(Major
Spoilers for the Assassin's Creed series and L.A. Noire abound.)
Last week, I discussed how games could be used as a storytelling
medium. I talked about the benefits of using games to explore
philosophies and scenarios in a free form way: That player choice was
an important concept and that it is vital to show the consequences
for those choices. After the article was posted, a friend of mine
pointed out something to me. In hindsight, I may have unintentionally
snubbed linearity in video games. It is absolutely possible to have a
strong linear narrative using video games. I would argue that doing
this well is much more difficult. It has to be done in a certain way.
A developer must tailor the experience to the medium of video games
in order to make it work.
Again,
video games have strengths that can be played with. By default, video
game players are more likely to sympathize with the protagonist
because they are the protagonist, at least on a superficial level.
The main character (at least a well-written one) has a good backstory
and motivation for his/her actions. With that, they are allowed and
encouraged to have preconceived notions of morality and ethics. A
good way to help further define and flesh out the character would be
to use the mechanics of the game. The original Assassin's
Creed
did this incredibly well. The player did not have a health bar, it
instead had a “synchronization meter” which showed how much the
player was in sync with Altair's, the protagonist, memory of what
happened. This mechanic allowed the game to inform the player of
Altair's
morality
without bogging him/her down with exposition or allowing for Gameplay
and Story Segregation.
When the player kills an innocent person, the synchronization bar is
immediately reduced by 33% of its maximum value. This shows while
Altair is an assassin and known for killing people, he still has a
degree of morality and was not a complete psychopath. It is also
possible to increase the maximum synchronization by doing things in
line with what Altair would do like analyze the city from high
building or by saving people from corrupt guards. This avoids
Gameplay and Story Segregation as well because in the story the
events of Altair's life occurred very long ago and the player is
simply playing a simulation created using his memory.
In
the case of Assassin's
Creed,
the mechanics are more than a way for the player to get from point A
to point B. They are used to reinforce the characters and the
situations in which they find themselves. Assassin's
Creed: Brotherhood
also did this in a particularly powerful scene at the end of the
game. At the end of the game, the player character, Desmond, finds
and ancient artifact called the Apple of Eden with the help of his
friends. Someone from behind the scenes uses the Apple's power to
control Desmond's body and freeze time for the other three people
with him. The cutscene has Desmond extend his hidden wrist-blade and
begin to move toward his love interest, a fellow assassin named Lucy.
When the player regains control, he/she (if they are anything like
me) will try to steer Desmond away from her. However, when the player
moves, no matter which direction they point to, Desmond will move
towards Lucy. When Desmond is close enough, then the player will be
directed to press attack and he/she will have no choice but to
comply. This is a powerful scene because it helps the player to
empathize with Desmond. It demonstrates his complete powerlessness
and inability to stop his body no matter how hard he tries to. This
moment is made powerful because the mechanics in play support the
narrative and brings the player into the story.
While
a linear story can be significantly bolstered if in a video game,
there are dangers to attempting to do so. If one does not keep the
story and its central themes in mind, there is a strong chance of the
gameplay weakening the story. A storyteller can risk undercutting the
whole story with the mechanics of the game if they are not extremely
careful. As much as I love the Uncharted
games, they are prime examples of this. Naughty Dog has constantly
said that Nathan Drake, the protagonist of the series, is the
everyman. He is the person that the player can relate to. This is
very hard to take seriously. The reason for this is that the
Uncharted
series is a third-person cover-based shooter. For the uninitiated,
that means that the player, as Nathan Drake, is almost always
slaughtering tons
of nameless, faceless pirates/soldiers.
Furthermore, he has the tendency to talk... and
snark...
a lot... during each engagement. The overall image of him (at least
during gameplay, the actual story is significantly better) is one of
a murdering psychopath who has no concept of mercy or remorse. This
runs contrary to the kind of character Naughty Dog wished to make and
the type of narrative they intended to weave. While they are
fortunate that the overall story and gameplay hold up, many more like
them have similar problems in their games and fall into this trap.
Other
pitfall in making a good, linear narrative in a video game is that
players will be inherently more critical of the plot. This is because
the strength of having instant sympathy with a protagonist can also
be a weakness. When the players feel like they are the character,
there is the potential for a disconnect with the character if, at any
time, the character begins to exhibit unreasonable or irrational
behavior. I had a personal example of this when I was playing L.A.
Noire.
In L.A. Noire,
the protagonist is a man named Cole Phelps, a marine recently
returned from World War 2 who decided to join the LA police force and
quickly ascended to the rank of detective. He is shown to be a
happily married man with two daughters. The game introduced Cole to a
German singer who escaped to America before the war started. In the
second half of the game, Cole visits the singer in her apartment for
an undisclosed period of time at night. I did not think much of it
when I saw the scene (I was being pretty dense there, admittedly)
until later, when Cole is accused of cheating on his wife and is
demoted to Arson as a result. At first, I thought he was set up. I
thought that there was no possible way that Cole would do that
because it seemed out of character. As it turns out, Cole really did
“pork
that German whore.”
I was stunned. I sat there and thought “Cole! What the f**k were
you thinking!? I saw you at the beginning! You f**king kissed your
wife that morning! Are you KIDDING ME!?”. This one scene completely
broke the game for me. I could care no longer about the story or what
happened to the characters because I felt that the game betrayed both
me and any conceivable notion of common scene. Finishing the game
became more of an endurance test. That is the power of interactivity.
When the story makes sense, it can bring players closer to the
characters and the world. When it does not, then the player can feel
betrayed by the plot and disconnect from the whole mess.
Linear storytelling is a perfectly valid form of narrative in video
games. It relies much more on the writer's skill than free-form games
do. The key is once again to use the mechanics to reinforce the
narrative. Developers and writers need to get together and stay on
the same page throughout development. It is difficulty simply because
it requires a great deal of synergy between all departments of a game
development studio. While an amazing story is difficult to pull off,
when it is, it is extremely gratifying, both to the player and the
developer. I would hope developers, either in the present or future,
would take a minute to think about how a narrative can be woven into
and reinforced by a great game.
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