Game Narrative Suggestions.

Crapfestival

Hey, folks. Before I start, I'd like you all to know that, no, I don't want you to do my homework for me.

What I'm doing is writing a thesis paper for a class I'm taking on the history of digital media. My thesis is that the video gaming medium has techniques and options in narrative that can only be practiced through the medium. My examples so far include games like Planescape Torment and its variable arc, games like Half-life 2, Bioshock and System Shock 2 for the optional, atmospheric discovery of narrative aspects, and games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, much of which can be entirely interpreted.

All I'm looking for are some more suggestions, either within the same types that I've included here, or just where you've seen a game deliver a storyline in a way completely unique to video gaming. I know a lot of you have probably already thought about this a ton more than I have, so I'm sure there are a ton of golden offerings some of you have. Anywho, thanks in advance!

bsjezz

flower on the psn was amazing.

bsjezz wrote: »

... it's a fairly simple story about being conscious of the way the structures we create impede on the natural environment. and it's not so much the story itself that was unique but the craft that was used in telling it; no dialogue, no language other than visual cues and musical tone-setting, driven by emotion cleverly conveyed in a way that was inherently tied with gameplay elements - from joyous soaring to quiet, dark introspect to terrifying dominance.

i've never experienced anything like it in a videogame

... in a simple contextual touch that was purely portrayed in the framing of the actual gameplay (the menu), we saw that it's okay to live in an urbanised way. it wasn't a fervorous greeny rant, it was a gentle musing on what life would be like if we all had flowers on our windowsills, which made it unique and compelling.

as a person who's studied storytelling very closely for many years, i felt that flower did a hell of a lot right and is one of the best cases for games-as-art you could present

i was also really intrigued by farenheit (indigo prophecy). the storytelling elements were very strong but there was also a lot of room for the player to manipulate the character in a way that seemed... best fitting, in a literary sense - as opposed to best for the game, or in order to get the 'best score'.

edit: there was a unique satisfaction, a unique feeling of reward to generating something meaningful. very neat way to use storytelling and much different to the usual completionist idea of how to best play a videogame. not sure how long you'll be working on your thesis, but if you're interested beyond your job as a student (which i'm sure you are) i'd keep an eye on heavy rain - the game's follow-up

CelestialBadger

Eternal Darkness for the GameCube had an amazing story, uniquely told. It was Lovecraftian horror. Each level had a different protagonist, who usually died horribly in a cutscene at the end of the level. There was a linking story about a girl exploring a scary old house.

Delzhand

I wrote a short essay on a similar topic last year. It may be of interest, even if it isn't quite thesis-level material.

http://www.delzhand.com/node/5

LoveIsUnity

What you really need to do, if you're going to approach this in any type of cogent, academic fashion, is look in to the discussion taking place about ludology and narratology.

In addition, this website has academic articles on the topic that have appeared as a result of the DiGrA conference: http://www.digra.org/dl/order_by_author?publication=Computer%20Games%20and%20Digital%20Cultures%20Conference%20Proceedings
Not everything there is immediately useful to you, but it's a good starting point.

In addition, I've written a lot on the topic for the site I write for.

noir_blood

Metal Gear can be used for games that follow the general story telling techniques but still manages to throw a few interesting things like the Psycho Mantis fight in the first game, the 'fight' with umm, the dude that cried tears from Snake Eater, etc.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare with the part where you play a dude after an atomic blast might work for you.

EclecticGroove

I would look into the Shenmu games simply for their (at the time) groundbreaking immerse qualities.

Hotlead Junkie

I heard Spider on the iPhone was very good at telling a story without eve using words, not played it though