I for sure agree with some of what you say but I think it’s more that the medium has the potential to do that than it has done so meaningfully at this point.
I don’t think bio shock holds up super well tbh (although it was one of my favs in hs/college) and even tho the twist is pretty good I still think it’s handedly in the “for a game” tier imo (obv it’s lauded but I think it’s kinda over rated bc games are generally pretty abysmal when it comes to the narrative part)
Planescape is one of the ones I had in mind in my op tho. No notes on that one lol
I 100% agree that the unique perspective of being placed inside the story is a huge thing for games as a medium but I don’t believe it’s been utilized to its fullest yet in a way that can compare to other mediums. It’s a young art form so I wasn’t making a criticism on the scope of possibilities or potential in the medium just where we are as I see it now.
There are games that definitely hit close, the way parts of games like what remains of Edith finch give you a window into being a character is great.
One of the games I think does this super well is soma. Like that is a game that honestly wouldn’t work as anything else bc it’s central theme of identity hinges on the player experiencing it in the first person
Sadly bc of capitalist pressures 99% of games don’t really explore this stuff especially outside of niche indie games that have a limited budget. And tbh that’s generally why I prefer those games.
Like there are certainly extremely compelling stories but I just do not see it in the overwhelming majority of what the medium has to offer. And the micro/emergent stories that can come out of gameplay is an interesting and novel part of the experience but I generally wouldn’t put that thematically on the same level of what’s been achieved outside of games and maybe it’s just me but that’s kind of what I’m thinking of when I think narratives.
Hope you enjoy them! Soma is one of my favorite games ever and I always think of it when the conversation is about the unique advantages that player agency brings to the possibilities of story telling
Edith finch is a smaller kind of thing but enjoyable. I don’t want to big it up like it’s a masterpiece or anything but It’s ann enjoyable, experimental and short kind of game i think it presents some interesting stuff to think about wrt to story telling and how games can uniquely do it
![[CW: enbyphobia ] This is either bait or made by a tourist.](https://hexbear.net/pictrs/image/ab4638a4-095b-479a-ab01-9bc27b03a2fa.webp){kind=link}
spoiler
I for sure agree with some of what you say but I think it’s more that the medium has the potential to do that than it has done so meaningfully at this point.
I don’t think bio shock holds up super well tbh (although it was one of my favs in hs/college) and even tho the twist is pretty good I still think it’s handedly in the “for a game” tier imo (obv it’s lauded but I think it’s kinda over rated bc games are generally pretty abysmal when it comes to the narrative part)
Planescape is one of the ones I had in mind in my op tho. No notes on that one lol
I 100% agree that the unique perspective of being placed inside the story is a huge thing for games as a medium but I don’t believe it’s been utilized to its fullest yet in a way that can compare to other mediums. It’s a young art form so I wasn’t making a criticism on the scope of possibilities or potential in the medium just where we are as I see it now.
There are games that definitely hit close, the way parts of games like what remains of Edith finch give you a window into being a character is great.
One of the games I think does this super well is soma. Like that is a game that honestly wouldn’t work as anything else bc it’s central theme of identity hinges on the player experiencing it in the first person
Sadly bc of capitalist pressures 99% of games don’t really explore this stuff especially outside of niche indie games that have a limited budget. And tbh that’s generally why I prefer those games.
Like there are certainly extremely compelling stories but I just do not see it in the overwhelming majority of what the medium has to offer. And the micro/emergent stories that can come out of gameplay is an interesting and novel part of the experience but I generally wouldn’t put that thematically on the same level of what’s been achieved outside of games and maybe it’s just me but that’s kind of what I’m thinking of when I think narratives.
Thank you for your reply. I agree on Bioshock. I never really got it.
I'll put these on my list. I'm kind of between games and I need some new things to check out.
Hope you enjoy them! Soma is one of my favorite games ever and I always think of it when the conversation is about the unique advantages that player agency brings to the possibilities of story telling
Edith finch is a smaller kind of thing but enjoyable. I don’t want to big it up like it’s a masterpiece or anything but It’s ann enjoyable, experimental and short kind of game i think it presents some interesting stuff to think about wrt to story telling and how games can uniquely do it