Narrative vs Game

Can narrative and game ever co-exist?

Recalling the examples we have, Shade and Glass seems to incline towards the narrative side and contain little game element.

For Facade, both elements are present. However, it lacks interactivity and is rather restrictive. Perhaps that is due to the little amount of action and the constraints of the space.

However, Indigo Prophecy seems to be a very good example of narrative and game co-existence. It has an interesting and exciting narrative and is an exciting game too. The story is so engaging from the beginning that we want to know what happens next. This will makes us wanting to continue playing the game. Another interesting feature is that there is much more possible conclusions compared to Facade, Glass and Shade.

Perhaps we should rephrase the question, in which the answer has been eluding us. Maybe the question should be "How to make an exciting game story instead?" instead. We will never know whether it is possible for narrative and game to exist until we experiment and make it.

Comparing Indigo Prophecy with Facade, Glass or Shade might give some clue to what we are looking for. Firstly, we can see that the visual effect and graphics of the game-story is very important. Alternatively, this can also be referred to as space, as what Jenkin has stated. It creates the setting and the environment for the game-story. This will give the player a clear idea of the surrounding space and some information of the story with just a glance. In addition, the size of the space is essential too. It mustn't be too constrained and cannot be too large until the focus is missing.

Secondly, the sound effect also plays an important role in engaging the player. It adds excitement to the game-story, and makes it more real.

Thirdly, time makes a difference too. There are some who argues that narrative and game cannot co-exist well together because in a story, the time is the past, whereas in a game, it is the present. But aren't the action made by the player will come to a past when the player moves on in the game-story? So, what the player does now, will soon become a story later.

In a game, it is crucial to be able to move fast. The fast pace will increase the level of excitement in a game-story. Making a game-story with a heavier narrative element faster will make it more like a game. Players tend to skip lengthy narrative description. Perhaps the game designer should think of other quicker and clearer ways to convey the narrative information to the player.

To make a game-story with a good balance of narrative elements and game elements as well as be able to convey them in an interesting and effective way, the story and the game should compromise one another. This means that in transferring the narrative from a movie to a game-story, the story have to compromise with the additional game elements. The story cannot be a rigid one anymore. The kernels of the story can still be kept constant. However, we have to allow changes to the satelites of the story. These parts can be where the player's actions can make a difference.

Perhaps we shouldn't think that a balanced game-story cannot exist just because its narrative elements lacks the quality of a story or that its game elements lacks the quality of the game. Game-story is an entirely new construct. Maybe the classical definition of game and narrative is not applicable to the game-story anymore.