Are games really a good storytelling medium?
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Picture a cave. It’s dark outside, but the smooth rock surrounding you provides comfort from the elements. A fire crackles before you, and the flickering, warm glow illuminates shadowy figures seated in a circle around it. Someone clears their throat, the storyteller begins to weave a tale, and as the threads of the story grip your imagination, reality fades away. Thus it has been since the dawn of time…
All terribly epic isn’t it? But the fact is that mankind has told stories for thousands of years. Gaming is just the latest evolution of the narrative method, but is it more Spot the Dog and Jackass: The Movie than War & Peace and Schindler’s List?
This article discusses the different types of narratives and storytelling in gaming and compares and contrasts this to stories in films and books.
It explores the potential of stories in gaming and looks at the limitations that prevent gaming from reaching this full potential.
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