What is Game Narrative?

Narrative is an ambiguous word, and can mean different things depending on the medium a writer is working with. In games, narrative is a grand excuse, or justification. It is both a reason and a vehicle.

Now that I've confused you...in the end, narrative is most easily described as a method.

Specifically, narrative is a method the writer must use in order to present the world of a game to its player.

What does that mean? How does narrative accomplish this?

In game writing, there seems to be a delicate balancing act between the story and the experience. The story of a game consists of what happens in a game, and the experience is the combination of those events with the gameplay that the game's designers have intended.

Unlike other forms of prose, where story is central and essential, game writing requires the story to become secondary to the experience. Story must still exist, but it cannot remain the center of attention; that spotlight shines on the player, the protagonist.

Game narrative accomplishes this delicate balance by using three distinct mechanisms:

• Rewarding the player:
When a player accomplishes a difficult play section - let's say they just stopped a nuclear detonation - narrative rewards the player with a splash of information. Maybe the player wants to know why that nuke was set? Perhaps that player wants to know who did it, and where they escaped to! Or, maybe the player just wants to see the relief on the faces of innocent bystanders. Sequences of story used to illustrate these things can gratify someone who has overcome the challenges presented by gameplay.

• Immersing the player:
Immersion is also an ambiguous word, but I can define it best as replacing the reality of the player. When I'm playing a fantasy RPG, I look for a rich and well-defined world. When I stop feeling like I'm in my dorm room, and start feeling like I'm in that shady tavern, trying to avoid a bar fight, I've become immersed. Narrative that immerses the player must be convincing enough to make the world feel real.

• Giving a player identity:
In games, identity is like a travel guide; it places everything in an appropriate context for the journey the player is on. The purpose of identity is to stop players from asking "why should I do this?" The identity that narrative provides brings about reason. Those aren't character models you're shooting at; they're zombies. That's not an object that triggers a cut scene; it's the princess, and you're out to save her. Go do it. Now.

Understanding these mechanisms, it is easier to see how a game's narrative differs from a book's. Narrative in a game must focus on the protagonist, who is beyond your control as a writer. Players will never behave the exact same way as one another, and so your narrative must find ways to reward, immerse, and grant identity to each and every one of them.

More to come on the purpose of game narrative in the future.