place their troupes
strategically. Furthermore, in the early days of video games, perspective was naturally
confined due to technical limitations. 3D space was not possible and games mostly used a
2D side-scrolling perspective as in the Super Mario Bros. games on the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES). Today, it seems that this side-scrolling perspective
experiences a triumphant revival due to commercially very successful games like New
Super Mario Bros. Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, or many Xbox Live Arcade
(XBLA), Playstation Network (PSN) or I-Phone games. Moreover, not being able to
   38  

simulate 3D graphics in the old days, developers had to try other perspectives appropriate
for action-adventure titles like The Legend of Zelda, using a sort of top down perspective.
Another popular genre is the one of puzzle games. The maybe best known puzzle game of
all time is Tetris with its countless iterations.

Figure 1: Fifa 11, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, The Legend of Zelda, Tetris DS, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

Figure 1 shows said five games and the perspective each of them uses. In these cases,
perspective focuses on the action and not on a character’s point of view, with Tetris even
lacking a concrete character. In puzzle games like Tetris DS you mostly see the entire
game world on just one screen, thus in some sense corresponding to Genette’s zero-
focalization (cf. Genette 134) as the player experiences a rather omniscient point of view
on the action. Britta Neitzel calls this “the objective point of view” (Neitzel 238). In the
other cases however, this omniscience seems to be partial due to the fact that only a part of
the game world is depicted. As such, one could maybe speak of ‘partial omniscience’
ranging into the realms of external focalization (cf. Genette 135) already. Moreover, it
must be noticed that whereas in literature, Genette’s definition of zero focalization
describes a narrator’s omniscient point of view, (cf. Fludernik 49) this omniscient or semi-
omniscient perspective in video games rather constitutes what view or vista the player has
on the depicted world, in some cases looking godlike from above. To sum up, whereas in
Tetris DS and to some extent in Fifa 11 as well, zero-focalization is best realised, the other
games formulate a transition to external focalization.
   39  

In modern video games, there are two predominant perspectives from which the
action is seen: First-person and third-person perspective. Analysing these two perspectives
from a sheer visual standpoint seems to be quite simple.

Figure 2: Third-person perspective in Alan Wake

Figure 3: First-person perspective in Bioshock. Left picture: showing a

splicer. Right picture: Showing a big daddy and a little sister.

Third-person perspective in video games depicts the hero, or heroes of the game from an
outside perspective, thus corresponding with Genette’s external focalization (cf. Genette
135) or “semisubjective” (Neitzel 238) point of view. First-person perspective, on the other
hand, shows the events happening in the game through the eyes of the central hero or
heroes. As such, this perspective forms the ideal example of Genette’s internal focalization
(cf. Genette 134ff). Neitzel calls this form “subjective perspective” (Neitzel 238). In some
instances, it is also possible to switch back and forth between the two. In the Legend of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Metroid: Other M, which are mainly played from a third-person
perspective, it is possible to switch from third- to first-person view by the press of a button.
Here, being able to use first person perspective allows for a better view of specific areas in
the game. In these two cases however, movement during first-person view is not possible.
In Fallout 3, on the other hand, players are able to experience the entire game in either first
or third person perspective, including movement. Another example of changing
perspective is the racing genre. Here, there are mostly several perspectives to be chosen
   40  

from. These include external views of the car from several distances, cockpit perspective,
and what may be called ‘front light’ perspective, viewing nothing but the track itself.
Figures 2 and 3 show examples of third- and first person perspective.

Complication begins when analysing internal and particularly external focalization

from a more literary standpoint as originally intended by Genette. But let’s start discussing
this issue from a different point of view. Focalization in video games is always related to
the degree to which the player identifies with his player-character. Being able to
experience the game and to immerse into it may, to a certain extent, intermingle perception
and thus, focalization between the player and his PC. This is further reinforced by the fact
that people tend to use the pronoun ‘I’ when talking about what they have achieved in a
game (cf. Soulban 62). Instead of saying something like: ‘Jack has defeated Atlas in an
epic battle and thus saved the little sisters,’ a gamer would rather express himself
something like this: ‘I finally finished the game beating the crap out of Atlas and saved the
little sisters because I preferred to play as a hero rather than a villain.’ However, Steve Ince
mentions:

The point of view of the player is always different from that of a player, even in games where this
difference is minimised as much as possible. A player, no matter how good the immersive
experience, is always aware that he sits in front o a screen using some kind of interface device. The
character always inhabits the game world (Ince 65).

Taking this into account, experiencing a game in third-person perspective can to

some degree be compared to Genette’s external focalization (cf. Genette 135). To begin
with, there are several aspects that support external focalization in third-person games. As
already mentioned, you look at your PC from an outside, external perspective and mostly
don’t have any insights into the character’s mind. In Alan Wake for instance, though being
quite similar what PC and player perceive, focalization cannot be internal, as in Bioshock,
but rather external. This is mainly due to the fact that the game is played from a third-
person perspective and players do never exactly see the same things their PC does. They
do not see the events through the eyes of a PC. For example, there are some instances
where the PC looks at a certain object highlighting it for the player, whereas the player
looks into a slightly different direction but then, may change camera in such a way that he
looks at the same, by the PC highlighted, object. As such, players rather see ‘with’
(cf. Neitzel 238) and ‘around’ the PC, by means of an invisible camera which can be
rotated 360 degrees around the PC. Moreover, whereas it seems that even in games with
third-person perspective, gamers tend to identify with the main protagonist, this kind of
   41  

immersion is better achieved in a first person view, being able to see the action through the
PC’s eyes. On the other hand, there are aspects in games using a third-person perspective
that may shift focalization towards the internal one. First of all, there is some kind of
identification with the character, thus intermingling perception between the PC and the
player to a certain extent. Consequently, despite the outside perspective you have on the
PC, there is the sensation that you experience the adventure with him, via both his and
your own perspective. Secondly, the PC’s thoughts are apparent in some instances. This
may either occur in cut scenes with a voice over first-person narration as in Infamous, or in
interjections made by the PC himself. This shift form external to internal focalization is
most apparent in interior monologue. In Heavy Rain, for instance, interior monologue is
heavily used throughout the entire game to remind the player what to do next and to
indulge into the characters’ minds showing their feelings and thoughts.

Conversely, games with a first-person perspective aim to put the player directly
into the player-character’s scull. Elaborating First-Person shooters, Lucien Soulban comes
to the interesting conclusion:

There is no distinction between what someone accomplishes as a character and as a player. While it
is true of all styles of videogames, FPSs are the only genre where you and the character are
‘virtually synonymous’. And in many ways, you aren’t in the character’s head so much as the
character is you. This creates an interesting situation for writers since developers seem to
deliberately strip the character of personality and voice. Nothing gets the player more in the head of
the character (physically) like a FPS; thus, developers are worried about alienating the player by
having the character act in a away the player disapproves of (Soulban 62).

This creates a very interesting situation. Since these so-called silent–player characters for
example Gordon Freeman in Half Life or Jack in Bioshock, seem to lack personality, do not
think, speak or express themselves somehow, the game creates the illusion that you
yourself are the player-character experiencing the story first hand. As a result, it are the
player’s own thoughts and perceptions which make games in a first-person perspective
with silent-player-characters a form of interior focalization novels are not able to achieve.
Players experience a story more directly via their own, personal perceptions, feelings and
thoughts making this form of internal focalization more direct than in literature. After all,
it’s a visual experience you immerse into. Nonetheless, this also depends on the quality of
the game. If the game is bad and no immersion is achieved, no identification with the
character is possible. Further, if players are not willing to let themselves immerse into a
game, none of this internal focalization may be achieved. Additionally, this kind of ideal
example of internal focalization is only achieved in games with first-person perspective
   42  

when the main character constitutes a silent-player character. Indeed, there are many FPSs
like Duke Nukem or The Darkness where this is not the case and the main protagonist is a
fully-fledged character with his own personality, voice and thoughts. This, instead of
creating the illusion that you yourself are the main protagonist rather gives the impression
of diving into a character’s scull, resulting as well in internal focalization which however is
not that complete and ideal as in the case of SPCs.

Taking everything into account, it seems that the questions ‘who speaks,
experiences and sees’ can all be answered. Nevertheless, these answers sometimes go
beyond the realms of narratology. Narration in video games mostly forms a hybrid form of
first-person and figural narration. Owing to the fact that it is mostly the PC and main
protagonist narrating his own story, narrative situation is situated in first-person. During
gameplay, and through use of dialogue or ‘simulated dialogue’, this narrative situation
shifts towards a figural one. This figural-narrative situation in video games however is
more direct because visual. With the player being some kind of reflector figure or
‘experiencer’ it constitutes something new, not existing in this form in narratology.
Answering the question ‘who sees’ seems to be rather vexed and Genette’s theory of
focalization can only be applied to a certain extent. Interpreting perspective from a sheer
visual standpoint seems to be quite simply. Viewing the entire game world on a screen
correspond with Genette’s zero focalization, third-person perspective with external
focalization and first-person perspective with internal focalization. Further, the
‘experiencer’ in video games is always the PC and the player himself. Thus, to determine
focalization from a perceptual point of view highly correlates with the degree of immersion
and identification a player has with the PC and the game. In games with first-person
perspective and SPC internal focalization is ideal. In games with third-person perspective
focalization cannot be clearly allocated. Thus, they form a transition from external to
internal focalization, especially in cases when interior monologue is used.
   43  

6. Purpose of Narrative in Video Games

After having discussed video game discourse, in the previous two chapters, I will now
focus on the purpose of narrative in video games from a game design perspective. Thus, in
this chapter, the questions how narrative can support gameplay and how it helps the player
get his bearings will be answered. Richard Dansky describes the purpose of narrative in
video games as follows:

On the most basic level, narrative strings together the events of the game, providing a framework
and what can alternately be called a justification, a reason, or an excuse for the gameplay
encounters. At its best, narrative pulls the player forward through the experience, creating the desire
to achieve the hero’s goal and, more importantly, see what happens next. At its worst, narrative
merely sets up the situation and turns the player loose to do so as the see fit. It achieves these goals
through three important techniques: immersion, reward, and justification (Dansky 5).

6.1. Immersion

The first technique he discusses is the concept of immersion, which is not to be reduced to
the field of video games only and shall therefore be examined in more detail. “In its most
general sense, immersion refers to any state of absorption in some action, condition, or
interest.” (Schaeffer, Routledge 238) This being said, it is obvious that the term can be
used for various fields including literature, film, personal hobbies, or even the preparation
of an exam in university. In literature however, immersion is being used in a more narrow
way (cf. Schaeffer, Routledge 238). Citing Currie, Schaeffer mentions: “narrative
immersion is a simulative process, more precisely a specific form of the pervasive
phenomenon of mental simulation” (qtd. in Schaeffer, Routledge 238)16. Referring to
Walton he continues, “immersion is induced by props (Walton 1990) or mimetic primers,
which may be verbal, visual, visual-acoustic, or even visual-acoustic-tactile.” (Schaeffer,
Routledge 238) As a consequence, immersion seems to be some kind of fabricated state or
illusion where something is induced in or created by the human brain dependent on the
input however. Besides, what is also of importance to the study of video games is the fact
that “the target domain of narrative immersion is a mentally projected world […]”(qtd. in
Schaeffer, Routledge 238)17 or in the case of video games mentally and visually projected
worlds allowing players to explore them.

                                                                                                               
16  Gregory
Currie and Ian Ravenscroft, Recreative Minds, (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002) n.p.
17JéromeDokic and Joelle Proust (eds), Simulation and Knowledge of Action, (Amsterdam: John
Benjamines 2002) n.p.
   44  

As a result:

Given that adopting the stance of immersion implies being absorbed in the mentally represented
content in such way as to treat it –up to a point- as if it were the actual object or situation, the
process of immersion has often been related to illusion, most famously by Plato (Schaeffer,
Routledge 238).

Here, Schaeffer mentions, that whereas Plato speaks of immersion “as an illusionist device
that fools the senses” (Schaeffer, Routledge 238), Walton believes that

in the course of the immersion process, the reader, spectator, etc. always remains conscious of the
fact that he or she is indulging in a ‘game of make-believe’ (Walton 1990), retaining an awareness
of the distinction between the imagined situation induced by the mimetic primers and his or her real-
world surroundings. (Schaeffer, Routledge 238)

Concerning video games the question whether or not immersion is dangerous is a highly
complicated and debatable issue to be elaborated. For the last decade there has been the
debate whether or not video games are the cause for crime, homicide and especially school
shootings. Whereas some argue (including myself) that one can separate video game
fiction from reality, others however maintain that in some people’s minds the border
between fiction and reality may blur, thus resulting in these terrible acts of crimes. To
answer this question however would blast the scope of this work enormously. To my mind,
every lucid person should be able to separate between the fiction of a game and reality.
Nevertheless, it might occur that violent video games add up to a yet unstable mind,
primarily caused by other significant problems, to become a more violent person.
However, I will not follow Plato’s opinion of immersion as a dangerous device, but instead
of a measure to let the player be absorbed by a fictional world in a good sense.18

Additionally, immersion seems to be similar to the concept of ‘flow’ coined by

Csikszentmihalyi (cf. Dansky 5) that describes a state of mind in which a person is
completely immersed in some kind of activity and hence flourishes in his work. Moreover,
‘flow’ is seen as the highest form of intrinsic learning, where somebody does a certain
work or task only out of interest and not because he or she is being forced to do so, or in
order to achieve specific goals he or she wants or has to fulfil. The interest lies in the
spectrum of the object, topic, etc. itself only (cf. Wild 216f). Achieving this sense of
immersion into a game is what developers should strive for.

                                                                                                               
18  Further
reference: see Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano, Stop Teaching Out Kids To Kill: A Call To
Action Against TV, Movie & Video Game Violence, (New York: Member of the Crown Publishing Group
1999)
   45  

Pertaining to video games, immersion is highly dependent on how believable a

game world is (cf. Dansky 5). Believable in this case however shall rather refer to how
complete and believable a game world is in itself and not to our real world we live in. In
this sense, Dansky illustrates the term of immersion as follows:

The important thing is, when players are immersed in a game, the real world ceases to exist, and the
game world becomes their reality. Narrative provides context for games, and a sufficiently
believable context provides immersion (Dansky 5).

Thus, immersion is achieved when a game world, be it fictional or not, has no significant
glitches and lets the player believe in its mechanics, meaning by giving a justification of
why things are the way they are (cf. Dansky 5). The First-Person-Shooter Bioshock from
Irrational Games clearly illustrates an example of a game where successful immersion has
been achieved. Being thrown in medias res into the story, Jack, the protagonist of the
game, represented by the player, has to explore a remote underwater dystopia where
something has obviously gone completely wrong. The world is presented in such a way
that despite the player knowing of its fiction, it nonetheless seems believable and thus
allows for immersion into it. Shortly after the plane crash in the middle of the ocean the
player encounters a tower at the bottom of which he enters a bathysphere. During a cut
scene the protagonist is transported by this device to the underwater city of Rapture
presented in such intriguing and fascinating way that players urge to discover and roam the
city and want to know what has happened before and how the story resolves. The way
Bioshock ropes players into its fiction is hard to describe if not seen by oneself, but once
having experienced the game one should exactly know what I mean.

Another intriguing and, most of all, believable fictional world is depicted in

Bethesda’s Fallout 3, a post apocalyptic RPG. After two hours of initial tutorial in Vault
101, the player’s home until he reaches the age of 18, he finally gets to escape this
confined world he has been living in and experiences a jaw-dropping vista when stepping
out of the vault into the Wasteland. Not only is it the curiosity players gain from stories
they heard about the Wasteland after two hours of gameplay in the Vault that make the
entering of the said so exciting, but also how the first steps are presented. Dazzled by the
first shafts of sunlight your PC gets to see in his whole life, the Wasteland presents itself in
its entire vastness and aridity what makes such a scenario highly believable. When playing
Fallout 3 one could imagine this world being true and not pure fiction owing to the fact
that nuclear war has struck and devastated most of the earth. Moreover, what adds
   46  

considerably to this post apocalyptic setting is the believability of its inhabitants split up
into the most different tribes, guilds and military groups all with their own faiths and
agendas. These range from the Brotherhood of Steal, being a strong military force, to the
normal inhabitants of Megaton, to people of tiny villages trying to survive attacks from
Super Mutants, to remote Raiders availing every opportunity to rob each and every person
in the Wasteland, to the unwelcomed Gouls, a race heavily deformed by radiation
poisoning and many more. When playing Fallout 3 I was most impressed by Rivet City, an
entire city situated inside an old and enormous cruiser, with shops, cabins, and even an
own laboratory. On the outside, heavily armed strike forces to ensure the safety of its
inhabitants and avoid having unwelcomed guests guard the city. To my mind this is exactly
what makes Fallout 3 so special and unique, namely the diversity of its locations and
characters with all their different agendas and attitudes trying to survive somehow in this
corrupt and bleak wasteland. Even though not all of these characters are part of the main
story, they considerably add to the overall experience by giving additional information
about the world and showing personal faiths and problems of the inhabitants. No to
mention, this fictional world allows for true immersion into it due to the fact of its high
believability. As such, Fallout 3 formulates a refreshing example of how immersion can be
achieved. To conclude, all the input (the props and mimetic primers) (cf. Schaeffer,
Routledge 238) you get from a game support the process of immersion. This input however
needs to be cleverly executed (as in Bioshock or Fallout 3 for instance) and must not have
major glitches in design, gameplay, presentation or believability of the game world. As a
result, all of this adds up to a comprehensive, believable and most importantly fun
experience letting the player become immersed into the world of the game. Needless to
say, the game should be fun to play due to the fact that this drastically supports the sense of
immersion a player feels.

Elaborating believability in video games, Dansky stresses the fact that first-person-
shooters are essentially equal. They include moving a targeting reticule, visibly or not on
screen, button pressing and shooting enemies (cf. Dansky 5). This entire he calls “the
center of the gameplay” (Dansky 5). However, he states, the genre has seen various types
of FPSs, which lies

partly in the differences in game mechanics but also in their significantly distinct narrative content.
The story provides a way to believe in those mechanics and to give the player a reason to accept the
need to perform them (Dansky 5).
   47  

Basically, story gives players a justification why they are doing certain things like shooting
enemies etc. According to Dansky, the narrative in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon pictures the
player’s enemies as Russian extremists who are about to harm Eastern Europe and
therefore gives reason and justification for shooting them (cf. Dansky 5). Additionally, he
argues that the “narrative contextualizes the situation and the players objectives” (Dansky
6) meaning that certain commands like “move and shoot” (Dansky 6) become “secure the
downed aircraft” (Dansky 6) etc. Consequently, players are more closely linked to the
fiction what allows for more immersion into the game (cf. Dansky 6).

Taking everything into account it seems that “immersion is arguably the ultimate
goal of videogames” (Dansky 16). Without being immersed into a game and its world the
narrative would not fulfil its purpose and consequently the game could be considered of
minor quality. Most importantly, a well-executed game allows players to immerse into its
fiction evoking the urge to keep on playing while feverishly anticipating what may happen
next and how the story resolves. Besides, memorable game worlds like the ones in the
Legend of Zelda, Half-Life, Bioshock or Fallout 3 for example, will stay in players’ heads
for a very long time evoking the urge for sequels that satisfy gamers’ craving to step again
into these fictional worlds.

6.2. Narrative Reward

Another major purpose of narrative is to reward the player for accomplishing certain tasks
during the procedure of play. Here, chunks of the story are revealed gradually mostly by
means of cut scenes (cf. Dansky 6). Linear action games like God of War 3, Uncharted 2
or Army of Two: The 40th Day mostly use this kind of narrative reward technique. After
having faced major battles or events, cut scenes are triggered which continue to tell the
story of the game. As Dansky puts it:

They [the cut scenes] are rewards, pure and simple, each chapter ending with a cliff-hanger that
exists to pull the player forward through gameplay to the next one. In principle, these cliff-hangers
drive players to want to know what happens next and thus motivate them to continue to persevere
with the game (Dansky 6).

As mentioned before in chapter 4, cut scenes should be seen as pure rewards or measures
of pacing and not primarily as a device to spin the yarn.
   48  

6.3. Identification and Justification

One major criticism of video game storytelling is the fact that story mostly seems to be a
justification for gameplay only. Many video game stories seem to be tucked around the
back of gameplay as an afterthought. In these cases, story is often exclusively told via cut
scenes, which seem to connect the various gameplay events and as such string together
some sort of plot. On the other hand though, justification is needed on a basic level to
situate the player in the game’s world and to explain its mechanics to him (cf. Dansky
5ff.). According to Dansky identification

lays everything out for the player, telling him what’s what, who’s who, and what the state of the
world around him is. By doing so, it gives the players context for their actions, and this in turn
provides justification for game actions […] (Dansky 6).

Yet another consideration is that by means of identification, players connect more

closely to the player character meaning “the sense of kinship and desire to become the
central character” (Dansky 7). It is surely a fact that when feeling closely connected to the
main character and hence reaching a higher level of identification, players will become
more immersed into the game.

6.4. Breadcrumbing and Funneling

In addition to this, other major functions of game narrative are breadcrumbing and
funneling. Before explaining these two concepts it is necessary two explain another pair of
terms: the ‘spine of the game’ and ‘the golden path’. The spine of the game consists of all
obligatory events to finish a game (cf. Bateman 87) whereas the golden path designates the
path of “least resistance and maximum reward” (Bateman 87) meaning the optimal way to
finish a video game (cf. Bateman 87). As such, the spine of the game can be compared to
kernel events, which are mandatory (cf. Chatman 53).

If those events do not happen, the story will not progress. The game may feature any number of
side-plots or optional activities that are not involved in completing the game or its story, and these
cannot be (by definition) considered part of the game’s spine. The spine therefore also specifies
those elements of the story that the player is guaranteed to experience (Dansky 87).

For instance, if players are not able to defeat certain waves of enemies, find a switch to
open some sort of gate, or on a very basic level, do not step into the next area triggering a
narrative event, the story and the game will not continue. Moreover, it may be added that
mostly the main story is equivalent to the game’s spine. When creating expensive cut
scenes developers want to ensure that players will see them thus placing them as kernel
   49  

events in the main story (cf. Bateman 87). However, caution is needed when forcing
players to listen to some obligatory story segments. A bad example of such formulates
Army of Two: The 40th Day. While hearing story segments from a Chinese guy on a
television screen a door that would allow proceeding remains closed thus forcing the
player to hear the guy out. Only then the closed door opens and players are allowed to
succeed. As a matter of fact the story in Army of Two isn’t quite jaw-dropping and it
annoys players not being able to skip these segments to continue fighting their ways
through the remains of the bombed and devastated Shanghai. Normally, such pacing to
alternate between tense action scenes and calm ones to tell the story is very appreciated,
however not in the case of such story boredom as in Army of Two. As such Army of Two:
The 40th Day formulates a bad example of developers wanting players to hear certain story
events.

On the other hand, the golden path though being essentially the same as the game
spine may include some satellite events (cf. Chatman 55) that give players advantages in
completing the game (cf. Bateman 87f.). This might be as simple as accomplishing an
optional quest giving the player some sort of advantage to tackle the obstacle at hand.
However, it is not needed in order to finish the game but rather facilitates it (cf. Bateman
88). When comparing both the golden and the spine path Bateman notices:

The spine should be laid out in clear and certain terms, to ensure that all players can find it and
therefore complete the game, but the signs and clues for the golden path can be slightly more
concealed to allow for a greater sense of achievement when it is found (Bateman 89).

Dividing a game into these possible routes makes it accessible to a broader audience (cf.
Bateman 89). Whereas casual gamers or those who just want to rush through the game are
able to follow the game’s spine, hardcore gamers and those who want to see every last bit
are able to take certain crossroads but nevertheless will be able to return to the spine at
every time. As such, it is vital to give the player certain hints to stay on this route (cf.
Bateman 89.f).

Breadcrumbing can be one of these measures to assure that players will stay on the
golden path or at least on the game’s spine thus being able to finish the game without being
let completely loose (cf. Bateman 89f.). Bateman mentions two functions of
breadcrumbing: Firstly, guiding the player through a game by given him clues and
information and secondly, providing narrative justification why he does certain tasks (cf.
Bateman 89f.). Moreover, he argues that the most common method of breadcrumbing is by
   50  

means of dialogue. “This dialogue may be with a specific, single character (and may be
monologue, especially if the character is a narrator), or it may be with different characters,
depending upon the nature of the game and of the story” (Bateman 91). An example of
such can be as simple as in the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. When talking to his
grandmother the young Link is asked to search his sister so she would not be late for his
birthday party. Later, she gets kidnapped and Link heads out on an epic journey to safe her.
As such, the narrative not only gives a simple justification for the events in the game but
also a believable one given the relation Link has to his family (cf. Bateman 92f.).
Nowadays, breadcrumbing has become of essential importance due to the fact that more
and more casual games allow for immediate and easy to pick up gameplay. Consequently,
people new to the wide spectrum of video games would be overburdened if not guided
properly through the game. This help can go thus far as executed in New Super Mario
Bros. Wii or Donkey Kong Country Returns where players can by the press of a button
command the game to play difficult sections they are not able to surpass on its own.
However, no additional achievements will be saved if not played by oneself. On the other
hand, some gamers might prefer more freedom and less confinement. One example of
major criticism pertaining this quarrel was Final Fantasy XIII. While past Final Fantasy
games allowed for more exploration and strolling around in cities the 13th instalment of the
series gave up its freedom and interactivity for telling a more dramatic story. As a result,
players were channelled from battle to battle and from cut scene to cut scene on extremely
linear maps. Only about 20 hours in the game players were able to roam certain areas
freely, however no cities or locations could be explored and strolled. To my mind, the
decision for a more linear game and better storytelling ruined the core what Final Fantasy
is about: the illusion of freedom. Even previous Final Fantasy games had an exact spine
and golden path but allowed for more exploration. However, when not following the
game’s spine no major events would happen, thus simulating an illusion of freedom.
Nonetheless, this was considerably more fun than being channelled through linear maps
without the option of roaming an over world.

Funneling, on the other hand, can be described as all the measures to lead the
player back to the golden path or spine of the game if he is lost or hasn’t played the game
for a while (cf. Bateman 95f.). Bateman distinguishes between several funneling
possibilities: Kill zones, funneling narrators or characters, plain and simple mission
objectives and the edges of a game world (Bateman 95ff.). Kill zones display areas that if
   51  

entered lead to the immediate death and are as such considered the worst approach of
funneling (cf. Bateman 96). Instead of leading players through the game it punishes them
when entering certain areas what can become very annoying and frustrating. Thus, the
approach of a narrator, or characters as guidance giving helpers is more appreciated by
gamers (cf. Bateman 96). According to Bateman this

guidance must be provided repeatedly, until the player does what is expected. Such a character may
not be a literal narrator in the sense of the term is used in storytelling but may be a companion
character used for explicit funneling (Bateman 96).

As such, he mentions Navi, the fairy in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Her only
purpose is to help out players when they are not exactly doing what they are supposed to
do (cf. Bateman 96). However Navi, and here I completely agree with Bateman, gets on
the player’s nerves quite rapidly. When not on the spine, she repeatedly reminds the player
what to do next by shouting out in an extremely annoying voice ‘Hey’ (cf. Bateman 96).
Nintendo however, did solve this problem in of the game’s successors. In The Legend of
Zelda: The Wind Waker, players can consult a talking boat, which is their companion
throughout the entire game, at their own will. Consequently, the difference between the
funneling characters in Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker is that in latter players chose the
guidance themselves, whereas Ocarina of Time gave help constantly without asking
permission (cf. Bateman 96). Another form of funneling guidance that can be integrated
into a game is giving players written information by pressing the start button and entering
the pause screen (cf. Bateman 97). Such mission objectives are often found in RPGs like in
Fallout 3 when entering the quest section of your Pip-boy, which is essentially a pause
screen, however integrated into the fiction of the world. Another example of funneling by
means of a pause screen is Goldeneye Wii for the Nintendo Wii. Here players have to fulfil
certain mission objective, the number of which depending on the level of difficulty to
complete the game. For instance: “Infiltrate the lower compound. Find a route from the
lower compound up to the bunker” or “Find the supply crates. Find and open all the supply
crates. (0/5 creates found)” (Goldeneye Wii, Severnaya). As a result, even if haven’t
played the game for months, players immediately can return to the game’s spin and
continue playing. The last important type of funneling happens when players reach the
outer bounds of the game world (cf. Bateman 98). As told before, these can be large Rock
formations as in Red Dead Redemption, oceans which cannot be traversed like in Grand
Theft Auto III or plain and simple walls or other kinds of visible or invisible barriers. In
Wave Race 64, players who escape the racetracks and drive further into the wide ocean are
   52  

impeded by an immediate countdown, which, once reached zero, disqualifies the player at
once. To conclude, it is quite obvious that funneling methods are necessary to help players
remain on the game’s spine and do not travel lose through the game world. As such, they
prevent player frustration and thus formulate an indispensable help.

6.5. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: Prologue

The prologue of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the Playstation 3 illustrates an obvious
example of how narrative can make a game experience more interesting and intriguing thus
adding something of importance to its playability. Without its story, Uncharted 2 would be
nothing more than a mixture of shooting enemies, solving easy puzzles and climbing along
the countryside. Here, the narrative always accompanies you mostly via scripted events,
cinematic cut scenes and character dialogue during both, cut scenes and gameplay. While
playing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves I was most impressed by how the game starts off,
beginning with a cut scene picturing Nathan Drake regaining consciousness while sitting in
a wrecked, burning train hanging upside down a cliff somewhere in the Himalaya
Mountains. The injured Drake, who does obviously not know what’s going on, tries to
escape this hopelessly seaming misery by climbing up the interior of the train. However,
he tackles this enterprise without much success and instead slips and falls down somehow
managing to hold on to the last protective grating and thus saving himself from falling off
the cliff. This is where the player takes control of Drake attempting to climb up the train to
safety. After this brief but tense climbing tutorial, freshened up by a serious of scripted
events like falling rocks and breaking edges, Drake manages to escape this birdcage with a
hearty jump before the train finally falls off the cliff and bursts into pieces. Drake, injured
and exhausted, lies down on the ground. After this event another cut scene is triggered
picturing a flashback explaining how Drake got into this mess. Sitting in a beach bar and
having a drink, an old friend of Nathan, Harry Flint, and a to Drake yet unknown woman
by the name of Chloe Frazer join him offering a job to break into a Turkish museum in
order to acquire an ancient oil lamp. His client, Harry explains, is willing to pay a large
amount of cash to both of them when succeeding in finding it. While, at first, Drake
refuses to join them on the job he eventually changes his mind and gets curious when
Harry goes into further detail and hands over a small piece of writing by Marco Polo.
Apparently, Marco Polo left China long time ago with a fleet of 14 ships loaded with the
treasure of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Kahn but reached Russia with only one ship
left. Therefore, they assume the entire treasure still to be found somewhere out in the ocean
   53  

and the lamp, being covered in Mongolian script, to contain vital information on the exact
location of said treasure. After acquiring this info, Harry asks Drake whether he’s in now
or not with Drake responding: “What the hell. What could possibly go wrong?” (Uncharted
2: Among Thieves, Prologue) Here, the cut scenes ends shifting back to the present and the
next picture the player gets is seeing Nathan Drake lying half dead on the cliff edge in the
Himalayan Mountains where he barely managed to escape the train wreck. To my mind,
this flashback ending with said sentence and then seeing Drake lying half dead on a cliff
has a very intense and formative impression on players or, at least, can arouse laughter.
Again, the player regains control of Nathan making his way through the remainders of the
other half of the train accompanied by a brief shooting tutorial mixed up by comments of
Nathan himself. When finding a door sealed by a chain lock for example Drake talks to
himself: “Of course it’s locked…It’s always locked” (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,
Chapter 1). Thus, instead of just blending in some kind of phrase like, ‘shoot the lock to
proceed’, the narrative soliloquy has the function to help the player find his bearing in a
more cleverly executed manner thus creating more believability and immersion. These
little soliloquies, sometimes even funny, continue throughout the entire game freshening
up gameplay. Moreover, Drake also talks during gameplay sequences to his companions
making jokes, commenting the situation or revealing chunks of information related to the
story. All of this allows for a more believable storytelling than just in form of cut scenes
and helps keeping the players on track. However, due to the nature of Uncharted 2 being a
very linear game not much breadcrumbing is needed after all. After this chunk of gameplay
and a scripted event in which an explosion strikes down Drake leaving him unconscious
again, another flashback in form of a cut scene is triggered displaying the events shortly
before the heist. Afterwards, the game again shifts back to the Himalaya Mountains with
Drake regaining consciousness one more time and the player taking over control. To put it
clearly, this sort of prologue would not be possible if it weren’t for the cleverly applied
storytelling in Uncharted 2 mixing up gameplay and story. As such, this prologue clearly
illustrates an example showing what impact good storytelling can have on the experience
one has while playing a game. Without story, Nathan would just shoot enemies in an
unknown location for no good reason. Consequently, the narrative in Uncharted 2: Among
Thieves, besides telling the story, situates the player inside the game world, gives the
premise of the forthcoming adventure, explains vital mechanics like shooting, climbing,
etc., introduces the main characters, drives the player forward by means of an cinematic
presentation and creating suspense via flashbacks and, most importantly, cleverly shifts
   54  

between gameplay and storytelling, at times even mixing both, to create a compelling
experience where players cannot lay hands off their controller until the final credits screen.

Taking everything into account, I therefore feel that the purpose of game narrative
should not only be to situate the player into the world of the game but to accompany him
throughout the game giving advice and intensify the gameplay experience. Needless to say,
not every game genre is dependent on story, however action games, RPGs and adventure
games are. In my opinion, a game experience is much more intensified if players get the
sensation of actively contributing something to the realisation of the story. Suspense is
build up and players are keen on seeing what happens next. Moreover, narrative adds up to
the feeling of a more cinematic and dramatic kind of experience like seen in Uncharted 2:
Among Thieves, what in return, makes the game considerably more fun to play.

7. From Linear to Interactive Story

To whom does it no occur sometimes when reading a good novel, let’s say a detective
novel, that one imagines a different ending, several outcomes of specific events or future
ones being slightly altered because of what you did before. And, most importantly, what
are the effects on the story? What if the hero hadn’t shoot the murderer right before he was
about to kill yet another innocent victim? What if the hero died during the course of the
novel? Would it end? Would someone else try to solve the crime? What ‘if’…? This ‘if’
obviously fabricates a myriad of possible choices and outcomes imaginable to a story.
Nevertheless, a book or film mostly offer just one ending and all the outcomes of the
events are already predetermined leaving other possibilities up to the reader’s or viewer’s
imagination only. But what if one could change a story and thus create one’s own, unique
story? When comparing video games to other forms of media Dansky emphasizes: “Games
are the not the writers’ story; they are the players’ stories” (Dansky 8). As such, it is the
player who shall rather be called producer of a story than mere consumer. Comparatively,
Roland Barthes once wrote:

Why is the writerly our value? Because the goal of literary work (of literature as work) is to make
the reader no longer a consumer, but a producer of the text. Our literature is characterized by the
pitiless divorce which the literary institution maintains between the producer of the text and its user,
between its owners and its consumers, between its author and its reader. This reader is thereby
plunged into a kind of idleness – he is intransitive; he is in short, serious: instead of functioning
himself, instead of gaining access to the magic of the signifier, to the pleasure of writing, he is left
with no more than the poor freedom either to accept or to reject the text: reading is nothing more
than a referendum. Opposite the writerly text, then is its countervalue, its negative, reactive value:
what can be read, but not written: the readerly. We call any readerly text a classic text. (Barthes 4)
   55  

Instead of consuming literature passively, Barthes invites readers to actively participate in

the text and to “produce a ‘plurality’ of meanings” (Bensmaia, Routledge 484) while “ […]
unravelling the hidden *codes inscribed in any given text, […] (Bensmaia, Routledge 484)
In video games, players are invited to actively participate in the game. They need to think
in order to solve certain problems and move forward the game, they need to react and use
their senses while manoeuvring their player-character through the game’s world and
finally, they need to make certain choices not only in gameplay, but sometimes as well in
story matters. It is true to say that video games are all about choice and allow participating
in the game and in some cases altering its story. However, whereas real life offers
thousands of doors every day, video games, for the time being, can offer only a far more
narrow number of choices, due to technical limitations. Nevertheless, choice does exist.
Consequently, this chapter will examine how much influence players really do have on a
game’s story, how much they truly are producers rather than mere consumers and as such
are able to create their own vivid story. For this purpose, I will look at first into literary
theory in point 7.1 and later, apply these theories on video games in part 7.2 commenting
on all the quotes as well.

7.1. Literary Theory

Before being able to dissect a game’s story, it is necessary to look further into key terms
like story, plot, literary theories of possible worlds, event, action and agency. By clearly
defining these terms, it facilitates to tell whether or not a game’s story may be interactive
or not. Further, they help to understand if players can really create their own vivid story by
playing a game.

7.1.1 Story and Plot

In literature, the distinction between story and plot seems to be as essential as the one
between story and discourse. Whereas in normal life people tend to intermingle those two
terms, (cf. Abbott, Story 43) narratologists conversely strictly delimit story and plot, and
that for a good reason. To Chatman, story seems to be situated at some “abstract level […]
quite separate from any particular kind of manifestation” (Chatman 44). Here, story seems
to be a mere agglomeration of events that give sense only by connecting them in our head
(cf. Chatman 46). For instance, let’s take a look at a very short story summary of God of
War 3. (1) Kratos and the Titans climb up mount Olympus. (2) He kills Poseidon. (3) Then
he kills Hades in the Underworld. (4) He kills many more enemies. (5) Finally, he kills
   56  

Zeus (cf. Chatman 43). Besides noticing that Kratos seems to be on a killing spree the lack
of causality immediately comes to mind. This is where the abstract level of story is turned
into plot (cf. Chatman 43ff.). According to Abbott, in one of its usages “plot is understood
as a type of story – as in E.M. Forster’s use of plot to indicate a story that is not merely one
thing after another but events connected by cause.” (Abbott, Story 43) Thus, turning the
abstract level of story into a plot would result in a sentence like this: ‘While seeking
revenge on the gods and especially on Zeus, Kratos together with the Titans climbs mount
Olympus. Due to the fact that he wasn’t able to kill Zeus when reaching its summit, Kratos
has to set out on an epic journey through ancient Greece while fighting various enemies
and gods. In the end he is able to defeat Zeus and claim his revenge.’ Here, the plot adds
causality to the, at first, mere agglomeration of events of the story. However, as Chatman
notices, “the interesting thing is that our minds inveterately seek structure, and they will
provide it if necessary” (Chatman 45). Accordingly, even the chain of events as presented
sentences 1-5 is connected by cause by means of our brain. When trying to connect these
sentences one could imagine that Kratos has some kind of agenda to kill all the gods and
thus, cause is given. Chatman explains this phenomenon as follows:

‘The king died and then the queen died’ [story] and ‘The king died and then the queen died of grief’
[plot] differ narratively only in degrees of explicitness at the surface level; at the deeper structural
level the causal element is present in both. The reader ‘understands’ or supplies it; he infers that the
king’s death is the cause of the queen’s (Chatman 46).

However, a distinction between plot and story is still necessary which is yet emphasized by
another usage of plot.

As a second use of plot Abbot argues that “plot is also used to refer to that
combination of economy and sequencing of events that makes a story a story and not just
raw material,” (Abbott, Story 43) and that “plot in this sense is a device that brings story to
its fullness and authenticity as story.” (Abbott, Story 43) As such, he compares this usage
to Aristotle’s term of ‘muthus’ often called plot, meaning a “fashioned story, shaped with a
beginning, middle, and an end” (Abbott, Story 43). An even more elaborate plot type is
found in Joseph Campbell’s ‘Heroes Journey Model’ where he describes the many steps
(departure, call to adventure, refusal of adventure, threshold demon, etc.) a hero has to take
in order to restore balance.19 This model has found its way not only to movies as in Star

                                                                                                               
19  see Joseph Campbell, Der Heros in Tausend Gestalten (Frankfurt a. M: S. Fischer Verlag, 1953)  
   57  

Wars (cf. Jacobs. 32ff.) but as well to video games found for example in the masterpiece
title The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Further, when describing a third use of plot Abbott compares the theories of
Genette and the Russian Formalists. Both see plot as the rearrangement of story events
(mixing up the chronology of the story) while emphasizing on certain important events and
ignoring others in order to create the most interesting and suspenseful plot (cf. Abbott,
Story 43). Here, Chatman draws an interesting comparison between discourse and the
concept of plot emphasizing that according to this usage of plot, discourse and plot
essentially fulfil the same purpose.

Structuralist narrative theory argues that the arrangement [of incidents] is precisely the operation
performed by discourse. The events in a story are turned into plot by its discourse, the modus of
presentation. The discourse can be manifested in various media, but it has an internal structure
qualitatively different from any one of its possible manifestations. That is, plot, story-as-discoursed,
exists at a more general level than any particular objectification, any given movie, novel or
whatever. Its order of presentation need not be the same as that of the natural logic of the story. Its
function is to emphasize or de-emphasize certain story-events, to interpret some and to leave others
to inference, to show or to tell, to comment or to remain silent, to focus on this or to tell that aspect
of an event or character (Chatman 43).

The author ‘can arrange incidents in a story in a great many ways. He can treat some in detail and
barely mention or even omit others […]. He can observe chronological sequence, he can distort it,
he can use messengers or flashbacks, and so forth. Each arrangement produces a different plot, and a
great many of plots can be made from the same story’ (qtd. in Chatman 43).20

This ability of discourse to rearrange events and thus to create different plots stemming
from the same story is exactly what game developers share with players in some video
games. As such, players are able to control discourse in some instances for example by
choosing the order of quests, necessary to be accomplished, or to even leave out some.
Nonetheless, changes in discourse do not necessarily mean that story is being altered as
many plots can stem from the same story.

Another interesting theory on plot that might be important to discuss the creation of
interactive story is Bremond’s “network of possibilities” (Dannenberg, Routledge 436)
which “considers the role of alternative courses of events as part of plot” (Dannenberg,
Routledge 436). Here, plot comprises “the virtual courses of events which may never
actually occur in the *storyworld.” (Dannenberg, Routledge 436) According to
Dannenberg, even one step further than Bremond goes Ryan by including a theory of
possible worlds (cf. Dannenberg, Routledge 438). “[…] Ryan (1991) proposes
                                                                                                               
20  O.B. Hardison, Jr. “A Commentary on Aristotle’s Poetics,” Aristotle’s Poetics (Englewood Cliffs, 1968),
p.123
   58  

understanding plot as the aggregate of a number of different worlds (domains) represented

in the text: these worlds consist primarily of events projected within the subjected worlds
of characters’ minds […]. (Dannenberg, Routledge 438) When digging deeper, Marie-
Laure Ryan describes ‘possible world theory’ as follows:

The basis of the theory is the set-theoretical idea that reality – the sum of the imaginable – is a
universe composed of a plurality of distinct elements. This universe is hierarchically structured by
the opposition of one well-designated element, which functions as the centre of the system, to all the
other members of the set. […] The central element is commonly interpreted as ‘the actual world’,
and the satellites as merely possible worlds. For a world to be possible it must be linked by a so-
called ‘accessibility relation’. The boundary between possible and impossible worlds depends on the
particular interpretation given to the notion of accessibility. (Ryan, Routledge. 446)

Moreover, she emphasizes:

Both [Todorov and Bremond] insisted on the importance of hypothetical *events for the
understanding of the behaviour of *characters. Every intent-driven *action, for instance, aims at
preventing a possible state of affairs, thus making it forever counterfactual, and at actualising
another state. (Ryan, Routledge 448)

Applying ‘possible worlds theory’ on video games, since choice does exist, players may
realise at least some of these possible events through their own actions. This happens either
by having influence on discourse and consequently on plot or by altering story itself. Here,
the game includes already predetermined possible worlds that can be actualized by player
input. Branching points which according to the player’s choices will lead in several
directions or moral systems (do I play the bad or the good guy?) as in Infamous, may each
have several outcomes and thus possible worlds are being actualized becoming the game’s
‘actual world’, at least for a specific play-through. Owing to the fact that in each play-
through of a game only one possible world can become the actual while others remain
hidden in a state of dormancy, replaying a game may realise another possible world not yet
realised during the first play-through. Moreover, on a more basic level, players create their
own world and story by playing a game. Even if a game does not feature various possible
endings or branches in its story, each gamer will have a unique experience owing to the
fact that players differ in abilities, personalities, gender, perceptions etc. However, this is
not unique to videogames only, but may be found as well in literature, film and other sorts
of media.

As a result, this distinction between plot and story and the information it contains
will help to determine whether or not a game’s story may be called interactive or if the
story remains linear and only discourse can be altered to result in a different plot.
   59  

However, for to determine what exactly makes a story the same story or a different one, I
will now focus on what element composes said. The event.

7.1.2 Event, Action and Agency

According to Neumann, “the action of the story-world is propelled onwards by events”

(Neumann 41). Thus, events move forward the story can be called key features of any
story. Chatman even goes one step further by dividing event into ‘actions’ and
‘happenings’ on the one hand and into ‘kernels’ and ‘satellites’ on the other.

Events are either logically essential, or not (‘kernels’ versus ‘satellites’). Further, they are either acts
or actions, in which an existent is the agent of the event, or happenings, where the existent is the
patient. An existent, in turn, is either a character or an element of the setting, a distinction based on
whether or not it performs a plot-significant action (Chatman 32).

As such, he defines action as a “change of state brought about by agent or one that affects a
patient. If the action is plot-significant, the agent or patient is called a character” (Chatman
44). As a consequence, agents or characters are able to perform actions, which then move
forward the story. Chatman enlists following possibilities for a character to act.

The principle kinds of actions that a character can perform are nonverbal physical acts (‘John ran
down the street’), speeches (‘John said, ‘I’m hungry,’’ or ‘John said that he was hungry’), thoughts
(mental verbal articulations, like ‘John thought ‘I must go’’ or ‘John thought that he must go’), and
feelings, perceptions, and sensations (which are not articulated in words- ‘John felt uneasy,’ or
‘John saw the car looming ahead’) (Chatman 45).

On the other hand he defines ‘happenings’ as entailing

a predication of which the character or other focused existent is narrative object: for example, The
storm cast Peter adrift. […] Thus in ‘Peter tried to pull down the sails, but felt the mast give way
and the boat caught up by an enormous wave,’ Peter is the subject of a series of actions at the
surface, manifestation level. At the deeper story level he is a narrative object, the affected not the
effector (Chatman 45).

On the grounds that video games are a visual medium, actions like ‘feelings, sensations
and perceptions’ are mostly shown visually, depicted via a character’s emotions. One
impressive example of such is Alyx Vance in Half Life 2. Due to excellent facial animation
players are able to decipher Alyx’s thoughts and feelings only by looking at her face and
interpreting her mimic. Naturally, this adds significantly to player’s sense of immersion.
However, not only these actions are depicted visually but also nonverbal acts such as
movement of NPC’s or the PC himself. Speeches and thoughts on the other hand are either
depicted orally or visually in written subtitles or via a combination of both. On the other
hand, happenings, according to Chatman, seem to be events in which the actions of
characters are dependent on higher powers such as storms or other events not under the
   60  

character’s full control (cf. Chatman 45). In video games, such happenings are mostly
realised by means of cut scenes and scripted events where players are rather objects than
subjects of their own faith. Imagine your player-character moving through a dilapidated,
burning house when all of a sudden the roof collapses and buries the player beneath it.
Fortunately, however, you are able to escape this confining situation by accessing the
house’s sewers via a hatch coincidentally being right next to you. Here, scripted events
consequently guide you through this part of the dilapidated house without taking away
player control but, nevertheless, leaving you no other choice than to enter the sewers and to
follow a certain path chosen by the game designers. As a result, scripted events where no
obvious choice is possible and which give the sense of rather being a patient than agent can
be seen as happenings. A cut scene, on the other hand, would take over the scene of the
dilapidated house crash entirely forcing the player to witness the events taking place
without having the ability to interact. Consequently, cut scenes can be seen as happenings
on the level that player action is not possible even though the player-character does act.

At this point it is necessary to extend Chatman’s classification of existents being

comprised of characters and settings and to further divide characters into non-player
characters (NPCs) and player-character (PC) as mentioned already in chapter 4. Notably,
the PC’s actions differ from the ones of normal characters and are predetermined by the
game’s rules and thus, the game’s development team (cf. Boon 63). In some games, for
instance, player cannot run but instead just walk, or they cannot jump as in the Legend of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time, whereas the ability to jump is essential to the jump & run genre
like in Super Mario 64. In other games, like Resident Evil 5, movement is only possible
when not shooting, whereas in Dead Space it is. Further, in some games, like in Mass
Effect, players are able to express themselves explicitly via branching dialogues, in others
however, the PC doesn’t even say a single word, as Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2 does,
or better said, does not. Obviously, determining the player-character’s abilities is a matter
of design. Whereas the jump & run genre is highly dependent on the player-character’s
ability to jump, a action-adventure like the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or a shooter
like Army of Two: The 40th Day is not. However, caution is necessary when choosing a
PC’s abilities. One bad example of such is Resident Evil 5 where it is not possible to shoot
enemies and move around at the same time. Whereas this design choice worked and was
no problem in Resident Evil 4 due to the fact that there were not many enemies at once to
fight, RE5 throws waves of enemies on the player. As such, hordes of zombies keep
   61  

rushing towards you, but then stop at a certain distance in front of the PC allowing players
to shoot them without the need to dodge attacks. Naturally, this design decision destroys
the sense of immersion owing to the pure question of why zombies should rush towards
you and then, all of a sudden, stop to be shoot at.

What is of more importance however to determine whether or not a player can

influence the game’s story via input is something different. As noticed before, without the
player acting nothing in a game will happen (cf. Nielson 170). Consequently, it is
necessary to classify player action in context of storytelling. Does every player action,
even the most meaningless such as fighting random enemies or wandering loosely the
game world, constitute an event and consequently add something to the overall story?
When looking up the term action in an encyclopaedia, it is defined as follows: Action
theory

seeks to specify the minimal conditions for and distinguishing features of actions, which are
construed as deliberate, planned behaviours within a larger context that also includes unplanned
*events or happenings; more or less durative processes that may have been triggered by an agent,
but that then continue to unfold over time; and actual as well as possible states or conditions in the
world; i.e.; ways the world is before, after, or as result of the performance (or non-performance) of
an action (Hermann, Routledge 2).

Moreover, Herman, when specifying action, refers to the work of Georg Henrik von
Wright.
Von Wright (1966) defines acting as intentionally bringing about or preventing a change in the
world. In turn, change occurs when some state of affairs either ceases to be or comes to be. Thus a
complete description of an action encompasses three components: (i) the initial state, or the state in
which the world is at the moment when action is initiated; (ii) the end-state, or the state in which the
world is when the action has been completed; and (iii) the state in which the world would have been
had it not been for the action in question. […] Whereas the end-state is simply the result of the
action, von Wright calls the comparison of the initial state and the end-state (a comparison that
yields item iii) the acting-situation or, alternatively, the opportunity of action (124) (Herman,
Routledge 2).

Accordingly, for an action to be important and to yield something significant to the course
of the story it has to bring about significant aftermaths. As such, when examining player
influence on the story it is necessary to distinguish between actions that have no
consequences on the game’s story, or only minor ones, and such that do.

Hand in hand with the concept of action goes the question of agency. In video
games, the question of ‘who acts’ is obviously not restricted to NPCs only, but most
importantly does it concern the player and his player-character. When speaking about
agency, Michael Bamberg comes up with the following questions? “Whose action is it
(including who can be held responsible for it)? Is it meaningful and morally ‘good’ or
   62  

‘bad’ (Bamberg, Routledge 9)? In video games, these questions can be answered rather
easily. It is the player who acts, and sometimes he can choose between acting good or evil.
Discussing agency from a game writer’s perspective, Richard Boon defines player agency
as follows:

Agency refers to the capacity for a player to effect meaningful changes in a game world, or at least
the illusion that the player has this capacity. […] the key aspect of game writing is that the majority
of narrative material in games is delivered in response to player action. The player has agency in
terms of the narrative, and the game writer must consider the player’s role in the game and deliver
narrative that takes this role into account (Boon 63).

What is more, he emphasises the fact that all games are delimited by their own sets of rules
and dictate the player’s possibilities to interact with the game space, which is created by
these rules. As such, player agency is dependent on the game’s rule, as for instance;
players can only do things the game rules allow. The only exception to this are outcomes
created organically from the game’s set of rules (cf. Boon 63). To sum up, what is
important when using literary terms like action, happenings and agency on video games to
help clarify whether or not a game’s story is interactive are following questions and
answers: Who acts? The player. What actions can he perform and to what extent do they
influence the game’s story? The actions are dependent on the games genre and the
development teams design decisions. To answer the question which actions do alter a
game’s story it is however necessary to take a closer look at Chatman’s second distinction
of events into kernels and satellites and at the term eventfulness.

Defining event, Neumann refers to the narratologist Wolf Schmid who enlists
several conditions to be fulfilled in order for a change of state to be called event. Besides
the conditions of facticity (factual not wished events) and resultativity (events that are
finished) that are necessary conditions for an event, she, according to Schmid, enlists five
more properties of events that however are gradational. As such, relevance,
unpredictability, persistence, irreversibility and non-iterativity constitute features of events
which should be fulfilled at least to some degree (cf. Neumann 42). As a consequence,
Neumann concludes: “According to the degree in which those five features are realised,
events (and the fictional narratives in which they are represented) display varying levels of
eventfulness” (Neumann 43).

A more simple distinction of the importance of events formulates Chatman when

distinguishing them into kernels and satellites. Referring to Barthes, Chatman defines
kernels as follows:
   63  

According to Barthes, each such major event – which I call kernel, translating his noyau – is part of
the hermeneutic code; it advances the plot by raising and satisfying questions. Kernels are narrative
moments that give rise to cruxes in the direction taken by events. They are nodes or hinges in the
structure, branching points which force a movement into one of two (or more) possible paths. […]
Kernels cannot be deleted without destroying the narrative logic (Chatman 53).

On the other hand, he calls satellites a “minor plot event” (Chatman 54).

It can be deleted without disturbing the logic of the plot, though its omission will, of course,
impoverish the narrative aesthetically. Satellites entail no choice, but are solely the working-out of
the choices made at the kernels. They necessarily imply the existence of kernels, but not vice versa.
Their function is that of filling in, elaborating, completing the kernel; they form the flesh on the
skeleton (Chatman 54).

Despite the fact that it may sound easy to distinguish major and complementary events of a
story, it remains at least to some degree a question of interpretation. How can I say for
certain that one event is so important that it can be given the status of a kernel? This is
further reinforced by Schmid’s gradational system to determine eventfulness. Analysing all
these factors can be a though enterprise and given the fact that it is a system of gradation,
personal interpretation is a must.

Fortunately, in video games this distinction seems to be easier to determine than in

literature. Given the fact that the game’s spine is composed of events that a player is
obliged to see and experience including all important story segments, (cf. Bateman 87)
these major events, which constitute the main story, may be called kernels. Further, they
constitute branching points of a story that, in literature, open up possible paths that
nevertheless were not taken (cf. Chatman 54). As a consequence, if these branching
pathways can be taken and may lead the story into a different direction, it is possible to
speak of interactive story. Moreover, the result of those events that lead up to the next
kernel, but nevertheless lie on the game’s spine may be called satellites (cf. Chatman 55).
In video games, it is often possible to take several routes that lead to the same goal (cf.
DeMarle 76). However, if these are minor choices they do not necessarily alter the game’s
main story. The kernel event at their end will take place either way. Nevertheless, it is
again a question of interpretation whether these recombining paths are essential to a story
and incorporate kernel events themselves, or are inessential and thus can be given the
status of a satellite. Moreover, side quests, events which do not lie on the game’s spine,
seem to apply to Chatman’s definition of satellites as well. In video games, side quests,
besides adding variety to gameplay and to the overall experience, complement the game’s
main story or the story of the game world, respectively. Whereas Chatman speaks of a
‘kernel-skeleton’ which is complemented by the flesh of the satellites, (cf. Chatman 54) I
   64  

rather prefer to speak about the game world’s story, or in Soulban’s words, “the stories of
an entire setting” (Soulban 60) composed of the main story (kernels and satellites in
between those, lying both on the game’s spine) and side quests (satellites), which are either
triggered by a kernel or are there from the beginning as many in Fallout 3. However, there
are some cases in which side quests can be of such great significance to the status of the
game world that I have no choice but to give them the status of a kernel as well. As a
result, the game world’s story constitutes the entirety of the game world at hand including
everything the game has to offer.

Taking all these points into consideration, I can now formulate first rules to
determine whether a game’s story is linear, the discourse is interactive and may formulate
a slightly different plot, or the game’s story is fully interactive. For this purpose, it is
essential to distinguish story on the abstract level and plot, which is constructed by
discourse. If players can alter sequentially of game events, meaning choosing the order of
events to tackle or even omit some, I will speak of interactive discourse constituting a
different plot. Furthermore, depending on the degree to which gamers can control camera,
trigger dialogues at their own will and choose location one can speak as well of interactive
discourse (cf. Boon 44). What seems to be slightly more complex and conflicting is to give
a game’s story the status of being truly interactive. Here a couple of considerations are to
be examined including the following: How important is a certain action and to what extent
does it affect the story? Do actions trigger branching pathways shifting story into a
completely different direction with events that otherwise would not be playable or do they
just create the illusion of doing so, meaning they recombine pathways altering the story
only in few details. Do they have a significant consequence at all? As Boon notices:
“Change of event, however (such as given archetypal character dying in one telling of a
story and not in another), must be seen as changes of the story itself, not the narrative”
(Boon 44). Hand in hand with these questions goes the one of how important individual
events are. Dividing events into kernels and satellites, as suggested by Chatman, certainly
helps but clearly defining what event deserves the status of kernel and what event does not
seems to be complicated. Or to put it in Neumann’s words “can often be a tricky
enterprise” (Neumann 43). This is further reinforced by the fact that other models as the
one of Wolf Schmid instead of only considering two fixed terms like kernels and satellites
rather use a system of gradation determining the level of eventfulness (cf. Neumann 42).
The fact that a story can only be truly interactive if major events, kernels, part into
   65  

different directions and consequently realise possible worlds makes this a spongy
enterprise to determine and boundaries seem to blur. Just consider a road trip from New
York to San Francisco. There may be several routs to reach the same goal and the story the
participants will tell may differ accordingly to what events they experience. If the routes
however coincide in several major events which all the parties have to experience like the
shooting of a shopkeeper, the robbery of a bank, and the great earthquake they experienced
at their meeting point in a mall in San Francisco for instance, the story each of them tell
will may not differ too highly, mainly just in irrelevant stuff like ‘we had breakfast at
Candy’s diner’ instead of ‘we were not hungry so we skipped breakfast and moved on’.
Nevertheless, it is to some extent different, personalised and thus, interactive. As a
consequence, it seems more appropriate to see interactive story on gradational scale. For
this purpose, I will slightly expand Chatman’s interpretation of kernels and satellites.
Kernels essentially remain the same. They include all the major story events and may
allow the story to branch into different directions. What is important to be distinguished
here is whether branches create completely different events or just have a slight outcome
on future ones. This will impact the degree of a story’s interactivity. Moreover, the results
of kernels, which are not as relevant to the overall story, shall be called satellites. Side-
quests, on the other hand will be situated somewhere in between kernels and satellites
depending on their impact on the game world. In most cases, side quests however
constitute satellites. Actions of players may result either into kernels or into satellites
depending on the impact they have on the game’s story. As such, the following part of this
chapter will now apply these theory on game- and story structures trying to further
elaborate which story may be called interactive or not.

7.2. Game and Story Structure

When starting a game’s development process, game designers have to come to an

agreement what type of game they want to make. As there is an enormous variety of
different genres and other decisions to make, like choosing camera perspective, etc, this
phase is of vital importance to how a game will look like (cf. Rogers 121). Additionally,
there is the question of structure that needs to be determined (cf. Boon 57ff). Do we want
to make a linear game, like a straight forward first- or third-person-shooter with about 5-8
hours of gameplay and maybe add multiplayer to it, or do we want to create an open world
game like an RPG or sandbox-game where the game world can be explored entirely and
thus expands the playtime to about 20 – 100 hours? Do we want to make a side-scrolling
   66  

jump & run with an over world map or develop a fully-fledged 3D experience using a hub-
world to connect the particular levels? Or do we want to take a high risk and develop an
interactive fiction title with high production values and a niche market (cf. DeMarle 76f.)?
Further, progress structure what Richard Boon calls “the most important aspect of
videogame structure […] which determines when, and in response to what, progress within
the game-space is allowed” (Boon 58) needs to be elaborated. Besides these initial
questions, it is natural when choosing a certain genre and game structure that game writers
need to adapt to how they convey the story. Whereas linear FPSs strive for a cinematic
experience with a linear story, the storytelling in RPGs is highly different and much more
content has to be created due to its length and complexity. As a consequence, this part of
the chapter will analyse different game and progress structures and the specific methods
how they tell stories ranging from linear story to interactive discourse to interactive story.

7.2.1. Linear Structure, Linear Story?

Determining linear progress structure, Boon mentions two almost equal types of said. The
purely linear structure where the game is divided into a linear array of levels challenging
the player to find the level’s exit, this he calls ‘linear structure’, and the ‘continuous
structure’ whose major difference lies in the fact that levels are not interrupted by some
kind of pause screen offering level statistics or some similar kind of ripping the player out
of the game-world. Moreover, players are allowed to backtrack, meaning heading back to
previously explored areas, which is for example very common in Nintendo’s Metroid-
series (cf. Boon 58f.).

7.2.1.1. Linear Structure

Linear game structure can for example be found in both of Nintendo’s 2D Jump & Runs
New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns. Here, levels are
interconnected via an over world map. After having completed one, players will be thrown
back to this map to select the next level to tackle. Another example of strictly linear
progress structure is Army of Two: The 40th Day. In this case, players shoot their ways
through seven linear mission, each of which ending with a statistics screen depicting the
players progress. Nevertheless, there are certain checkpoints during the levels that further
divide each mission into several sub-chapters. Story in Army of Two is mostly presented
via cut scenes in between action sequences or near checkpoints to effectively pace the
game. Other measures include scripted events, dialogue and notes found on the ground to
   67  

further elaborate the story. Additionally, players may encounter several choices that can be
taken but which nonetheless do not alter the game’s main story or the succession of events.
In one instance, when helping a boy found on the battleground it’s up the player or players
(due to the fact that this game is a coop experience) to decide whether the boy should stay
in cover or crawl towards a weapon that would help the player during the game. The
simple press of a button makes the decision, and when the game is played with another
friend in coop, the one who presses first makes the choice. Consequently, when choosing
the boy to claim the weapon, he will be shoot, whereas staying in cover will save him.
Afterwards, a short cut scene using static images is presented, depicting the aftermaths of
the player’s decision. While these decisions do not alter the game’s main story, this is
where interactive story starts, nevertheless at the lowest point of the gradation scale.
Putting these very minor choices aside, as they only seem to be there to pretend a very
slight illusion of choice, Army of Two’s progress and story structure can be depicted as
follows.

Progress Structure

Mission 1 Mission 2 Mission 3 Mission 4 Mission 5 Mission 6 Mission 7

Story Structure

Figure 1: Progress and Story Structure in Army of Two: The 40th Day (cf. Ince 49) (cf. Chatman 54)

Figure 1 shows both the progress and the story structure of Army of Two. As noticed, the
game’s progress happens from level to level represented by the horizontal rectangles and
the arrows in between them. The vertical dotted line stands for checkpoints or some kind
of barrier or puzzle which need to be solved to move the game forward. As such, they
divide each level even further. Naturally, the line doesn’t signify that there is only one
checkpoint, or hurdle at mid-level, but instead stands for all that may occur during the
course of level. Checkpoints save the game and occur mostly after cut scenes or before and
after difficult passages to ensure that players don’t become frustrated. When talking about
story in linear games, Boon mentions that due to the fact that “level order is fixed, event
order is also fixed, and story materials may be planned exactly” (Boon 59). As such, story
structure, being quite similar to and following the progress structure, is divided up into
   68  

kernels represented by the squares and satellites depicted by the horizontal dotted line (cf.
Chatman 54). Kernels, major story events, may happen at each time during the levels but
most frequently occur after intense battles or checkpoints and in the beginning or end of a
level. Naturally, they can be seen as rewards and as matters to pace the game effectively,
meaning giving the player a break from intense combat (cf. Boon 58). Satellites on the
other hand, represent other small events resulting from kernels and unimportant actions
performed by the player. From fighting random waves of enemies and moving forward
through the level each satellite represents an action or actions leading up to a kernel (cf.
Chatman 54). No kernel in Army if Two The 40th Day, besides said inessential ones,
presents an option to realise possible worlds moving the playable story into a different
direction. Boon calls this type of storytelling ‘formal narrative’.

Formal narrative simply involves storytelling that is delivered via prescripted methods. […] Story
events may be communicated to the player via different formal narrative techniques. For instance,
dialogue is often used to inform players of story material via NPCs. Alternatively, the player may be
presented with animated scenes, text files triggered from within the game, or even text materials
displayed during loading between game sections (Boon 46).

In addition, dividing progress structure even further, Phil Co defines linear progress
structure in a specific level as follows:

In videogames, the term linear refers to players having no choice in how to play the game. In game
levels, linear refers to players having no choice in the locations to move or to sequence tasks. Linear
levels typically flow in a straight line from the start to the exit. In other words, the player is guided
along the path from the beginning to end (Figure 5.3). They may contain open areas that the player
character can move around freely, but in the end, there isn’t a choice about what to do next. These
days, linear levels have a negative connotation because every player has a similar experience
playing through the level, but they are often necessary to propel the game and the game story
forward. […] From a design perspective, linear progressions allow you to control what the player
experiences every step of the way, and the level can benefit a great deal from this advantage. (Co
124)

While it is true that many gamers strive for freedom of choice and openness, it is my firm
believe that linear game structure is very effective in some kind of games. First-person-
shooters, for instance, urge for linear levels with tightly scripted events and cut scenes to
increase the drama and suspense you feel while playing such type of games. Owing to its
linearity, a more cinematic experience can be achieved both in gameplay and story.
Moreover, it can be highly satisfying being channelled through a linear experience with
bombastic graphics and sounds, due to the fact that mostly linear games have more
beautiful visuals than games with large open worlds. Supporting my opinion is the fact that
Lucien Soulban defines linear storytelling as follows:
   69  

Linear narrative is any storytelling technique that forces players to follow the storyline. The story
could be set along one set of rails where the character must either succeed or fail (thus ending the
game), or it may incorporate failure conditions where the narrative branches off to another set of
conditions. Regardless, the advantage of linear storytelling, although eschewed by purists as a
cinematic convention and not a video game one, is that the writer can create a more focused
storyline. […] In linear stories of any type, the storytelling is more focused, and the events more
immediate. There is a definite sense of pressure, and even the environments are narrower. This style
of tale is better able to build suspense, and it can carry the action along with the pace of a cinematic
nail biter. In essence, linear storytelling is generally best suited for high-intensity storylines and
action-packed games (Soulban 59f.).

However, even a linear game and progress structure may incorporate some levels or parts
of level which can be non-linear. “Non-linear levels give the player choices. Some of these
levels have branches or forks at certain locations” (Co 125). Consequently, “nonlinear
levels have objectives that require the PC to travel to multiple destinations and perform a
task. The task can be performed in any order and this sequence of the task becomes the
choice” (Co 125). Imagine a level where the player has to save several hostages. Whereas
in linear levels the order how these must be saved is fixed, nonlinear levels may show you
the different locations of the hostages on a map, leaving it up to you in which order you
want to save them.

7.2.1.2. Continuous Structure

Moving on, continuous structure on the other hand leads games one step closer to
openness. Here, players experience no interference via in between level cuts (cf. Boon 59).
Bioshock is a game which makes perfect use of a continuous structure. Here, a notable
difference to linear progress can be noticed because the game is not divided into several
levels but formulates a coherent and continuous whole. Figure 2 shows game and story
structure of Bioshock. The vertical dotted lines again stands for checkpoints, puzzles,
hurdles and the like. Checkpoints in Bioshock however, may rather be called auto-saves, as
the game saves itself at various occasions. Moreover, players are able to save where and
whenever they wish. As such, this game structure presents one step further towards the
freedom of open world games. Players often need to revisit certain areas but, nevertheless,
are still channelled onwards.
   70  

Progress Structure

Story Structure
Ending  1  

Ending 2

Ending 3

Figure 2: Progress and Story structure in Bioshock

As a result, it doesn’t seem to be the game’s intent that players should explore and roam
this underwater world freely but instead move strictly as planned by the developers.
Similarly proceeds the game’s story. Told mostly by means of narration, dialogue via radio
transmissions, cut scenes, scripted events, tape recordings, written notes and not to forget,
the visuals of this gorgeous underwater dystopia itself, players unravel the mysteries it has
to offer. In addition, the game gives players a great urge to dissolve what’s going on while
giving them the illusion to be an agent, to solve the mysteries through their own efforts.
Whereas on a basic level this seems to be true, because events are realised through the
player’s action, on a higher level everything seems to be predetermined and no different
choices are possible. Though the story is as linear as it can get, there are certain choices
during the game to be made. In the end these will trigger one of three different cut scene
endings. In the course of the game the player will face various encounters with so-called
little sisters, tiny girls who posses ADAM, the substance giving you supernatural powers.
Here, the game gives you two choices. Harvest and thus kill a little sister to receive the
maximum amount of ADAM, or save her but earn less, which makes it considerably harder
to increase your powers. However, now you won’t have a little girl on your conscious.
Depending on how you treat these girls, the game will in the end trigger two major and one
slightly altered cut scene. When saving all little sisters you will experience a cut scene
narrated by Dr. Tenenbaum in which the girls can escape Rapture and start a life of their
own. Conversely, having harvested all the little sisters, the cut scene is significantly
different. Now Dr. Tenenbaum is talking in an angry voice, the girls cannot escape and the
player-character is depicted as greedy for power by harvesting all the ADAM he could get.
The last ending is triggered when saving some little sisters while harvesting others. Here,
the cut scene is essentially the same as in that ‘bad’ ending. The only difference lies in the
   71  

tone of Dr. Tenenbaum’s voice. She doesn’t sound angry but somehow sad or at least has
an admonishing undertone. Featuring several endings, Bioshock rises one step on my
interactive story gradation scale. In its essence however, the story in Bioshock remains
linear. Besides said triggered cut scenes at the end of the game, choice in Bioshock does
not matter at all. No additional events are triggered, event order is fixed and there are no
side quests to be found. You can only decide how much of the story you want to hear.
Tape recordings, for instance, are optional to listen to, but player who do so will learn
considerably more about what has happened in Rapture. Moving on I will now, according
to Chatman’s definition, examine the first approximately 15 minutes of Bioshock showing
first kernels and satellites.

7.2.1.3. Bioshock: Prologue

The game’s first event, which undoubtedly can be given the status of a kernel, depicts a
plane crash somewhere in the ocean. Presented via cut scene, your PC barley escapes,
somehow managing to surface from the dive. Here, to my mind, the first kernel stops.
Satellite events shortly afterwards include actions like swimming and a happening, the
sinking of the plane’s tail. Kernel 2 starts when the player reaches the towering structure
emerging from the ocean and enters the bathysphere escorting him to the underwater city
of Rapture. During the course of this event satellites like the ghostlike turning-on of
illuminating lights while moving down the tower’s staircase or the first appearance of
Andrew Ryan via a small cinema screen during the submergence, occur. But why shall we
call this event a kernel? Even if no player would consider it and in fact, the choice doesn’t
even exist in the game’s rules, the entering of the tower and the bathysphere subsequently
present a choice. Either step inside or wait for some help that could possible come for
rescue. Moreover it raises questions that could be satisfied by exploring what is underneath
the tower (cf. Chatman 53). Immediately after the arrival of the Bathysphere the next
major event, kernel 3, occurs when first witnessing a splicer killing another man and
afterwards trying to attack you, the player. Here, more questions are raised, like what are
those things and why do they attack me? Shortly after the splicer has left, you’ll receive a
radio transmission from Atlas, presenting himself to the player and offering him his help
asking to reach higher grounds. This presents the 4th kernel. Satellites in the aftermath
include player movement and strolling around the area, offering the possibilities to take a
glimpse at the city through large windows. Moreover, a scripted event showing another
splicer getting shot by a flying robot occurs. What is more, kernel 5 happens when picking
   72  

up a wrench, being the first weapon you’ll encounter. In the aftermath, satellites like
smacking a collapsed door, evading a burning piece of furniture falling down the stairs,
and killing your first splicer with the help of the wrench you just collected, close the gap to
the next kernel. This, kernel 6 shows the player injecting himself ADAM altering his
genetic code which, in turn, enables him to use so-called plasmids, supernatural powers.
Further, he first witnesses a little sister and big daddy. Now, with plasmid power other
actions like zapping terminals to open doors, or to paralyse enemies can be performed and
consequently formulate satellite events. Naturally, determining events is a matter of
gradation and interpretation (cf. Neumann 43). As such, one could argue as well that
Kernels 1-4 could be subsumed under one single event maybe called ‘discovery of
Rapture’ including plane crash, bathysphere ride and first encounters. However, being the
prologue of the game, I think they all are important to introduce the player to the story and
Rapture, thus necessary to formulate the same story. Taking everything into account, it is
obvious that each kernel fulfils a purpose by raising questions, or opening up new
opportunities for actions like gaining new powers, etc. and moving forward the game and
its story.

To sum up, linear and continuous game and progression structure strive mostly for
a linear story. As in literature, it seems that linear story allows for a more dramatic
presentation of story (cf. Ince 50). It mostly occurs in action titles (first- or third-person-
shooters or action adventures) and is mostly depicted via cut scenes, scripted events, radio
transmissions, dialogue and other in-game artifacts. However, as we will see later, linear
game structure does not necessarily equate linear story.

7.2.2. Hub-worlds, Linchpin and Pivot

Domain structure, as Boon calls it, demonstrates the transition from continuous structure to
open world games.21 Domain structures seem to have become a standard in 3D jump &
runs as in all three-dimensional Super Mario iteration, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64,
etc. The only slight exception here formulates Super Mario Galaxy 2 using an over world
map instead, similar to its 2D counterparts. In Super Mario 64 the hub is represented by
Princess Peach’s castle from where all the levels can be accessed by entering paintings
hanging on the walls. In Super Mario Sunshine you have Delfino Plaza and in Super Mario

                                                                                                               
21  Chapter 7.2.2. refers mainly to (Boon 60)
   73  

Galaxy the observatory as hub. Furthermore, stars or shines need to be collected to access
the various levels. The more stars you’ll find, the more levels open up. Meanwhile, Super
Mario Galaxy 2 uses a map to access the different levels, but Mario can nevertheless
wander around his spaceship, a tiny planet in the form of Mario’s head, which constitutes
some small form of hub-world. As such, I define a hub, similar as Boon does, as a central
part of the game space that players can explore and roam freely and through which levels
or part of the game can be accessed. Consequently, I also include very small hubs like
Mario’s spaceship in Super Mario Galaxy 2 or the Normandy of Mass Effect, although
these are very minor forms of which. Whereas Boon mentions that in domain structure
levels can only be entered throughout the main hub, I also include hub worlds like found in
Prince of Persia. Here, players can as well move from one section of the world to anther
without their ways leading through the main hub. Nevertheless, the game includes a
central, vital point essential for game progression. As story in most jump & run games is
inessential, I will when talking about the domain structure neglect story. The only
interesting thing here Boon mentions, is that story segments should be told in the hub
world, as players need to encounter them. To conclude, Figure 3 shows a graphic of a
simple domain structure.

Hub

Figure 3: Domain Structure

   74  

7.2.3. Open World Games: From Interactive Discourse to Interactive Story.

In linear games, there are some elements of interactive discourse that can be realised as
well. These include methods such as basic camera movement like in FPSs, where I can
determine what I see, or slight choice of location in continuous structures, the triggering of
certain dialogues, movement and the like (cf. Boon 44). Nevertheless, the degree of
influence is very limited. Event order in these types of games is fixed and mostly player do
not have the choice to decide whether to trigger certain events or not. Influence on the
discourse is limited to triggering narrative materials through player movement and action
that need to be executed anyway for the game to proceed. Further, narrow environments
restrain camera and what might be seen while simply entering new areas triggers cut
scenes, scripted events and dialogue. Moreover, as event order is fixed, choice of location
is limited as well. Basically, no choice exists, and to my mind, it would be improper to
speak of interactive discourse in linear games. Even nonlinear games do not leave the
discourse to the player only, but broaden the degree of influence you will have on how the
story is communicated. Here, it is mostly the event order that can be altered, thus forming a
different kind of plot. Boon calls this form contiguous structure:

A contiguous structure attempts to create the illusion of a complete, explorable world. Unlike the
domain structure, which allows access to game environments exclusively from a central hub,
contiguous structures connect game environments in a realistic fashion, each leading to the next.
The player can walk from one end of the world to the other (Boon 60).

7.2.3.1. Defining Open World Games

Before further elaborating what kind of influence players have on discourse, it is at first
necessary to define what exactly open world games are. Most often, open world games are
divided into two categories, sandbox games and western RPGs (Role Playing Games).
Defining sandbox games, Ahmad Saad compares them to literal sandboxes children are
playing in.

Conceptually speaking, the word sandbox may conjure up the vision of that square box filled with
sand at the local park. As children, the fascinating thing about sand was its malleability. You can
just dip your hands into it and, with a little water, begin shaping whatever comes to mind. The
sudden removal of all barriers to sculpting any shape, or even the ability to destroy it, is what makes
it so enthralling. You’ve got a toy that offers full freedom to play. The essence is the same when
applying the word to a videogame (Saad 137)

Naturally, yet not being able to perform this kind of freedom, a sandbox game nevertheless
shares some similarities of said. A sandbox game’s most important feature is certainly its
   75  

open environment a player can explore at his own leisure. Whereas an entire city awaits
players in GTA IV or Infamous, Red Dead Redemption lets the player toy in the Wild West.

On the other hand, a role-playing game (RPG) can be defined as follows. Calling it
a game “that most takes advantage of the unique aspects of the interactive medium”,
(Erikson 11) Daniel Erikson defines RPG as “a story-based game wherein the player
creates and takes on the role that he has chosen, making decisions and actions that affect
the game’s outcome” (Erikson 12). In western RPGs players mostly do not have to use a
set protagonist but instead may create own of their own (cf. Erikson 11). Nonetheless,
there are some exceptions, as for example in Mass Effect, which gives you the choice to
use Shepard as created by the developers, or to start an own character right from the
scratch. As a result Erikson mentions: “By allowing the player to create a protagonist from
the scratch (often either gender, and choosing from multiple backgrounds, classes, and
even occasionally ages) we throw away thousands of years of storytelling tradition”
(Erikson 11). Other factors separating these two types of games are the fact that sandbox
games are more action oriented, have set protagonists and mostly do not feature such fully
fledged stories as good RPGs do. Moreover, latter, although exceptions exist, is more
known for character growth in the sense of reaching higher levels thus gaining more
powers and abilities in the course of the game. These, being the major difference between
sand box games and RPGs, they nevertheless have certain things in common: their open
environment and quest structure, divided into main missions and side quests. As quest
structure seems to be quite similar, it is possible to discuss those two, very alike types of
genres in conjunction.

7.2.3.2. Storytelling in Open World Games

Open world games mostly feature two different event types. Major events, which move
forward the game’s main story and smaller events, called side quests, which add to the
overall experience by creating sub-plots by means of depicting stories of side-characters.
Moreover, they complement the game world’s story (cf. Saad 143). As defined earlier, I
will call events of the main story kernels followed by several satellites. Side quests will be
situated somewhere in-between depending on their impact on the game world. One
example of a side quest achieving the status of a kernel is found in Fallout 3. In one side
mission the player has to choose whether to destroy Megaton, one of the game’s capital
cities, by launching a nuke inside it, or to disarm said. This choice, though not affecting the
   76  

game’s main story, entails such high impact on the status of the game world that it cannot
be dismissed as unessential story element. Thus, although being just a side mission and not
influencing the game’s main story, this event must be given the status of a kernel,
consequently making this part of Fallout 3 an interactive story.

7.2.3.2.1. Linearity vs. Freedom

Normally, open world games proceed as follows: In the beginning, the game world is most
often constrained by certain boundaries to not overburden players with the sheer amount of
content (cf. Saad 140). In GTA IV, for instance, there are certain bridges or tunnels that
remain closed to not let the player reach further parts of the city until he has fulfilled a
predetermined amount of main missions. Later, the game world opens up its vastness to the
player. Often, players are able to choose between more than one main mission, mostly, 2-3,
which consequently gives them control over the game’s discourse and as such, formulates
a different plot. This seems to be a standard in such types of games as Saad notices:

The prime difference between a sandbox story and a linear story is in the linearity. Sandbox games
are non-linear. Missions usually can (and should) play independent of sequence, allowing the player
to pick and choose the story thread he would like to pursue (yet still feeling natural.) (Saad 138)

Side quests, on the other hand are either there from the beginning and only need to be
found, or are opened up by the game’s main story, the kernel events. As a result, players
have an enormous variety to choose event order. Moreover, it is possible to halt the game’s
main story for hours by doing other stuff like exploring the environment or tackling side
quests like driving taxi, hanging out in clubs, playing a cop, etc. You can do as much
random stuff as the game space and its rules allows you to. Consequently, small plot
variants seem to be infinite. Soulban calls this type of storytelling modular.

Modular narratives are a unique way to present story, because they allow the player to explore the
main narrative at his own leisure as well as enjoy a number of side stories. […] To start with,
modular narratives are often stories that encourage players to explore the environment. They are told
through moments of discovery and connecting the dots. The basic story is set, so even if the player
never ventures from the guide rails of the central story arc, he still enjoys a rich experience, but even
a richer narrative awaits those who explore (Soulban 60).

Moreover, he defines modular storytelling in accordance to what I have called ‘the game
world’s story.’

Modular narratives are often the stories of an entire setting, and not just the protagonist. It’s focused
on more global events, with the hero as witness to the happenings of the world. It’s more about
building emotions like suspense and mystery than pushing the player down the steep slope of action
on one ski (Soulban 60).
   77  

With this sort of freedom several problems for the game writer arise. Whereas in
linear stories everything seems to be under the control of the writer this is not the case in a
nonlinear game (cf. DeMarle 73). As dramatic stories shall be included, there are some
things that need to be predetermined and, consequently, need for mission objectives is
given (cf. Saad 137). It is now the task of the development team to include dramatic story
into a game that, in terms of gameplay, shall be as open as possible. This obviously
conjures certain problems, or as Mary DeMarle puts it: “The power of story comes from its
structure. The power of a game comes from its freedom” (DeMarle 72). This problem is
further reinforced by the fact that

game writers are co-writing stories with people they never meet: the players. The Player has more
control over how the action unfolds than the writer and, in some cases, will take a perverse delight
in trying to break the mechanics put in place to ensure the orderly unfolding of the narrative
(DeMarle 71).

Further she states:

The recipient of a nonlinear game story isn’t passive to the process – he or she is an active
participant in the way the plot unfolds. No matter how game writers define the protagonists’
motivations, the behaviour of the player determines how they will act in the final game. And often,
the player won’t want to do what the writer’s storyline requires (DeMarle 72).

Additionally, she highlights the function of the player himself, who seems to be
unpredictable in what he is about to do next.

In a nonlinear game, there’s always a character who is out of the writer’s control: the player
character (or avatar). As enacted by the player, the avatar is doing whatever it wants, experimenting
with different paths, and constantly bypassing the writer’s ever-so-carefully planned structure. […]
This leads to an inevitable problem: how can game writers ensure that when dramatic moment in the
game’s story is reached, the player will have definitely seen all the major story points and acquired
every tool, weapon, or clue needed to fully appreciate it (DeMarle 73)?

One way of solving this issue is to gate the story (cf. DeMarle 74). Here, players have to
finish a serious of challenges in any order. Afterwards, the next story element is presented
(cf. DeMarle 74f). Another way suggested by her is that game writers “must begin thinking
about creating a world in which the line between narrative and gameplay is blurred”
(DeMarle 80). Thus, when having created a believable world like in Fallout 3, story is
present at all time and players will never feel a separation between story and gameplay. In
general, however, players are that smart to know that story in open world games only
progresses when tackling the game’s main missions and side quests are just there to extent
the game, making it diverse by adding variety and freedom.
   78  

7.2.3.2.2. Choice in Infamous

Obviously, choice is an essential component of any open world game and especially
prevalent in the role-playing genre.

The entire RPG genre is about choice. Choice in character creation. Choice in dialogue. Choice in
story. Without important frequent choices that impact either the player’s story or the state of the
game world, the player may as well go and watch a movie” (Erikson 13).

With choice, interactive story begins. Climbing one step higher on the interactive story
gradation scale is the sandbox game Infamous for the Playstation 3. The biggest choice in
Infamous lies in the player’s ability to play as a hero or villain. According to how you
solve certain missions and treat the inhabitants of Empire City, you’ll earn good or bad
karma points which will move your abilities and the overall appearance of the city into
different directions. Concerning your powers each, the dark and the good side, have special
abilities for the player to unlock. Moreover, specific side quests can only be played if
either playing the game as hero, or as villain. What is more, playing as a villain,
inhabitants will hate your PC, throw stones at him or even try to attack him. Further, the
city’s appearance is dark and bleak with considerable more dilapidated houses than playing
in the parallel world of a hero. In this world, people will love you, help you at times, the
city will appear in a more bright and friendly tone, and people will start to rebuild parts of
it. Here’s the catch however. Main story quests will not be affected by either of the
choices. All of them will take place either way, with Cole defeating Kessler in the end.
However, there are some cut scenes playing out slightly different depending on the
player’s karma. One of these is the death of Trish. Playing as ‘good’ Cole, the dialogue in
the comic style cut scene will sound like this. The part that changes is marked in bold:

Time slowed down as Trish fell. All my powers, and I couldn’t do a thing. For a second, she sprung
back to life…just long enough to say that she was proud of me for what I’d become. Proud that
I was helping people with my powers. And that she loved me for it. I buried her in the park
alongside others who’d died since the blast. Kessler’s going to pay for this. I’m gonna find him that
sick bastard. And I’m gonna kill him. (Infamous, emphasis mine)

On the other hand, when playing as ‘bad’ Cole this dialogue is slightly altered:

[…] just long enough to say that she was ashamed of what I’d become. That god had given me these
powers and I’d squandered them. Hurting others and thinking only of myself. (Infamous,)

Moreover, the ending sequence of the game differs in some part, too. Playing evil will
trigger a cut-scene depicting the city dilapidated with people in fear and Cole narrating:

Because of me, Empire city is a wasteland. I’ve taken this place down notch by notch, and it’s never
getting up again. Kessler thought he was preparing me to face some beast, that I’d be using my
   79  

powers for the greater good. What an idiot. These powers are only good for one thing, letting me
take what I want, when I want. In a place with no law, the strong take what they want, and the weak
are their slaves, their playthings. And no one is stronger than me… (Infamous, Epilogue)

Conversely, playing as a hero another cut scene will show the city rebuilding itself, with an
unsure Cole who doesn’t know where his way will lead him to.

I thought this would be the end. That once Kessler and the Ray Sphere were gone, my life would go
back to normal. But now I understand that this is my life. There’s no going back. That the gift of
these powers will be my burden until the day I die. The people around here… love me. How long
will that last? What’s going to happen the first time they expect me to be there for them and I’m not.
I don’t even know who to trust. Moya’s still running around planning god knows what. And Zeke…
I don’t even know what to think. I’ve never been more alone. (Infamous, Epilogue)

Ironically, other cut scenes during the game do not change according to how the game is
played and result in funny or immersion breaking outcomes. In one cut scene, though
playing as ‘good’ Cole, people will fear you, what to my mind breaks the sense of
immersion. Unfortunately, the game features no different main missions depending on how
you play. Nevertheless, the example of Infamous shows one further step towards truly
interactive story. Depending on how you play the game, good or bad, the state of the world
is being altered and realises two slightly different possible worlds. However, for a game to
be truly interactive the main story, composed by several kernel events must be altered
more significantly.

To conclude, before stepping into the realms of interactive story, Figure 4 shows
one of many possible progress structures of an open world game. Here, the squares
represent main story missions. Sometimes, more than one mission may be selected. The
numbers inside the squares represent a possible order in which the main events can be
tackled. Structures like the one in events 1- 7 can be found in GTA IV, for instance. Here, it
is often the case that Nico Bellic can choose to accept missions from several employers. To
reach, event 7 however, both employers have to be finished, with each of their missions.
Structures like event 10 – 14 can be found in Mass Effect, where Shepard’s crew has to
explore three planets in order to proceed. The order they are explored remains up to the
players. The small circles on the other hand, represent side quests, which are either there
from the beginning or are triggered by main story events. Normally, they can be played
during the whole time of the game whenever the player wishes to.
   80  

7.2.4. Defining Interactive Story

To begin with, it may be noticed that the concept of interactive story has its origins in
hypertexts and interactive fiction. Hypertexts in general formulate a “collection of texts or
text fragments interconnected by links that afford a choice of reading orders.” (Herman,
Routledge 228) Nowadays, they form the general design of every Internet site by linking
together the individual parts (cf. Herman, Routledge 228). Interactive fiction, or text
adventures like they were originally called, formulates one of video games’ oldest genre
(cf. Wheeler 201). In this genre, the game exists entirely out of text and proceeds via text
input by the player (cf. Wheeler 201ff.). Sadly, these sorts of games seem to have
disappeared in modern video gaming, but more commercially adequate forms of this early
concept do exist. Accordingly, Richard Boon defines interactive story as

a story in which the player actions have direct consequences for the story as a whole. Here, events
may be changed by player choice, which is to say that player choice revolves not around narrative
elements alone (which merely deliver the story to the player) but in terms of structure as well (Boon
47).

Similarly, in narratology, this type of story is defined as multi-path narrative.

A work of *fiction or video/film where the *audience or reader at specific points has to choose
between branching alternatives in the text is sometimes called a multipath narrative. Also known as
‘interactive narrative’, *’interactive fiction’, hyperfiction, or ‘branching narrative’, these texts are
not structured in a linear sequence from beginning to end, but allow exploration of a labyrinth
constructed by one or more *authors […] (Aarseth, Routledge 323).

Transforming these considerations into a story diagram, it is mostly depicted similar to a

tree, like in the works of Mary DeMarle and Steve Ince. Figure 5 shows one example of
said tree diagram.
   81  

Showing the complexity such a model of interactive story may gain, it is obvious that this
would create immense problems for game designers.

The problem with this structure is that it creates a combinatorial explosion of unused resources -3D
environments, character animations, dialogue recordings, and so on –that players never experience,
but which the game’s production team has to create nonetheless. Because every resource created
requires time and money to build, your producer is more likely to squash this approach the minute
you present it (DeMarle 76).

Unfortunately, it seems that such a model of interactive story is not practical or marketable
for the time being. For developers this would mean to create not one, but several games in
one package when including one or several branching points right at the game’s beginning.
Talking about interactive story, Boon comes to the same conclusion mentioning that by
allowing “any true depth of choice to a player using this technique would overload the
developer’s ability to create and structure enough scenes” (Boon 47). Furthermore, he
mentions that to realise truly interactive stories

a more distributed system is required, treating the game narrative in a systematic manner, in line
with the structuring of play elements. Untested models for structuring this style of game do already
exist, but lie beyond the scope of this chapter” (Boon47).

To really create interactive story, such models would have to effectively create story on
their own within the game system. But how could something like this create a suspenseful
plot, how would it shape a story with beginning, middle and end? Needless to say, these
are all speculations thus, for the time being, other methods of conveying interactive story
are predominant. One solution to the problem suggested by DeMarle is by recombining
branching story paths (cf. DeMarle 76).
   82  

You can limit the combinatorial explosion by recombining paths at certain key story points. Players
are then required to pass through every reconnected point at a specific order, but they have some
freedom in deciding how they’re going to get there […] (DeMarle 76).

On balance, the best course of action would be to see interactive story on a

gradational scale. In this sense, I will consider Figure 5 as the optimal form of interactive
story where kernels drive the story into completely different directions thus resulting in
entirely new events. One step below will be situated a system where paths recombine or
kernels are played out in a slightly different way, but nevertheless in its core are the same.
Underneath we will find games like Infamous or Fallout 3 where the main story is mostly
fixed but side quests and the state of the game world can be influenced to some extent. At
the bottom of the gradation scale are games which only feature some kind of different
endings depending on how you play the game, meaning choosing ‘good’ or ‘bad’ side as in
Bioshock. In the following I will examine two games to show how interactive discourse
and story are realised in practice.

7.2.5. Story Structure in Mass Effect

Applying the before established theory, this chapter will show how story is incorporated
into the RPG Mass Effect from Bioware.22 To do so, I will at first discuss general matters
to then comment on several peculiarities of Mass Effect’s story effectively combining
interactive discourse with interactive story.

7.2.5.1. General Considerations

Mass Effect’s story is set in a very distant future in which mankind is finally able to travel
and explore outer space including several of its galaxies. Now, humanity struggles for
acceptance in the intergalactic council trying to obtain more influence among the various
races. Exploration of space occurs by means of the Normandy, a human spaceship vessel
improved with alien technology. Additionally, played from a third-person perspective, the
player takes control over Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance Military. In the
beginning, players can choose between using a predetermined version of Shepard or to
start right from scratch, building their own unique version of him, even being able to
                                                                                                               
22  The
story structure analysis of Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 is based on my personal experiences and
evaluation of the game. I analysed the game by means of two play-throughs and several reloads of specific
scenes, mainly in the end of the game. However, there might be other choices or paths I am not aware of or
was not able to find. Thus, I take no responsibility for any mistakes or inaccuracies in my analyses. Further,
the tree diagram is influenced by Chatman’s approach dividing events into kernels and satellites (cf. Chatman
54)
   83  

choose gender. Story in Mass Effect is primarily told via cut scenes, scripted events and in-
game artifacts, such as codex entries players receive while travelling throughout the
galaxy. These give additional information about races, planets and the entire game world.
Mostly however, story is presented by means of a branching dialogue system. Most often
you are able to choose between three or more dialogue options including paragon, neutral
and renegade answers, thus personalizing your character accordingly. Reaching the game’s
final battle, your karma, being either paragon or renegade, will trigger different endings
respectively. Choosing different dialogue options may as well influence story but most
often just serves to give players the illusion of choice. At times, no matter what dialogue
option you choose, the oncoming event will happen either way. Nevertheless, the fact that
choice exists personalizes dialogue considerably. Furthermore, dialogue slightly changes
depending on which crewmembers you choose to accompany you.

7.2.5.2. Story Structure Analysis

The game starts in a quite linear manner helping the player get his bearings.23 On board the
Normandy you head out to one of humanity’s colonies, Eden Prime, in order to recover a
Prothean Beacon. Notably, it was Prothean technology in the first place that allowed
mankind to evolve so fast. Things get complicated when receiving a distress call from the
plant’s surface. Apparently, the Geth, a cybernetic life form lead by Saren, a Spectre who
has gone rogue, is about to invade the planet. At the end of the mission, Shepard
accidentally destroys the beacon but experiences an imprecise vision, forecasting the end
of the world through a race called the Reapers. Regaining consciousness on board the
Normandy, they set course for the Citadel, a gigantic space station and the headquarters of
the intergalactic council. Being on board the Normandy, players may spend some time
talking to crewmembers to gain further information on the status of the mission and to
maintain relationships.

Entering the Citadel, game structure opens up a little bit. Now, you are able to roam
and explore this vast space station at your own will. Several side quests await the player,
which can either be tackled at once or later in the game when Shepard’s team heads out to
outer space. To move forward the main plot, it is however necessary to tackle main
missions, the first of which is attending the council hearing to report the events on Eden

                                                                                                               
23  Please use Figure 6 on page 88 in accordance with this description.
   84  

Prime and informing the council that one of their Spectres, Saren, seems to have gone
rouge. Not buying into Shepard’s claims and his assumption that Saren even isn’t the real
threat but a long gone race by the name of the Reapers, who apparently were the cause for
the Prothean’s demise 50000 years ago, the council asks for proof to undermine Shepard’s
accusations. To attain this proof the game offers you two possibilities. Either talk to
Harkins or the Shadow Broker’s agent Barla Von, each of which will offer different
playable events. Moreover, the result of this mission is affected by whether or not you
assign Wrex, a Krogan bounty hunter to your team before or after the mission. In the end,
you have to fight a guy named Fist and save a Quarian by the name of Tali, who holds the
evidence of Saren’s guilt. Fighting Fist with Wrex, latter will gun down former after the
battle. With Wrex being absent however, this choice is up to you and you may as well
spare Fist’s life. The next major event is the second council hearing where you finally are
able to convince the council of Saren’s guilt. They strip Saren of his Spectre status and
hand it over to Shepard. Now, it is you that benefits from the special abilities and status a
Spectre inherits.

With this in mind, and after a conversation with Colonel Anderson, who steps
down as captain of the Normandy effective immediately leaving the ship to you, your crew
heads out into outer space. Before undocking, he briefs you on three Geth sightings in the
galaxy. Now it is up to you to decide which lead to follow first. By offering you the choice
to tackle three main missions in any order you wish, players are able to alter discourse by
choosing event order on their own. Choosing event order is as well possible by tackling
several side quests or strolling around the Citadel. However, choosing between main
missions has certainly a bigger effect. Further, by heading out into space the game
structure opens up completely constituting an open world game with the Normandy as hub.
Now you can tackle even more side quests and visit different planets. For the purpose of
this analysis, I will focus on the main plot, whose various missions include finding Liara
and Geth sightings on Feros and Noveria. Notably, dialogue after each mission changes
depending on the order you tackle them. As Shepard’s vision was blurred, each of the three
missions grants further insight. At the end of Feros you’ll encounter a cipher decoding
your vision even more. On Noveria you have to fight a woman by the name of Matriarch
Benezia who is one of Saren’s accomplices but seems to be somehow indoctrinated by him
and thus, under his control. She gives you further insight into Saren’s plans and yet, it
seems more evident that Saren is about to resurrect the Reapers. Afterwards, the game
   85  

gives you the choice to decide over an entire species’ faith. Shepard can either kill the
Rachni queen, a bug-like life form, or spare her life and thus, the lives of her entire species.
Sparing or killing her will affect dialogue in the mission debrief. Moreover, by sparing her
life Shepard hopes for a strong ally in the war against the Reapers. Finding Liara, you not
only gain another team member but she is also able to help Shepard decipher his vision
even further. By changing dialogue in the mission debriefs, the story of the game makes
sense either way you tackle the missions.

The next mission in the game leads you to a planet called Virmire and offers the
player two major choices. Attacking Saren’s base, your crew and you get to know that
apparently, he has found some kind of cure for the Genophage. The Genophage was a
biological weapon altering Krogan DNA, which made it nearly impossible for their women
to get pregnant. By this means, Saren wants to build himself an entire Krogan army to
support his plans. Naturally, Shepard and the others agree that this has to be stopped by
destroying the lab and launching a bomb inside it. Wrex, however, being a Krogan himself,
is of different opinion. Now, it is up to the player to persuade Wrex to stop Saren anyway.
This can be accomplished by choosing certain answers during dialogue. If the player fails
to do so, either Shepard or another crewmember will kill Wrex and consequently, you
loose an important member of your team. The second choice starts when choosing either
Ashley or Kaidan to join your team or the one of the Salarian captain Kirrahe. Joining the
alien however seems to be a suicide mission as they want to attack Saren directly allowing
Shepard’s team to sneak in undetected. To avoid misunderstandings, I will assign Kaidan
to Kirrahe and let Ashley remain with me. Inside the base several kernels take place. One
of them is finding a second Prothean beacon reinforcing Shepard’s first vision. Moreover,
the team encounters a holograph of a Reaper in form of a spaceship by the name of
Sovereign. After the encounter they pursue the mission of placing a bomb inside the station
when all of a sudden a distress call form Kaidan’s team interrupts the procedure. When
Shepard decides to go after Kaidan, a large dropship attacks Ashley’s team deploying the
bomb. Now the player has to choose whom to rescue. The other crewmember will die.
After each choice paths recombine and you’ll have to face Saren for the first time.
Depending on which crewmembers died during the course of this mission, dialogue in
debrief and onboard the Normandy changes, with some characters giving you their
condolences or regrets.
   86  

In the aftermath, Shepard and his crew return to the Citadel to inform the council of
the happenings. He reports that he finally has managed to figure out why Saren acts so
hostile. It seems that the Reaper vessel, using him for their resurrection, has indoctrinated
Saren. The council nevertheless doesn’t want to risk intergalactic war based on holographs
and Shepard’s vision, thus grounding the Normandy until further notice. Nonetheless,
Captain Anderson is willing to help and offers two possibilities. He may either infiltrate
the Citadel’s control or release the Normandy from Ambassador Udina’s office by
knocking this one out. Besides, this chapter is the last one where you can tackle different
side missions. Notably, owing to the fact that I did not kill Fist, he was still around and
people inside the Citadel were talking about him.

Having escaped the Citadel, Shepard and his crew head to Ilos to pursue Saren. On
their way they encounter a Prothean holograph by the name of Vigil. The Prothean tells
Shepard and his crew that the Citadel is actually a giant Mass Relay through which the
Reapers return every 50000 years and destroy all of galaxy’s races in order to renew the
cycle of life. Further, he gives them a data file to access the Citadel’s control unit to stop
this from happening. Afterwards, Shepard continues to head for the Conduit situated on
Ilos. Being some sort of galactic portal, the Conduit connects the world of Ilos with the
Citadel.

Stepping out of the Conduit, the Citadel is already under siege and halfway
destroyed. Arriving at the Council Chambers you face Saren again. You may however
avoid the first fight by driving him into suicide. This is possible by either choosing
paragon or renegade answers persuading him that he had become indoctrinated by
Sovereign and that there’s no other possibility than to commit suicide. If you choose a
neutral response you will have to fight Saren. Both choices lead to Saren’s death.
Afterwards, another major choice is entailed on the player when Joker, the Normandy’s
pilot, radios in. He wants to know whether to focus fire on Sovereign or to help the
Ascension with the council members on board. If you focus fire on Sovereign, the
Ascension will be destroyed. If you are willing to help them however, they will fight
alongside you against the alien vessel, unfortunately not having great impact on the battle’s
outcome. Regardless of this choice, Saren will get resurrected by Sovereign, which leads to
the final battle of the game. In the aftermath, four slightly different ending sequences will
play out depending on the choices you made beforehand. The endings depend on whether
you played the game as paragon or renegade and whether you have saved the council or
   87  

not. Having played as paragon while saving the council will trigger a cut scene in which
the council apologizes for your loses offering you a position among them. Now the player
can decide whom to assign for this role by choosing between Ambassador Udina and
Captain Anderson. Funnily, when having decided to free the Normandy by Anderson
knocking out Udina earlier in the game, this one makes a funny remark concerning that
fight. This choice also happens in the renegade version with the council. The differences
between paragon and renegade ending lie in how the council evaluates your efforts.
Playing paragon, they praise the human race for its generosity and braveness, which is
necessary for the forthcoming battle with the Reapers, whereas playing renegade, they
highlight mankind’s ruthlessness and brutal actions, which seem necessary to face the
Reapers. Having not saved the council, it is obvious that they will not appear in the game’s
ending sequence. Playing paragon, mankind is willing to lead the Citadel and include
humans as leading force inside the council. They assume other races will tolerate these
measures as they now look up to humanity as capable of defeating the Reapers and saving
them. Having played as renegade, this conversation will have a strong racial undertone
depicting mankind as the superior species, while others, will have no choice but to accept
them.

Talking everything into account, it is evident that Mass Effect formulates a video
game where gamers can alter event order thus constituting a different kind of plot.
Moreover, the game climbs even one step higher on the gradation scale for interactive
story, by including recombining paths and several endings depending on the choices you
made. Notably, major choices in the game may even affect the events of the game’s
successor, Mass Effect 2 by importing date. In addition to that, the game as well features
several minor choices like the instances of Fist, Wrex, Ashley and Kaidan, Udina and
Anderson etc. which give players the sensation that their choices do indeed matter.
Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for the Rachni species to join me in battle.
   88  

Figure 6: Mass Effect Story Structure Part One

Dialogue with Liara => heading back to the Citadel.

(This is only triggered when completing all of the four
missions: Liara, Noveria, Feros and Virmire

Saren

Rescue Kaidan Rescue Ashley

Placing the bomb

Second Beacon /
Reaper Sovereign

Base Infiltration

Choose between
Wrex dies Wrex lives Kaidan and Ashley
in your team

Virmire
landing
When finishing 2 of the 3 missions, Virmire gets available

Kill Rachni Spare Rachni

Species Species
Acquiring Rachni
the Cipher Queen Missions can
be tackled in
Benezia any order
Thorian
Liara

Landing
Landing Landing
Feros Noveria Artemis Tau Cluster

Anderson steps down

Second Council Hearing/
Shepard becomes a Spectre Homecoming
Tali and
Unusual Evidence
Readings Fist Fist Scan the
Keepers Citadel
Harkin Barla
Van
Council
Reporter’s
Hearing The Fan
Request
Entering the
Citadel
Back onboard
The Beacon the Normandy
Key:

Kernel Event on the game’s spine Spaceport Train

Research
Station
Side quest: Satellite Events The Dig Camp
Site Meeting Prologue
Satellite Event on the game’s spine Eden Prime Ashley

Spectre on
board
Normandy
(Nihlus)
   89  

Figure 6: Mass Effect Story Structure Part Two

Ending: 1 Paragon / Ending 2: Renegade / Ending 3: Paragon / Ending 4: Renegade /

with council with council without council without council

Normandy destroys Sovereign ship /

crashes into the council chambers

Saren gets resurrected / Sovereign

slips into his body / Endboss of the
Game

Ascension saved /helps to defeat Ascension destroyed / Normandy will fight

Sovereign Sovereign on its own

Help the Ascension and save the council Focus on Sovereign and leave the Ascencion
and the council to certain death

Citadel control unit / Joker radios in

Drive Saran into suicide by Fight Saren J

either using paragon or
renegade responses
Council chambers / Saren

Several fights and dropship

Elevator malfunctions
Going after Saren
Citadel closes / Reaper ship
Sovereign enters
Terminal
Citadel under siege

The Conduit

2nd Prothean Holograph: Vigil /

Data file to save Citadel
Driving through the Archives
Prothean Holograph
Landing on Ilos / Saren escapes
Romantic scene with Ashley or someone
else you dedicated your time to
Transmission concerning the interview
Stealing the
Anderson knocks Anderson infiltrates Normandy
down Udina the Citadel Control
Talking to Anderson
Meet Fist again
Reporter Interview
Talk to Ashley Citadel
Chat with the Council

Return to the Citadel

   90  

7.2.6. Story Structure in Heavy Rain

In this final chapter of the work I will present one of video games’ finest examples of
storytelling.24 Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain not only presents a suspenseful and story
driven experience but also pushes the medium’s capabilities to convey interactive story to
its limits, at least for today.

7.2.6.1. General Considerations

The plot in Heavy Rain revolves around four characters in search of a child murderer, the
Origami Killer, whose latest victim, Shaun Mars, has only got a few days left to live. In the
course of the game, the player alternately takes control over Ethan Mars, the boy’s dad,
journalist Madison Page, FBI Agent Norman Jayden and a private detective by the name of
Scott Shelby. Due to its interactive story, Heavy Rain offers multiple endings and choices,
including the death of major characters and the victim himself. As such, finality of death,
which is very uncommon among video games, is one of the game’s major themes.
Normally, if the PC dies in the course of a game, players are given a change to retry the
sequence or level by loading the last checkpoint. This is not the case in Heavy Rain. If one
of the four characters dies, he will be gone for the rest of the story. You can surely reload a
certain chapter, but the fact that you can play on with one of your PC’s death presents a
very refreshing novelty. Another major theme is the use of rain. Beside the fact that it’s
raining during the entire game, except for the prologue and chapter 1, the Origami Killer is
said to drown his victims in rainwater. The more it rains, the less chance of survival a
victim has. Moreover, the rain adds to the desperate, gray and hysterical tone of the game,
especially impersonated through Ethan Mars in his desperate attempt to save his son.

Story in Heavy Rain is mostly presented via cut scenes, dialogue and interior
monologue. While there are cut scenes to sit back and watch, the game also offers a wide
array of interactive ones. In these cases, players can determine the result of a cut scene
through so-called quick-time events (QTE) by pressing the controller’s buttons in certain
sequences. This can cause hectic action sequences which form a large part of Heavy Rain

                                                                                                               
24  The
story structure analysis of Heavy Rain for the Playstation 3 is based on my personal experiences and
evaluation of the game. I analysed the game by means of several play-throughs and several reloads of
specific scenes at several points in the game. However, there might be other choices or paths I am not aware
of or was not able to find. Thus, I take no responsibility for any mistakes or inaccuracies in my analyses.
After all it is a game with plenty of choices. Further, the tree diagram is influenced by Chatman’s approach
dividing events into kernels and satellites (cf. Chatman 54)  
   91  

like being chased by the cops, fighting the killer or cutting off your own finger in order to
save Shaun. Generally speaking, Heavy Rain gives a great sensation of really playing out
and being inside the story. This is mostly achieved due to its linear game structure. The
game is divided into 52 short and tense chapters, including prologue, letting you play out
all its major events without doing much random stuff. It is precisely this tightness, which
doesn’t allow any downtime, what makes story seem present at all times. Another method
of conveying story is by means of dialogue, both inside and outside of cut scenes. Similar,
to Mass Effect players are able to chose between several answers which can affect the
game’s storyline. Furthermore, the press of a button can trigger interior monologue
showing you your player-character’s thoughts. Narrated by himself, these help players to
get their bearings and remind them what to do next. Naturally, this gives insight into the
character thoughts and feelings.

As choice is one of Heavy Rain’s major elements, the next part of this chapter will
lead you through the game from the beginning to its several endings while showing
different choices and their outcomes on the game’s story and ending sequences.

7.2.6.2. Story Structure Analyses

Prologue and Chapter 1, 2:25 The game starts off in a bright and colourful tone showing the
family life of Ethan Mars, his wife and their two children Jason and Shaun. Several
activities like taking a shower, putting on clothes, playing with your kids or setting the
table for your kid’s birthday present a tutorial to introduce players to the game’s mechanics
and controls. Such inessential activities however, which I may call satellite events, are
mostly voluntary and can be done in any order you chose to. Thus, even here, event order
is only fixed to a certain extent and you are able to slightly alter discourse. Nevertheless,
some events are necessary to fulfil in order for the game to proceed. In the case of the
prologue, you have to take a shower before your PC will allow you to go downstairs.
Otherwise, a small cut scene will be triggered with Ethan reminding himself that he should
shower first. Other activities like continuing with Ethan’s drawings are voluntary. Plot
seems to thicken in chapter 1 when Ethan and his family are visiting the local mall. After
having bought a red balloon from a clown Ethan loses Jason in the crowds. The
unsuccessful search ends with Jason being hit by a car outside the mall and Ethan jumping

                                                                                                               
25  Please use Figure 7 on page 98 in accordance with this description.  
   92  

towards him in an unsuccessful attempt to save his son’s life. Chapter 3 occurs two years
after the mall incident with Ethan picking up his other son, Shaun, from school. After
various activities, like doing homework, talking and eating, the chapter ends with Ethan
bringing Shaun to bed and experiencing a weird blackout.

The first minor choice the game presents occurs when the second playable
character, Scott Shelby, is introduced to the player. After questioning Lauren, a victim’s
mother, the player chooses to either help her in the fight with one of her customers, Troy or
not. If you choose to leave, Lauren will have a huge bruise on her face later in the game
and dialogue will slightly be altered. If you choose to help, a further playable event, the
fight against Troy, is triggered.

Chapter 4 introduces the third playable character, the FBI agent Norman Jayden,
who obviously seems to be a drug addict. In this level you can either collect all the
evidence on the crime scene or leave out some. In the end, this may be vital to whether you
obtain Shaun’s location or not.

Chapter 5,6,7: After talking to his Shrink about his blackouts, Ethan spends the
afternoon with his kid, Shaun in the local park and playground. After experiencing another
blackout the kid’s gone, leaving the desperate father with nothing but an origami figure in
his hand.

In chapter 8 the game presents two minor choices to the player. These include
paying for the watch fund or not and taking Triptocaine, the drugs Norman abuses. In order
to refuse them, you have to make it to the bathroom and wash your face. Though the watch
event at first seems secondary and could as well have obtained the status of a satellite, the
watch scene in the end will tell Norman that the killer is or was a cop, thus being essential
to the story.

Chapter 9 takes place in the shop of one of the victim’s fathers. Here, the player has
essentially two options. Help Hassan when the shoplifter appears or stay in the back
leaving Hassan for dead. Consequently, you will not receive the box with evidence. When
you decide to help Hassan there are several more possibilities to tackle this attempt. These
include knocking out the shoplifter, reasoning with him, or being shot yourself. Each of
these attempts is successful and will scare away the thief. As a result, you may have
another chat with Hassan obtaining the box with evidence. If Hassan gets shot however, he
   93  

will tell you in his last words that he would have wished to see the face of his son’s
murderer before passing away. Here, attentive players will notice the brief smile on Scott’s
face hinting that he might even be the Origami Killer himself.

Chapter 10-13: Introducing the fourth playable character, a journalist by the name
of Madison Paige, chapter 10 depicts a nightmare the woman experiences in which
burglars break into her apartment. Chapters 11-13 show Ethan fleeing form the press after
having received a mysterious letter leading him to a locker in Lexington Station. There, he
finds a box with five origami figures in it. Sitting in the motel room he rented he now
knows what to do to save his son’s life. The Origami Killer’s game forces Ethan to
complete five trials in order to obtain Shaun’s location and be able to save him.

Chapter 14 and 15 show the attempt of Norman and a fellow policeman, Blake, to
follow a lead taking them to a church fanatic’s house. When Nathanial is attacking Blake,
the player has to choose to either shot the suspect at once or to reason with him, thus being
able to arrest Nathanial. Owing to its unimportance concerning the major plot or its
outcomes, this choice will result in two satellite events.

Skipping chapter 16, the next two chapters depict the first trial Ethan has to face
and the subsequent event where Ethan and Madison meet for the first time. After nursing
Ethan’s wounds, this one picks out the second origami figure of the killer’s box and sets
off to his 2nd trial.

Chapters 19 to 27 follow the same procedure with Ethan completing or failing in

his trials, Norman going after a different suspect, and Scott continuing his investigation in
Gordi Kramer’s villa. Trials include Ethan crawling through a shaft filled with broken
glass and manoeuvring his way through electrical wires in the old power plant and cutting
off his own finger in order to receive more letters of his son’s address.

Chapter 28 presents a considerable bigger choice. If Ethan gets arrested, players

can experience an additional level in which Norman will help Ethan to escape form
custody. If Ethan will evade arrest, this chapter won’t happen and the game continues with
Norman checking his clues and playing piano. Notably, if Ethan does get arrested, the two
chapters, 30 and 31, will play out simultaneously by combining both, thus evading any plot
holes.
   94  

The first occasion in the game a PC may die presents chapter 33 with Madison
visiting a psychopathic doctor to get further leads on Shaun Mars’s case. In order to
complete the level Madison must find the Blue Lagoon Card. To do so, she has to refuse
the drink the doc offers her to then search the house for the card in his absence.
Meanwhile, he will leave to search the sleeping pills she supposedly came for. If she’s fast
enough, she might escape without being seen. If not, the doc will hit her with a bat leaving
her unconscious to later awake tied up in his basement. This will happen as well if
Madison accepts the intoxicating drink the doc offers her. Now, it is either him or her,
which will be decided by means of a QTE. When Madison dies, the game for her is over. If
you survive and have not obtained the card yet, Madison will find it anyway. Similarly
succeeds chapter 34 with Norman struggling for his life on Mad Jack’s junkyard. Norman
can die in one of the fights with Mad Jack but as well suffer a terrible ending tied up in his
car smacked by the junk press. All of these events are vital for the game’s story and
outcome and may be given the status of a kernel.

Chapters 35 to 39 present no special structure. The only thing worth mentioning is

the playable flashback in chapter 37. Here, the game presents the killer’s past with his
brother drowning in a drainage ditch on a construction sight.

Chapter 41 presents another event that is of major importance to the game’s

outcome. If Madison has survived the battle with the doctor, players may choose to kiss or
reject her. When kissing her, Ethan will find out that she’s a journalist and becomes furious
for not telling him the truth. Now another important choice can be made. Forgive her or
send her away. Either way, Madison will leave and the cops show up at Ethan’s motel
thinking that he is the Origami Killer. This event will also take place if Madison has died
before. During the chase, Ethan will eventually get caught by Blake and has to choose
whether to jump from the building or getting arrest. If the cops catch you this time, Ethan
will remain the rest of the game behind bars not being able to save his son.

These several choices eventually lead up to the question ‘who of the three
characters will make it to the game’s final chapter’ taking place in an old warehouse where
Shaun Mars is being held to drown in a small canal. Ethan will make it if he has at least
fulfilled three of the five trials laid out for him by the killer. If completed all five, he will
immediately obtain Shaun’s location. If he has completed three or four he might still be
able to get there by interpreting correctly an audio clue leading him to the harbour.
   95  

Similarly, Norman needs enough clues to identify the killer. If both of them fail and
Madison is still alive, she might be their only chance to get there. If she has figured out the
right address, she can call either Ethan or Norman to inform them of Shaun’s location.
(I have no idea why she cannot call both of them) If no one of the three characters
survives, is jailed, like in the case of Ethan, or is not able to obtain Shaun’s location, the
kid will die a horrible death. Scott Shelby, being the Origami Killer himself, is naturally
not able to save the kid. Consequently, the final chapter will play out very differently
depending on which of the characters or certain combinations of them will be present.
Depending on the different character constellations, all of the major characters might die in
this final chapter. This all leads to 17 different epilogues depicted by cut scenes showing
the consequence of major choices you made during the game. Needless to say, only a
specific number of them will play out after each play-through in accordance to how you
shaped your individual story. The news report will show up every time being altered due to
the circumstances.

Dead Heroine: When Madison dies at the doc or the warehouse, a cut scene
showing her grave will be played out

Heroine: If Madison survives, saves Shaun and wasn’t kissed or forgiven by Ethan,
she is going to be guest in a talk show and will be highly praised for her efforts.
Furthermore, a bookstore scene shows her signing books she wrote about the happenings.

Square One: For this epilogue to play out Madison, of course, must survive but is
not able to obtain Shaun’s location. Moreover, she was not kissed or forgiven by Ethan.
The cut scene presents her in a desperate condition sitting in her apartment.

New Life: This ending occurs when Ethan is not being jailed for the second time
and he and Madison survive the game. Moreover, they need to be together, meaning Ethan
has kissed and forgiven her. Shaun is saved, naturally. The cut scene shows them starting a
new life in a new apartment they’re about to move in.

A New Start: This ending essentially includes the same cut scene as in ‘New Life’
but without Madison, however. It is played out when Shaun and Ethan survived, but Ethan
has never really gotten into any relationship with Madison.

Tears in the Rain: In this case, Ethan and Madison are together but Shaun
unfortunately died. The scene shows both of them at Shaun’s grave with Ethan asking
   96  

Madison to leave him alone for a little while giving him just enough time to pull out his
gun and blowing his brains out.

Innocent: After Shaun’s retrieval through anyone, Ethan is released out of custody
to be welcomed by his son and ex wife.

Helpless: Again, Ethan didn’t manage to evade arrest, but in this scenario Shaun
wasn’t saved and Ethan hangs himself in jail.

Ethan’s Grave: This epilogue occurs when Shaun is saved but Ethan dies in the
warehouse. Shaun and Ethan’s ex wife visit his grave devastated by the events that took
place. If Shelby has survived, he will be there observing both probably feeling impressed
by a father who gave anything to save his son. A father he himself never had.

Origami Blues: In this possible world, Ethan was not able to obtain Shaun’s
location and did not get involved with Madison. Consequently, desperate and with no will
to live, he will sit in his apartment holding a gun to his head. Then he pulls the trigger.

Unpunished: In this unfortunate case Scott Shelby, the Origami Killer is left
unpunished strolling around in the streets of New York. Furthermore, Lauren drowned in
Kramer’s trap.

A Mother’s Revenge: This cut scene plays out quite differently when Lauren
survives and is about to avenge her son’s dead by pulling out a gun and shooting Scott in
the open street.

Origami’s Grave: Scott dies at the scene of the old warehouse and Lauren lives.
The cut scene shows her visiting his grave feeling nothing but contempt for him.

Uploaded: Illustrating the faith of drug junkie Norman Jayden when not having
survived the incidents of the game, the cut scene shows Blake and Captain Perry talking
about his funeral. Obviously, they do not care too much about his passing away. Blake is
given Norman’s ARI glasses (virtual reality glasses he used to analyse clues) and
experiences an unpleasant and unexpected meeting with the dead when putting them on.

Resignation: Shaun is fortunately rescued by someone, but not by Norman himself.

He did not obtain Shaun’s location and was not called by Madison. As a result, he quits.
   97  

Smoking Mirror: Norman, as before, wasn’t able to find Shaun. In this case
however, Shaun is not rescued by anyone and dies. Here, Norman seems to loose his mind,
talking to a version of himself in the ARI. In the end, he suffers a relapse of drug abuse.

Case Closed: The best of Norman’s individual endings is triggered when he was
able to obtain Shaun’s location and the kid is saved by him or other characters being
around. Here, it is Norman who is the praised guest of the talk show. Moreover, he quits
drugs for good by flushing them toilet. Nevertheless, his mind seem to go crazy when
several imaginative armoured tanks appear on his desk even when taking off the ARI
glasses.

To conclude, the analyses of Heavy Rain shows how far interactive storytelling in
video games can go at the moment. The game not only successfully recombines paths but
also offers unique events when altering its story. Additionally, with the possibility to let
PCs die in the course of the game, Heavy Rain breaks with the norms of video games and
includes the finality of death. By means of its intense and well-paced action it sucks
players into its world accepting the challenge to save Shaun Mars at all costs.
   98  

Figure 7: Heavy Rain Story Structure Part One

Collect Evidence / mobile phone

Chapter 15: Nathanial
Look after the baby
Arrest him
Save mother Kill
Nathanial him
Chapter 16:
Suicide Baby
Discuss
Open box the case
/Start first Chapter 13: The Motel
Chapter 14:
trial
Kick Off Meeting
Locker
Chapter 12: Lexington Station
Face the Crowd
press Sneak out
in the back
Madison’s Chapter 11:
nightmare Paparazzi Chapter 9: Hassan’s Shop

Help Hassan and

Chapter 10: Sleepless Night receive the box Don’t help / Hassan dies
Shoplifter
Hassan Question Ethan
Reach the
Take bathroom
them and wash
your face
Drugs
Don’t
pay
Pay
Secretary /Watch/ Office Blake
Press Conference Meet
Shaun Chapter 7: the
Where’s Shaun Play with Captain
disappears ARI Chapter 8:
Welcome Norman
2nd Blackout
Chapter 6:
Various The Park
activities Don’t collect
all the
Talk to evidence
your
shrink Collect all the evidence
Chapter 5:
The Shrink Meet Blake
Chapter 4:
Crime Scene

Help her Don’t help

her
Try to buy her: => she Trick her: => get more
wants you to leave out of her and leave
Meet Lauren
Chapter 3:
First Blackout Sleazy Place
Homework Chapter 2:
Father and Son
TV
2 years later
Jason dies
Chapter 1:
Jason’s gone The Mall
Clown

Play with kids

Prologue
Shower

MADISON PAIGE ETHAN MARS SCOTT SHELBY NORMAN JAYDEN

   99  

Figure 7: Heavy Rain Story Structure Part Two

Question Paco Chapter 38: Flowers on the Grave

Kramer visits John
Hit with lamp Sheppard’s grave
Strip until   lamp
Strip / Hit with
the end as soon as possible Chapter 37: Twins Flashback: 1977
Office
Gravedigger
Bathroom
Dance
  Chapter 36:
Talk to Security The Cemetery John Sheppard’s
Chapter 39: grave
Sexy Girl  
Chapter 35: Eureka Crosscheck
Eggs names

GAME OVER   Talk Mad Jack dies

MADISON Madison dies GAME OVER Die
NORMAN Escape
Leave /card found earlier press / fight
Find Card and leave Arrest
Junk press
Doc knocks Kill Doc him
you out Drugs
Leave Basement
Fight Mad Jack
Evidence
Find it Don’t find it Kill him and
complete 4th trial Mad Jack
Search
the card Spare his life Chapter 34:
Fail in Get arrested for Mad Jack
Refuse questioning
fight
Drink Start Wipe away all your Don’t wipe away all
Chapter 33: fourth Chapter 32: fingerprints your finger prints
Drink Chapter 31: Under Arrest
The Doc trial The Shark Manfred’s killed
beverage Ethan escapes
and pass On Off
out Camera
Chapter 31: Help Ethan
Ethan gets Manfred Police jacket
escape
Escape arrested
Check clues
Chapter 28:   Chapter 30: Jayden Blues Piano
Fugitive Help Ethan escape Captain Perry
Question
Successfully cut off finger and Chapter 31: Under Arrest
Chapter 27: Ethan
complete 3rd trial
The Lizard
Several possibilities to cut off finger
Talk to Gordi’s
Refuse and don’t cut off finger father, Mr. Charles Chapter 25: Question
Kramer Chapter 26: Shrink and the shrink
The Golf Club Punches
Got the
rd wrong
Start 3 trial Chapter 23:
The Nurse
  Chapter 24: suspect
Nurse Ethan Police News
Complete 2nd trial
Fail
Coward Door Electrical wires
Talk to Gordi
Fail 3 possibilities
Succeed Chapter 21: to get upstairs
Glass Kramer’s
Chapter 22: Party
The Butterfly Gordi’s house

Chapter 20: Talk to Lauren Suspect escapes

A Visitor
Apprehend suspect
Start 2nd trial Chase suspect
Chapter 18:
Nurse Ethan Chapter 19:
First Encounter
Covered Market
Meet Ethan
Reception / Key

Complete first Don’t complete first trial successfully

trial successfully Chapter 17:
Car The Bear

MADISON PAGE ETHAN MARS SCOTT SHELBY NORMAN JAYDEN

   100  

Figure 7: Heavy Rain Story Structure Part Three

Dead Heroine New Life Unpunished Uploaded

A New Start A Mother’s Resignation

Heroine Revenge

Tears in the Origami’s Smoking

Square One Mirror
Rain Grave

Case Closed
Innocent

Helpless

Ethan’s Grave News Report

Origami Blues
Epilogues

Chapter 51: The Old Warehouse

If obtained Shaun’s location you

may either call Jayden or Ethan.

Escape Hide in
through refrigerator
kitchen GAME OVER
window Die MADISON
Get out of
secret room Chapter 50: Killer’s Place
Killer catches you /sets house on fire
Don’t Obtain Shaun’s address Burn the evidence Chapter 49:
obtain it Laptop Origami Killer
Enter Less than 3 trials past => Ethan Chapter 48: Hold
Killer’s 3/4 trial /
5 trials guess doesn’t get the address of Shaun’s my Hand
place location, the Warehouse
past / go Chapter 47:
directly Chapter 45: Goodbye Lauren Find the
Ann Sheppard Don’t The Rat killer
tells Madison the drink Drink poison and pass trial Give up if you don’t have Analyse
killer’s name / poison
Fifth and Chapter 43: enough clues the clues
but the player
last trial Face to Face Chapter 46:
doesn’t know
Solving the
Origami Get him his heart pills Leave and let him die
Puzzle
Dog Orchid Succeed and find Kramer
Killer’s Fail and
Gunfight leave
mom
Chapter 44:
Ann Sheppard Save yourself
Lauren dies
Jump and and Lauren
Escape Save only yourself
Don’t warn Car on bottom of
Ethan the lake
Warn Ethan GAME OVER
Arrested Kramer’s
ETHAN
Madison Chapter 42: revenge
leaves Cops Trapped
Forgive her
Find out she’s Reject her
a journalist
Kiss her Evidence
Chapter 41: GAME OVER Survive
On the Loose Die
Don’t kiss NORMAN Killer
Madison / Open Box Chapter 40:
She leaves With Madison Without Madison Fish Tank Paco

MADISON PAGE ETHAN MARS SCOTT SHELBY NORMAN JAYDEN

   101  

7.2.7. Figure 8: Game and Story Structure Gradation Scale

Taking all the result of chapter 7 into account, it is now possible to classify the previously
mentioned games in gradational scales.26 The game structure scale to the left shows the
transition from linear structure with narrow environments to continuous structure where
backtracking and thus more choice of location is possible to domain structure having a
central hub as the game world’s linchpin from where all the several levels can be accessed.
Further, mix forms between domain and contiguous structure like in the Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time where the open world of Hyrule also functions as central hub to enter the
game’s dungeons, exist (cf. Boon 61). The scale ends with contiguous structures
representing open worlds the player can explore thus formulating the most open game
structure among video games. On the other hand, story structure, which is depicted by the
scale on the right-hand side, is better expressed by means of a circular platform where
boundaries between all the three forms seem to blur. According to the three poles: linear
story, interactive discourse and interactive story; games might be situated in accordance to
the percentage of how linear their story is, to what extent it is able to choose event order or
to influence discourse in general, and how many influential choices or alternations in story
can be made.

Game Structure Story Structure

Linear Story

Linear Structure: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Alan Wake

Donkey Kong Country Returns Half Life

Heavy Rain Army of Two: The 40th Day
Army of Two: The 40th Day Half Life 2
Alan Wake Donkey Kong Country Returns
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Continuous Half Life
Half Life 2
Structure: Bioshock
Bioshock
Domain Super Mario 64 Prince of Persia
Structure: Banjo Kazooie The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine Heavy Rain
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy Infamous
Mix Forms: Prince of Persia Banjo Kazooie
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina
Super Mario 64 Mass Effect
of Time
Mass Effect Interactive Grand Theft Auto IV Interactive
Discourse Red Dead Redemption Story
Contiguous Gran Theft Auto IV
Structure: Red Dead Redemption Fallout 3
Infamous
Fallout 3

                                                                                                               
 
26  Linear, continuous, domain and contiguous structures are used as defined by Boon 58ff.
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8. Conclusion
In conclusion, I am convinced that video games are able to convey stories. Applying
narrative theories on story-driven video games seems to work almost flawlessly.
Nonetheless, not every game genre incorporates story or even needs one. As a
consequence, it would be wrong to define video games as being narratives in general. Yet,
all triple-A games that were released in the last few years intertwine story and gameplay,
or at least try to do so. Further, game writers are included into development teams closely
working together with game designers to maximize the effect a story can have. To do so,
they have to rely on certain measures, the video game discourse, to convey story to the
player. While in the old days story was mainly presented via cut scenes and text only,
modern games intermingle all the possibilities video game discourse offers, thus
intertwining story with gameplay even more. Players should not have the feeling that story
is secondary or unessential to a game, but instead leads and accompanies them throughout
the entire experience. With story, or even stories of entire game worlds, players become
more immersed into a game’s fictional world with all its characters, settings and conflicts.
They can stroll around, talk to different NPCs, explore the vastness the game world has to
offer, indulge into its beauty, diversity and latitude by doing as much random stuff as the
game space allows to, or tackle the main story they are about to resolve. Indeed, it seems
that this sense of immersion is very different from the one being achieved in literature or
films. Players figuratively step into fictional worlds and even seem to strongly connect and
identify with their player-characters. Consequently, it is true to say that storytelling in
video games is quite different than in literature. It even seems more direct as in film as the
agent who is about to resolve what’s going on is you. As such, narration is not needed so
extensively as in novels or short stories. Nevertheless, when implemented cleverly, it will
add considerably to the overall experience and certainly more games will follow the
example of Alan Wake in doing so. A further reason why video games are so different is
the choice they entail. With open world games such as Fallout 3 and Mass Effect offering
nearly endless possibilities how to solve certain problems, where to go next, whom to kill,
be kind to others or not, where to live, what to say, what equipment to use, nuking a city or
not etc., such games offer a myriad of minor choices to alter discourse or the story itself.
Even more apparent is the case of Heavy Rain with its several endings and major choices
players can undertake while playing the game. It is the sheer variety of possibilities that
makes video games so unique and different from other media. But also playing a strictly
   103  

linear game can be a very diverse experience. Being channelled through the game in a
frantic, suspenseful canoe ride while experiencing bombastic visuals and sounds can be
indeed very immersive as well. Just image Dead Space’s narrow corridors on the USG
Ishimura in fear of Necromorphs crawling up from behind or god knows where sending
shivers up and down your spine. Moreover, with the industry growing and the increase of
big budget titles, storytelling in video games might as well drastically improve in the
course of the next years. This is further reinforced by the fact that video game developers
are anything but satisfied with the content and stories they have created and conveyed to
the players thus far. As technology and techniques improve we might experience a sort of
storytelling we are not familiar with like, for example, stories developing itself organically
within the game space and its rules. Needless to say, this is all utopian fiction at the
moment but, nevertheless, dreams that may as well come true. Video games, and especially
video game studies, are in their very beginnings and future will tell whether this mostly
unexplored field of science will gain enough acceptance among academics to be
established not only in public, but also in universities, schools and other forms of research.
To my mind, with games like Heavy Rain, Bioshock, Fallout 3, or Mass Effect that drive
forward the entire industry, this future is just starting.  

 
   104  

9. Bibliography  

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Army of Two: The 40th Day. EA Montreal. Electronic Arts, 2010.
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Bioshock. 2K Boston. Take Two Interactive Software Inc. , 2007.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward. Activision, 2007.
Call of Duty: Black Ops. Treyarch. Activision, 2010.
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. EA Los Angeles. Electronic Arts, 2007.
Darkness, The. Starbreeze Studios. 2K Games, 2007.
Dead Space. Visceral Games. Electronic Arts, 2008.
Donkey Kong Country Returns. Retro Studios. Nintendo, 2010.
Duke Nukem 3D. 3D Realms. GT Interactive Software, 1996.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Ninja Theory. Namco, 2010.
Fallout 3. Bethesda Game Studios. Bethesda Softworks, and ZeniMax Media, 2008.
Fifa 11. EA Canada. Electronic Arts, 2010.
Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix. Square Enix, 2009.
Gears of War. Epic Games. Microsoft Game Studios, 2006.
God of War. SCE Santa Monica Studio. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2005.
God of War 3. SCE Santa Monica Studio. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2010.
Goldeneye 007. Eurocom. Activision, 2010.
Grand Theft Auto III. DMA Design (now Rockstar North). Rockstar Games, and
Take-Two Interactive Software, 2001.
Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar North. Rockstar Games, and Take-Two Interactive
Software, 2008.
Half-Life. Valve Corporation. Sierra Studios, 1998.
Half-Life 2. Valve Corporation. Sierra Studios, 2004.
   105  

Harvest Moon 64. Victor Interactive Software. Natsume Co., LTD, 1999.
Heavy Rain. Quantic Dream. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2010.
Infamous. Sucker Punch. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2009.
Legend of Zelda, The. Nintendo. Nintendo, 1986.
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Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The. Nintendo. Nintendo, 2002.
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Prince of Persia. Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Entertainment, 2008.
Read Dead Redemption. Rockstar San Diego, and Rock Star North. Rockstar Games,
Take-Two Interactive Software, 2010.
Red Faction: Guerrilla. Volition Inc., THQ Inc., 2009.
Resident Evil 4. Capcom. Capcom, 2005.
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Shell Shock 2: Blood Trails. Rebellion Developments. Eidos Interactive, 2009.
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Super Mario 64. Nintendo. Nintendo, 1996.
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Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo. Nintendo, 2007.
Super Mario Galaxy 2. Nintendo. Nintendo, 2010.
Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo. Nintendo, 2002.
Tetris. Nintendo. Nintendo, 1989.
Tetris DS. Nintendo. Nintendo, 2006.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon. Red Storm Entertainment. Ubisoft Entertainment, 2001.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Naughty Dog. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2007.
Wave Race 64. Nintendo. Nintendo, 1996.
   106  

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   108  

List of Abbreviations:
AI = artificial intelligence
FMV = full motion video
FPS = first-person shooter
GTA IV = Gran Theft Auto IV
NES = Nintendo Entertainment System
n.p. = no page
NPC = non-player character
PC = player-character
PSN = Playstation Network
QTE = quick-time event
RPG = role-playing game
RTS = real time strategy
SPC = silent-player-character
XBLA = Xbox Live Arcade