The future of game storytelling

I've read quite a few articles recently that have a negative outlook on the future of storytelling in games in one way or another. Either from the point of view that single player games aren't financially viable or just that story shouldn't be the focus of games in general. Given that part of the reason I set up this blog was taking more of an interest in the process of writing film scripts and how this can relate to games this initially seemed a little depressing. I also don't want to see the end of story based single player games personally but I sadly have to recognise that I'm probably no longer part of gaming's biggest market, with multiplayer modes almost never being a draw for me - unless they're local co-op.

However, I eventually got to thinking about whether the same point about telling stories could be levelled at films in a way. When you get down to it, sometimes the story in films is secondary to the visual style of it and can result in a more interesting final product than you would expect given the story (something that people have said about Drive from last year). And to contrast, a very thorough and faithful adaptation of a story that was originally a book can make for a very dull film. I think that films which can be looked upon as timeless classics are those that feel like film was the perfect medium to tell that story; that the direction and cinematography combine perfectly to create the whole package. A film that I've not seen but have often heard described this way is Citizen Kane and I think that when people say that we are still looking for the "Citizen Kane of videogames" that we could be misunderstanding what we are actually looking for.

So what does make a great story that can be told through a video game? I've been thinking back to one of my favourite games of the past ten years - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. While it probably doesn't immediately stand out as having the most complex story, I feel that there are many aspects of it that fit so well within the format of a game. Released at the height of near film length cut-scenes in game series such as Metal Gear Solid, this stands out by having very few out of gameplay cut-scenes and instead focuses on building interest in the characters via their banter as the game goes on. There is also attention paid to the interactive and random nature of games, by having apologetic dialogue for when the Prince is accidentally shot by the AI controlled character Farah. This simple addition creates a moment of humour and a degree of personalisation to your journey through the game, when you could have quite easily found yourself irritated by the "dumb computer".

There are also parts of the story that make sense from both a narrative and gameplay aspect, like the section where you lose the dagger of time and therefore the ability to rewind when you make mistakes. This makes sense and doesn't feel forced from a story perspective while at the same time serves as a perfect way to challenge you to prove that you have mastered the game's core skills and can get through a section without that safety net. I felt that the final battle was a little weak but the rest of the ending is great, how it reveals that the Prince hasn't been breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the player throughout the game, he's been relating his whole story to someone else. Again this is a great little touch that serves gameplay and story at the same time.

It seems slightly ironic that it went on to have a film adaptation, which I initially felt disappointed by how much the story had changed. I've come to realise that it would probably have been very difficult to transfer directly to film with just two characters navigating abandoned palaces. But I also almost felt insulted by some of the making of features about it, where those interviewed seemed to suggest that by default the film story would be better than the game. To me they seemed to be taking the opposite approach, with those involved in the film setting out to make something fun and entertaining but forgettable, when the game has clearly been so memorable to me. This is despite the fact that I don't think the game is perfect by a long shot - it has its flaws but it's still something that I will quite happily come back to and play through every couple of years or so.

Going back to those initial articles though, the other harsh question you have to ask is whether any of this helps to make a game more financially viable in the long run? While there has been a recent HD port of Sands of Time for the PS3 I've not heard great things about it, in terms of it losing some of the filters and graphical touches that were part of its original charm. Given that I don't own a PS3 myself I'm happy enough to replay my Gamecube version via the Wii and would probably advise anyone else to do the same. This again feeds into the problem of pre-owned sales, given that if I want to buy an old film or album I can be pretty sure that I can walk into HMV and pick up or order a copy (though I might baulk at the price) whereas for classic video games my only real option is eBay after a couple of years. Digital distribution of better HD remakes I think will certainly help, even if there will always be a subset of people who will complain about textures/models that aren't updated.

I'm not sure I really have a clear answer to this question but if we're still going to see single player only story based games, they're going to have to cost less to make in the first place. I think that we will have no choice but to move away from the expensive process of trying to emulate films and look to what the real strengths of video games are. At the end of the day, interactivity is always going to be a big part of it and I think that it doesn't always have to be big game changing decisions like Mass Effect, which must take a lot of effort to plan out. Sometimes I think Prince of Persia's example of catering for the random occurrences in games can help you to have your own personal story to tell about your experience with a game, something which is mentioned in that Edge article. If we are happier to tell people about a few laps from Mario Kart than the main plot of a game I think this shows that the more personal a game can feel to you the better.