NEW MEDIA: Video Gaming Narrative and User Interaction

As mentioned previously, video games are usually based on a linear narrative structure, but one that is immeasurable in time due to where the user takes the story.  There is also the possibility, of course, that many games may have built-in flashback timelines in which clues to the present quest may be provided.  In Silent Hill, what closest approached this (in the very small portion I explored) was a music box that indicated a past event via figures atop the box and a conversation between them (as best I remember). 

The modules or scenes of the story are transitioned by fadeouts as in film technique, and are usually tied in with either a conflict or definite scene change (even from one side of a gate to another). 

The story arc is beset by conflict, and clues that I would call minor plot points.  The story arc builds with the tension of the "mission" and the necessity of solving various parts of the puzzle until a solution is reached that would signal resolution.  Under more nimble fingers and mind than my own, the arc would progress normally instead of trudging uphill (or downhill in this case, while managing not to fall off any cliffs or walk into walls) slowly and cautiously.  Here is where experience of the user/reader adds tremendously to the pace of the narrative, possibly in comparison to a rocket scientist’s versus my own text reading of a book on quantum theory.

I found myself thinking in terms of textual interactive fiction gaming, and it took me a while to acclimate myself to the graphic visuals, but what you see is a direct result of what you have offered as input.

While some plot elements may be missed or overlooked in moving through the environment, I would hope that experience with the medium would direct one to wave that cursor around or press those action buttons (requiring user input to receive information) before moving on.

Automation is obviously built into the programming of the story; things happen that neither our character nor ourselves had planned.  We must "keep our wits about us" to wind our way through the paths offered, as well as what comes upon us unexpectedly, and of course, remember to pick up, take, store, use, and check upon items and clues that we find along the way.

Experience in game playing would also aid the user in recognizing what has become the cultural code of this form of story.  For example, use of the keyboard to maneuver (I personally have only used my arrow keys when in the BIOS section of my PC), the signal by glowing or changing of the cursor or an item  which may indicate something to be noticed and reacted to or with, and the remembering to "save" or check inventory, maps, etc. during gameplay.

This form of story is one of the most obviously writerly type.  While there is a right or wrong/successful vs. unsuccessful ending, the paths one takes to a conclusion are ultimately up to the user.  The story is dynamic in that it will change with each use by even a single individual user.  This is no static piece of work hanging out there; it in fact would indeed "hang" if no input were received from the reader/user.  We are allowed to wander freely–validly or invalidly–through discrete units of a structured environment that we can see, remember, and navigate.

And talk about your "If/Then" cause and effect…well, that’s the very platform that video games are based upon. 

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