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How do video games use narrative in interesting ways?

Todorov's Equilibrium in Video games

Majority of games use this narrative theory. Mainly games aimed at children use this theory a lot.

E.g. Mario.

Games for teens and older also use this theory but sometimes try to trick you aren't playing a game with a equilibrium sometimes make you start the story in the game with a bad start E.g. You start in a never ending war or you start dead.

Embedded and Emergent Narrative

Narratives in Video games?

Embedded and Emergent Narratives are narratives that are mainly used in Video games.

What is Narrative?

Embedded Narrative: Is when there is already existing narrative in the video game before the player has interacted with the game. Story in a Story.

Most games use a type of narrative theory in their games even games that don't have a story/plot.

Video games are the only media that has a narrative technique aimed towards them. the Narrative theory is called Embedded and Emergent Narratives

Todorov's Equilibrium

Emergent Narrative: A narrative that comes from a players interaction. Going up levels and doing puzzles. Most emergent narratives are in indie games.

Narrative is the structure of a story/ Journey.

Narrative techniques are a way of messing around with the structure.

Tzvetan Todorov is a Historian, Philosopher and Literary critic. He has French – Bulgarian nationality and was born on the March 1st 1939.

Game design like to balance the two narratives out but, Rpg and open world games use more more embedded narrative and indie and puzzle games like to use more emergent narrative

He created or came up with the Todorov's Equilibrium (Which was named after him).

This narrative suggests that most stories have different stages and have a set line.

Where the narrative starts of good has a sense of balance, then the balance has been broken and the problem has started, Then at the end the problem has been fixed and balance has been restored.

Embedded and Emergent Narrative in Video Games

Open and Close narrative in Video Game

It is very recent that games have started to use an Open Narrative, mainly because they, the developers want to give the player carry on playing the game. This narrative is done as open world and multiple quests

Most games use to have a fixed story and gameplay. Where it has a beginning and end.

The Elder Scrolls Games are a very good example of a embedded narrative game. It each game there is tons of background story in it already, for the player to understand the universe they are playing in, this embedded and background story is also known has Lore.

Lore: The background story of a game or film, the imaginary culture of the game or film universe.

Open and Close Theory

Tetris is a example of emergent narrative game, Once you complete a level you then can progress to the next level.

Open narrative: Usually a narrative in a film or book that have many characters and no forseeable ending, can have multiple stories going on at a time and some something unpredicatable can happen.

Close narrative: A narrative in a film or book that is limited and will have a ending and everything has been solved, will have one single story not multiply in stories going on at the same time.

Conclusion

I think that overall narratives in video games are similar to narratives in books and film.

Although some games do make narratives more interesting than film and books.

Another thing that is video games use embedded and emergent narrative which makes video game narratives more unique, although you can get embedded narrative in films sometimes its mainly found in games. Because of this I would say that yes video games do use narratives interesting ways.

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