Video games in general need to move away from conventional storytelling (i.e. book, film, TV)

[Quillion]

As I promised here, I'm making a thread about this topic.

I have some respect for conventional storytelling in video games, but mainly as a jumping-off point for early writers of video game storytelling. I see it how early movie actors were very dramatic and exaggerated on camera; it was because they were stage actors to begin with. Stage acting by all accounts requires you being loud and to making dramatic, sweeping motions because the people in the back rows need to be able to see you. But somewhere along the line (~50s or 60s depending on who you talk to), film actors realized that they can be subtler on camera than on stage because the camera make close-up shots. Nowadays, stage acting and film acting are two related yet separate arts, and people can now learn and master both sets of skills separately.

Likewise, I think video game developers need to realize that video game storytelling has its own advantages and disadvantages that need to be kept in mind. Sure, FromSoft is the current torchbearer of this mindset with their brand of "environmental storytelling", and Valve was one of the early popularizers of storytelling unique to video games back in '98 with Half-Life. Unfortunately, most (popular) video game developers still use conventional storytelling in their games, leading to situations like Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 trying to mix open world and conventional story and getting criticized for it.

Some would say that only open world or exploration-oriented games should move away from conventional storytelling since that kind of storytelling is inherently linear. But even then, Half-Life is often brought up as an example of a great linear game, and it still manages to excel in environmental, atmosphere-driven storytelling 11 years before Demon's Souls burst on the scene. I think this and the criticism of RDR2 prove that linear games, open world games, and everything in-between should move away from conventional storytelling.

It's clear that video games, like any other storytelling medium, provides different advantages and disadvantages from other media, and video games' interactivity makes their differences even more pronounced. For example, in most other storytelling media, characters running around figuring out what's going on and what to do tends to be very boring as this sort of "action" tends to drag the story on and slow the pace. In video games, running around figuring what to do is, when done well, very engaging because the player has to seek out the story instead of having it spoonfed to them, which gives the player an illusion of agency at the very least. On the other hand, characters making mistakes and learning from them is THE most effective way to develop a character in most storytelling media, as the audience gets to see the flaws of each character as well as their struggles in overcoming their flaws. In video games, having a character make a mistake and learning from it tends to be frustrating for the player because the story essentially has to take control away from them to have the character "make a mistake"; this is the essential problem behind "ludonarrative dissonance" (AKA gameplay and story segregation), where the narrative has to defy the player's input to move itself forward.

Granted, I'm not saying every developer in the industry should abandon conventional storytelling, no questions asked. If there are going to be developers who purely want to make an artistic statement with conventional storytelling, they should be able to do so. I believe that if you want to make an artistic statement in any medium, you should be able to create something with no mind towards standards.

But when it comes to standards for video games that are intended in part to make money, I think non-avant-garde games need to transition away from imitating the storytelling of books, movies, and television. It's about time for commercial video game developers to realize that storytelling with the interactivity of video games needs to be done way differently from previous storytelling media. It's time for a shift on par with film acting separating itself from stage acting.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Majora's Mask to me is one of the triumphs of environmental storytelling, particularly because the fundamental tale isn't even about the protagonist; it's a narrative about pained people now reacting to the seeming end of the world. And everything contributes; the music, the lighting, the sound effects; everything. Even if you go out of your way to only do the bare minimum in terms of interaction with the NPC's, one still cannot help but feel the crushing weight of an apocalypse, and it's arguably more effective during gameplay than anything else. The Final Hours song, mixed with the earthquake, the bell sounds, and countdown timer, illustrates the nightmarish and bleak destruction of a good land better than any cutscene could. As a result, that Link isn't even really the focus is irrelevant because Termina itself is the engaging entity one is driven to help and further learn about.

Breath of the Wild makes the occasional similar attempt at that, but is arguably too minimalist in its environmental motifs, too naturalistic in its landscapes, and too devoted to its open world concept to really do proper justice to the idea. Even the optional flashbacks, while reasonably well executed, feel far too separated from the setting to have much impact. The whole thing renders it as one of the few genuine letdowns of the game; one can do anything in Breath of the Wild, but outside blanket discovery, it doesn't really feel like it matters all the much in the grand scheme.

Only somewhat related, but I also believe that there's a certain distinct presentation that many 2D games have that is often undervalued. Very subtle world building via strong background and foreground elements/aesthetics can often be more effective for players personally than 3D and/or open worlds, because there's enough to give an idea of the world at large while still allowing individual creativity to fill the gaps. The classic Sonic the Hedgehog titles could easily fit into numerous personal interpretations that varied from one another (like the West vs. Japan or serious vs. dramatic) because anyone playing it could look at something like Star Light or Casino Night and allow imagination to do the rest. A well-made background from DKC2 in something like Web Woods could be powerful because of what you see of the haunted forest in the background and what you don't see beyond it.

To me, that was something so fundamentally great about experiencing games that pulled it off that kind of balanced aesthetic detail; you may be controlling those specific characters in that specific adventure; but everything beyond the glimpse being seen was something for you to complete however you wanted.

 

[Quillion]

LiveStudioAudience : Thank you for moving this thread forward man.

Majora's Mask to me is one of the triumphs of environmental storytelling, particularly because the fundamental tale isn't even about the protagonist; it's a narrative about pained people now reacting to the seeming end of the world...

...As a result, that Link isn't even really the focus is irrelevant because Termina itself is the engaging entity one is driven to help and further learn about.

That's a good point. I've started to nurture the thought that video games just aren't that suited to telling the story of the character you're playing as.

They seem to do just fine when you're using your character to explore other characters' stories, such as the sidequests in games like Majora's Mask or The Witcher 3. Even if the other characters are main characters in their own right, like party members in Persona or units in Fire Emblem, there really isn't a problem exploring their stories.

Things get iffy at best when we're supposed to see our player character "develop", though. Quoting what I said in the OP again...

On the other hand, characters making mistakes and learning from them is THE most effective way to develop a character in most storytelling media, as the audience gets to see the flaws of each character as well as their struggles in overcoming their flaws. In video games, having a character make a mistake and learning from it tends to be frustrating for the player because the story essentially has to take control away from them to have the character "make a mistake"; this is the essential problem behind "ludonarrative dissonance" (AKA gameplay and story segregation), where the narrative has to defy the player's input to move itself forward.

Either the player character is boring because the game can't have them make mistakes and learn from them (because if the player makes a mistake, the story abruptly ends for them) or the player character is way out-of-sync with the player because the narrative has to take away control from the player to advance the player character's arc.

Breath of the Wild makes the occasional similar attempt at that, but is arguably too minimalist in its environmental motifs, too naturalistic in its landscapes, and too devoted to its open world concept to really do proper justice to the idea. Even the optional flashbacks, while reasonably well executed, feel far too separated from the setting to have much impact. The whole thing renders it as one of the few genuine letdowns of the game; one can do anything in Breath of the Wild, but outside blanket discovery, it doesn't really feel like it matters all the much in the grand scheme.

I feel like what they should've done in BotW is lean all-in on the journals and in-game literature left by long-dead characters. Sure, BotW had some of that already, but only with the characters like Zelda, King Rhoam, and the Champions that we already get to know from cutscenes, optional or not. And then those logs just reiterate the information that was already present in those cutscenes for the most part.

They also could've had a lot more in-universe rumors and legends regarding nearby areas. Especially with Ganon; if they were going to lean in on him being Giygas-lite, they could've had some scattered information regarding how Ganondorf turned into Calamity. And honestly, if they're going to explore Ganon's story in the BotW sequel, it's going to feel like a band-aid solution since we already defeated his Calamity form and have to focus on his zombie form.

Only somewhat related, but I also believe that there's a certain distinct presentation that many 2D games have that is often undervalued. Very subtle world building via strong background and foreground elements/aesthetics can often be more effective for players personally than 3D and/or open worlds, because there's enough to give an idea of the world at large while still allowing individual creativity to fill the gaps. The classic Sonic the Hedgehog titles could easily fit into numerous personal interpretations that varied from one another (like the West vs. Japan or serious vs. dramatic) because anyone playing it could look at something like Star Light or Casino Night and allow imagination to do the rest. A well-made background from DKC2 in something like Web Woods could be powerful because of what you see of the haunted forest in the background and what you don't see beyond it.

To me, that was something so fundamentally great about experiencing games that pulled it off that kind of balanced aesthetic detail; you may be controlling those specific characters in that specific adventure; but everything beyond the glimpse being seen was something for you to complete however you wanted.

It does kinda feel like FromSoft's games are carrying on that tradition, but adapted to actual 3D.

Unfortunately, while FromSoft is indeed leading the charge when it comes to bringing back environment/atmosphere-driven storytelling, and they've become popular for it... that "charge" is limited to the Souls-like genre they pioneered instead of spreading to every other genre.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Part of the issue of the Player/Character disconnect is that one of the more elegant solutions to that is still some ways away because of the sophisticated AI and game data it would require hasn't yet arrived. Let's say there's a hypothetical Grand Theft Auto game in the future that developers want to focus on a central type of character/story about a well-meaning person falling into crime, but still need to emphasize the freedom of choice by the player. Hypothetically in the future they could some day design the game in such a way that if the person playing it doesn't want to follow that path/story, then the game itself would adjust to create such a character that would then be interacted with, either up close, far away, or in between.

Thus, that original intended story is essentially still being told, it's just the perspective has changed to that of a friend/enemy/stranger witnessing it rather than directly living it themselves. More or less it would be a dynamic title that allows for the central narrative to be told from ostensibly a first/second/third perspective (and subsequent environmental/aesthetic changes to reflect that) and as a result would cover a lot of bases with fans... but as said, it's a long way off.

 

[Quillion]

Part of the issue of the Player/Character disconnect is that one of the more elegant solutions to that is still some ways away because of the sophisticated AI and game data it would require hasn't yet arrived. Let's say there's a hypothetical Grand Theft Auto game in the future that developers want to focus on a central type of character/story about a well-meaning person falling into crime, but still need to emphasize the freedom of choice by the player. Hypothetically in the future they could some day design the game in such a way that if the person playing it doesn't want to follow that path/story, then the game itself would adjust to create such a character that would then be interacted with, either up close, far away, or in between.

Thus, that original intended story is essentially still being told, it's just the perspective has changed to that of a friend/enemy/stranger witnessing it rather than directly living it themselves. More or less it would be a dynamic title that allows for the central narrative to be told from ostensibly a first/second/third perspective (and subsequent environmental/aesthetic changes to reflect that) and as a result would cover a lot of bases with fans... but as said, it's a long way off.

A game that dynamically changes its story in response to any and all decisions you make, every victory you achieve, and every loss you sustain is an ideal, no doubt. I'm not counting on being alive when it becomes reality though.
----
In regards to protagonist character arcs not gelling with interactivity, perhaps a game called EarthBound can provide an alternative approach...

Ness is a silent protagonist to be sure, but near the end of the game, we get to read his thoughts in Lumine Hall. Then after the next and final Sanctuary, we play as Ness alone as he explores a manifestation of his mind. And it's in Magicant where we can glean that Ness is cheerful, but wants to stay with his Mom forever, thinks about the enemies he's defeated during his quest, and pities and wants to forgive Porky even after everything he's done.

Magicant somehow manages to use environmental storytelling to directly characterize the protagonist. That method isn't going to fit every story, but I find that absolutely brilliant.

 

[Quillion]

I know only one person has ever participated on this thread other than me, but I still have to ask:

Are there any environmental storytelling-focused games that don't have a bleak, lifeless, and/or hopeless tone nor are set in such a world?

I think immersive storytelling techniques like environmental storytelling and forcing the player to seek out optional dialogue for context has potential for a variety of settings and tones. But I think those storytelling techniques have their reputations hampered by how games that primarily rely on them to deliver story want to make the player feel isolated and alone for the most part. Half-Life has Freeman alone and confused among the aftermath of the Cascade, Dark Souls makes you feel like a random weakling selected to fight against all these hard-hitting enemies, and Breath of the Wild has precious few dialogue amidst a world full of uninhabited fields, forests, and mountains.

The reason I want to know about lighter, livelier environmental storytelling-focused games is because of the only one I can think of EarthBound. It's very sparse on cutscenes and dialogue, letting the player figure out the context for themself, but the world has a healthy mix of lively, populated areas and dangerous wilderness areas.