Let's talk about storytelling pt. 1

It's something I always pay attention to, but so many people seem to get it wrong, Which is a shame. When done right, storytelling in games can be an incredibly effective tool to draw the players in and enhance the overall experience.

I'll start by listing some games where the storytelling doesn't work. Probably spoilers. I'd like to preface this by saying that I thoroughly enjoy all of these games, but want to address these issues.



Mirror's Edge is probably the prime example. We enter the game with hints of a grand conspiracy theory, but ultimately we find it hard to care about everything in the game. All the exposition is force-fed to us in lengthy cutscenes by characters that we have no interest in. We're expected to put our life on the line to save the main character's sister at one point, put the player's motivations don't back up that of the character. Faith's sister is not our sister, and we barely know anything about her anyway. Go on, I bet you don't even remember her name.

The only likable character in the game is your ally over your earpiece, Merc. He is never anything but helpful, interjects friendly lines about how well you are doing in the game and gives you helpful tips about where to go or what is currently happening in the story.



GTA IV is another game where the character's motivations and player's motivations do not match up. This is symptomatic of the entire GTA series, but GTA IV is the most flagrant. The main character of GTA IV, Niko Bellic, consistently mentions to his friends the dreadful things he had to do during the war and how glad he is to leave it all behind. Shortly after this exchange, Niko can steal a car from an old woman and shoot her in the face, murder a prostitute and then kill himself.

Although Niko can be a sympathetic character during the missions and cutscenes, the complete player freedom allows Niko to be a completely different character to that which is presented to us, showing no compassion or empathy for human life.

Not only that, but the game suffers from a similar problem to Mirror's Edge. Despite the cutscenes and character interactions being much better in GTA IV, the game asks us to care about our cousin Roman, risking our lives and going up against innumerable odds to save him. The player's response to Roman has been almost universally negative however, as he consistently nags the player to go to strip clubs, drinking or bowling with him, despite the player possibly having better things to do with their time.



The final title I would like to mention is Devil May Cry 4. Although a very sound game with some very interesting mechanics, one of the main faults of the game is the large amount of cutscenes. It takes 3 and half minutes from selecting "New Game" at the main menu to actually reach gameplay, which is then broken up by another five minutes of cutscene. All this serves to do is show us how much fun the characters are having with this wonderful game, whilst we watch and are supposed to be entertained, despite the fact that we've bought a game and not a CG movie.

Part 2 coming up soon, I need to do some more coursework and get ready for work tonight.

For the riddles I've been fed, another lie moves over