To complement our Narrative in Video Game event that took place as part of our Read at Leicester celebrations two library staff members who love computer games have compiled a list of fifteen video games to walk you through the history of developing video game narratives.
If you haven’t ever been interested in video games this list may inspire you to pick up a cheap console and get playing. Storytelling in around us all the time, in fiction, in movies, in photography and in video games. A good story is a good story in whatever format it is told, go out there and find you yours, hopefully the list will help!
- Zork (1980)
Zork is one of the earliest interactive fiction computer games, with roots drawn from the original genre game Colossal Cave Adventure. The game works without graphics and is entirely text based, the narrative is told through a written story which the player controls through written text commands such as “examine mailbox” and “take torch”.
- Donkey Kong (1981)
Donkey Kong was the first computer game to use cut scenes to tell a story. The story in its essence was instrumental to video game narratives through the ages, being replicated again and again, in games from Super Mario Bros (1985) to Super Meat Boy (2008). - Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Before Super Mario Bros release the video gaming industry had been experiencing a terrible lull and was losing its prevalence as a form of entertainment. Accompanied by the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario Bros brought the industry out of this lull and by prioritizing storytelling over high scores and altering audience expectations of video game narratives it became one of the most important and influential video games in history. - The Legend of Zelda (1986)
The Legend of Zelda was another game released by Nintendo which shook the industry signaling to audiences that the mid 1980s was a revolutionary time for video games. Audiences were now approaching games with a whole new attitude, figuring out a new style of play, questioning what these new games were about and how they should be played. Zelda was an open world game, intended for home console use as opposed to the restrictive start, die, game over, repeat playing style at the arcade. With Zelda you could explore, be in control and decide for yourself where to go, what to do and see where the story would go from your own interaction with it. - Mortal Kombat (1992 – present)
Mortal Kombat is one of the highest grossing franchises to come out of the video game realm. Mortal Kombat began as an arcade fighting game with identically controlled characters, all but for their special moves, by using only four buttons and a joystick. It has developed over the years into a much more coherent story, where the games narrative is pushed along by the fights that take place in arenas that interact with the characters you play as. The story told is not particularly impressive but the way in which the game utilised the use of the cut scene is interesting in the observation of storytelling in video gaming. - Resident Evil (1996 – present)
Resident Evil is a Japanese horror media franchise born out the original release of Resident Evil in 1996. The franchise focuses on a series of survival horror games and includes live-action films, animated films, comic books, novels, audio dramas, and merchandise. Although not the first computer game to have a spin off film produced it is certainly worth acknowledging Resident Evil’s worth in the video game canon due to the franchise’s longevity. The game coined the term “survival horror” which inspired an influx of zombie narratives across film and literature. - Super Mario 64 (1996)
Super Mario 64 is always cited as one of the best video games ever made. Mario was unleased in a 3D environment on a system that had a more complex controller in comparison to anything that came before. The Nintendo 64 delivered many revolutionary games but Super Mario 64 was the prime example of how 3D gaming can bring characters and worlds to life. The physics involved in Mario’s movements, his switch turns, his jumps, his bobbing knees all contributed to the admiration and love of the little plumber in the red dungarees. The freedom the player had in the primary coloured world opened opportunities
up for them to decide what parts of the story they wanted to explore on their own terms. Each level wasn’t to be completed in its entirety in order to move on, so worlds would open up one by one that could be revisited at any time for further exploration. It changed the pace of play and the building blocks of the story were placed at the player’s own will. Wonderfully the narrative remains that of the original Super Mario Bros story. Clearly, a good story plays out well in whatever format it is told. - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
We could go on and on about how much of an important game this is. The introduction of such endearing characters, the changing landscapes that you work through as the main protagonist Link, the hidden treasures to explore, the side plots that you complete at your fancy, the passing of time as you switch between the future and past as you compete against the evil Ganondorf. For a full and very well developed review of what makes Zelda so special please check out The Ringer’s article Why ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ will always be the best game ever. - Half-Life (1998)
Back in 1998, First Person Shooters were not really known for their deep, engaging story. This all changed with the release of Half Life. Half-Life sees you assume the role of Dr Gordon Freeman, taking in his first (and final) day working at the Black Mesa test facility. After the Resonance Cascade incident, which allows for the transportation of a whole bunch of alien enemies, Dr Freeman must fight his way out of Black Mesa and to the surface. The storytelling genius in Half-Life taught game developers of the future the correct way to implement a non-intrusive storytelling style upon the player. Cut scenes are a choice, you can engage with the story as little or as much as you like as still get whatever it is you want out of playing the game. Half-Life was able to build an entire universe which was contributed to through multiple sequels and add-ons leaving players wanting more contextualisation and background and soak up even more storytelling. - Silent Hill 2 (2001)
There’s a sinister genius to the storytelling in Silent Hill 2. It tells its intricate story on multiple levels. While the spoken narrative leaves you in little doubt about what kind of man James Sunderland is, the way you play and interact with the world also has an impact. Spend the game at half health (or lower) for example, and you’ll get a different ending because your lack of regard for his health tells the game that you think James is suicidal. Symbolism also plays a big role. Every disgusting creature in the game is a manifestation of James’ twisted psyche; physical representations of his sexual hang-ups and guilt. By the end, you’ll have lost every shred of empathy you had with the game’s protagonist. How often do you get to play an entire horror game before discovering you’re the real monster? - Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
After GTA1 and GTA2 came the 3D incarnation of the Grand Theft Auto world in GTA III. Retaining the key ideas of its predecessors GTA III enabled the player to explore the open world of Liberty City in much finer detail with the narrative building through every mission. One of the most interesting aspects of GTA III is that protagonist Claude never speaks, in every cut scene he remains mute, open to the players interpretation, lending the player more power to direct Claude’s actions rather than being predetermined by his persona or attitudes. - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
A Call of Duty game with a great story does really exist – really – and it’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It’s not like Call of Duty games hadn’t tried to create a story before, it was just that Modern Warfare really nailed how to make a war game into something akin to a movie. It bucked the normal game trend where Russian military were the bad guys and instead brought the British SAS to the Russian Federations aid against a powerful movement known as the Ultranationalist Party. The gameplay goes through multiple twists and turns with betrayal and unexpected alliances keeping it interesting and the player invested. The game amounts to one of the most engaging and cinematic single-player campaigns in a First-Person Shooter ever. - Red Dead Redemption (2010)
Similarly to some of the greatest Western movies of the 30s and 40s, Red Dead Redemption’s story focuses on the changing landscape of the old wild west. In the game you play as protagonist John Marston, he wants a steady home life, but is pushed back into the saddle by government agents who hold his outlaw past over his head. Marston must hunt down his old posse of bandits, effectively killing off the last remnants of the era that defined him. Over and over you meet individuals coming to terms with the end of the Wild West. You explore all areas of the map at will coming across chance encounters that sometimes lead to simple and quick challenges with an immediate pay off and others which involve you battling through a series of subplots that complement the themes and characterization driven by the main narrative. You control John’s fame and honor levels, altering how the world reacts to you as you move through a beautiful environment filled with prancing deer and gorgeous sunsets. The embodiment you feel as John engages you so thoroughly within the narrative like no previous game had ever achieved, until Red Dead Redemption 2 that is, Arthur Morgan is a whole other breed of video game protagonist and I will leave you to explore that yourself. - Life is Strange (2015)
Life is Strange tells the story of Max Caulfield and her friend Chloe Price facing the perils of adolescence, love and an impending supernatural, town-destroying, storm. As the player you make narrative defining choices throughout three episodes where you uncover secrets and manage defining moments in the protagonist’s lives. The game focuses on how you want to tell the story, and all narratives spawn from your decisions. The style of game play lends itself to multiple replays seeing how differing the results can be from the players actions, acknowledging the importance of the ripple effects created by them. - What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)
It’s hard to tell you exactly why What Remains of Edith Finch’s story is so utterly amazing without ruining it entirely, but that’s part of its charm. The less you know about What Remains of Edith Finch the better. Set aside a Sunday afternoon and play it through in one sitting, and, trust us, you won’t regret it. What we can tell you is that it’s a collection of strange stories about what happened to members of one family. Each one is told using a different gameplay style and the way they play out is as inventive as the stories themselves. This is interactive storytelling at its finest.
Article written by Hannah Congrave and Declan Guiney
