All story telling vehicles rely on getting you immersed in the world the author is trying to create. There needs to be a believable setting, a cast of identifiable or, at the very least, understandable characters. Bad stories are the ones that defy understanding; that leave you simply stating "that could never happen" as opposed to being swept away by the narrative.
Books try to do this by letting your mind fill in the gaps that mere words create. When you read, you hear a narrator's voice or a character's voice. Vivid descriptions conjure up sharp imagery in your mind. All of this to get you to connect with the story on some emotional level. A well written book can do a very effective job at making you care about people you've never met, who don't exist, in a place you've never been to. It can immerse you in its world.
Movies and TV work along the same lines, but whereas the world the book creates is more hidden and subtle, the world of TV and movies is a bit more overt. Good writing is still needed to give the characters volume and the air of believability, but more often then not the "immersive" qualities tend to be more technological ones; A high-def screen can give you an amazing level of visual detail. A surround-sound system can make you feel like what's happening before your eyes is actually happening all around you. These supplement the story and give your body the sense of being totally immersed in the fictitious world before you.
Story-driven video games take both of these one step further. Yes, they have to have the well-written world of books. Yes, they can have the same technological feel of amazing visuals and surround sound. But they introduce a whole other aspect that truly immerses the viewer: control.
In other mediums, the story is a sharp, straight line. The only control you have is whether to continue the story or not. In video games, it's not so simple. Even with games that have a strictly linear plot, it can't continue on unless you, playing as the main character, perform some action. The story may require you to go into a castle, but the door is closed. There isn't a button for "just go into the castle". Instead, you have to walk around the world, look through the eyes of the protagonist, open the door and walk through it to reach your destination.
It's a little contrived example, but it illustrates the point. Actively requiring participation makes the person enjoying the story feel like it's happening to them; not just around them. They have to translate simply stated lofty goals ("Save the princess from the castle") into a series of normal, controlled actions (run, jump, break that block, avoid the fireball, run more). And, just like a good story, it doesn't really matter so much what happens as how it happens.
Some video games take advantage of this control to change the story around you; Mass Effect or Fallout 3 are prime examples of this. Not only are your actions just complicated means of achieving the goal you set out to complete, but the goals themselves change with how you try to reach them. You are given liberty to fully explore the worlds that these games have created without being bound to a specific story or narrative.
This freedom is empowering. It really makes you feel like you are the protagonist. It lets the world of the story completely envelop you. It's absolutely the most immersive way to enjoy a story. Which simply makes it the best way to enjoy a story.
No comments:
Post a Comment