Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
When we interact with and experience story, there's always a little bit of effort required of us as
a member of the audience. At the very least, we have to keep our eyes open and pay atten-
tion in a darkened theater, or turn the pages of a book. Games, on the other hand, sometimes
require much more labor and time to experience the stories embedded within them. The
investment of effort can create emotional attachment because the players are involved in a
much more significant way than if they were simply turning pages; they've worked hard to see
the story proceed. This investment comes with risk, however. If the story disappoints in the end,
players can feel let down, even robbed.
Even simpler forms of interactivity can become onerous when they end up feeling like barri-
ers to the next section of story. Some of the games of the Resident Evil series feature interactive
cutscenes that require the player to act in order for the scene to progress—in theory, bring-
ing the player more directly into the drama. The cutscenes of Resident Evil 5 (2009) include
moments where the player has to press a button to leap over a pit, dodge falling pillars, or
avoid enemy attack. If the player doesn't press the correct button within a short time limit, the
cutscene shows the protagonist of the game dying a horrible death, and the player's forced to
repeat the cutscene. This technique certainly requires the player to be “involved” and pay close
attention for the crucial signal to quickly press the correct buttons, but many players express
extreme annoyance at having to repeatedly watch these scenes when their timing was
slightly off.
Story as Exploration
Another method of weaving story into a game sidesteps some of the issues of cutscenes: rather
than alternating between a period of playing in the game system and watching another section
of story, many games incorporate story elements that are available to players but not neces-
sary to move the plot of the story forward. Instead, they're optional. We've already mentioned
games like Skyrim that detail vast fantasy worlds with long histories through topics that play-
ers can read and objects they can examine. Many role-playing games that try to create the
experience of traversing a rich world also include characters that the player can talk to—or at
least use a “talk” verb that produces some dialogue giving the player more details about that
character or the setting. These story elements are similar to the more open spaces of resistance
discussed in Chapter 6. They're there for players to push into and explore, or move past and
ignore as they see fit.
This kind of optional story material is sometimes referred to as lore because it frequently fills in
the backstory of a game world. Lore tends to play a supporting role in the story of many games
rather than creating a series of events that unfold into a plot for the player to follow. Pieces of
lore provide additional flavor for players who are interested in knowing more about the setting
and who want to pursue the background and creative expression that make up the game world.
 
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