Exposition - Video Game: Storytelling - page 72

Let's be clear, though; Metal Gear Solid 2 is an excellent game, and it's
not as if the story itself is particularly bad. But the game's opening—and
other extended noninteractive sequences along the way—could definitely
be reworked to be more effective at drawing the player into gameplay as
well as the narrative. Never forget that players come to play .
While some inexperienced writers might assume that an audience can't
enjoy a story if they don't fully understand what's happening, especially at
the beginning, it just isn't true. A skilled storyteller knows that withholding
information isn't always a problem, and may be done on purpose to in-
crease the audience's enjoyment of the experience.
The opening of Uncharted 2 , in contrast to MGS2 , provides almost no
up-front information before the player is thrust into gameplay. Within just
a few seconds of this game's in media res opening, the player finds herself
controlling a man who hasn't been introduced, but who is hanging from a
wrecked train, which is in turn hanging over a snowy cliff.
Here's what the exposition chart looks like before the player is handed
control in Uncharted 2 .
Need to Know
▪ The player character is a young man in a wrecked train.
▪ The train is precariously hanging off a snowy, mountainous cliff.
▪ The player character must climb to safety .
Could Wait
Incidental
▪ The player character is bleeding and doesn't seem to remember why.
The player instantly understands the desperate situation, even if she
doesn't yet know who she is or how this scenario came to be. It doesn't
matter who you are or how it came to be; right now you need to get the
hell of of that train! It's a perfect example of master video game