Aerothorn on 13/5/2010 at 23:52
So, long story short: I'm gearing up to do an eight-month project on the history of narrative in video games. The scope of the project means that a truly through examination would be impossible. The idea is that it will take a rather bookish form (rather than a research paper) with each "chapter" being a case study of a specific game, what it did new or different, and why it's significant in the context of video game narratives.
Over the summer I'm doing various research for the project. A big part of this is finding appropiate readings and articles, but another part is choosing the games. The current idea is that I devote about a month to each game - which is to say, factoring in a month to play through it, do lots of reading and research in the area it occupies, and write a chapter on it. Therefore, I can't have more than eight primary games, though I can certainly reference others.
The current plan is to start in 1985 with Ultima IV and end in 2010 with Heavy Rain. But I'm having trouble selecting games in-between, particular in two ranges: 1985-1995 (largely before my gaming time) and 2005-2010 (when it doesn't seem like a lot "new" is done with game narrative, at least in the commercial field).
So I come to you, TTLG, for recommendation on this project. Keep in mind that I'm not simply looking for good game narratives, but ones that do something really new. For instance, Grim Fandango is one of my favorite game scripts, but I'm not sure how appropiate it is for this project.
Current games I am considering are listed below. Bolded ones are games I am heavily considering. Let me know if there are others I should consider, or advocate for certain ones already listed.
Infocom Game - 1980-1989 (Need to pick a specific one - any ideas?)
Ultima IV - 1984
The Secret of Monkey Island - 1990 (Not sure how appropriate this is, but it works well in the timeline!)
System Shock - 1994 (Assuming I can get this up and running on my computer!)
Oregon Trail II - 1996 (Or another "sandboxy" game)
Final Fantasy VII - 1997 (Not sure how "new" this is, but it's the elephant in the room with game narratives in the larger public sphere, and it seems worthwhile to ask why it was so important. Also, I need more Japanese representation in this list.)
The Last Express - 1997
Fallout - 1997 (An earlier "freedom of choice" narrative)
Metal Gear Solid - 1998 (Bridging cinema and games, a now prominent feature)
Half-Life - 1998 (Hard not to mention it)
Planescape: Torment - 1999
Deus Ex - 2000 (Ditto)
Shenmue - 2000 (Very distinctive narrative style. Lots to break down.)
Metal Gear Solid 2 - 2001
Knights of the Old Republic- 2003 (Will use this as representative of Bioware's current formula to discuss the success and failures of their narrative techniques.)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - 2004
Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden - 2008 (I'm not even kidding. Can explore such subjects as fan games, parody, genre subversion, etc.)
Zeno Clash - 2009
Heavy Rain -2010
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you folks have.
june gloom on 14/5/2010 at 00:44
You forgot Silent Hill 2, which explored themes that games generally don't touch.
ZylonBane on 14/5/2010 at 00:49
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
Infocom Game - 1980-1989 (Need to pick a specific one - any ideas?)
FFFFLLLLLOOYYYYYDDDDDD!!!!!!
Jason Moyer on 14/5/2010 at 01:20
re: Infocom, it depends on what you want to write about. If you want something completely unlike anything else there's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
Tonamel on 14/5/2010 at 01:22
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
FFFFLLLLLOOYYYYYDDDDDD!!!!!!
Yeah, it almost has to be Planetfall. The only other one I can think of would be The Lurking Horror.
You may also want to include some of the more interesting experiments in storytelling, like Facade, Dear Esther, or Sleep is Death
[edit] And where are the adventure games in that list? You should at least be considering Myst/Riven and The Longest Journey
Renault on 14/5/2010 at 01:56
Seems just a bit too coincidental. Or not.
Pardoner on 14/5/2010 at 02:45
Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is the most inspired pick on your list, so far. It sounds like you have some neat arguments to make.
Also, is this an academic project? What kind of audience is this aimed at?
Enchantermon on 14/5/2010 at 02:56
Quote Posted by Tonamel
You should at least be considering Myst/Riven . . .
Myst, yes. Riven was pretty devoid of narrative, Ghen's story aside.
Also, are we going to get to view the final product? It sounds like it would make quite the interesting read.
Tonamel on 14/5/2010 at 04:12
It's been so long since I've played Riven, I couldn't remember how much story it had.
But with the Myst series, I was thinking less the idea of direct narrative, and more learning the stories of dead cultures by exploring their towns and machines. It's a different kind of storytelling to be sure, which is why I think it should be included.
