Huaxin Wei
ABSTRACT
This paper studies narrative embedding in games, a phenomenon that has rarely been discussed in game studies. To understand the issues better, this work first seeks insights into embedding from narrative theory and sets up a descriptive framework that includes a categorization of horizontal, vertical and modal embedding, as well as their associated characteristics. The paper then applies the framework to game narratives and examines how narrative embedding is implemented in games, how it helps structure the narrative content, and how it influences the narrative experience. By relating theoretical discussions to game examples, the findings of this study can potentially help game narrative designers make more informed decisions when embedding narrative in games.
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Index Terms
- Embedded narrative in game design
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Reviews
John M. Artz
The existence of this paper is more interesting and remarkable than its actual content. We are used to analysis of narratives in novels and films, but only recently have scholars begun to analyze the narratives in video games. Wei attempts to begin bridging the gap between narrative theory and video game design by elaborating on the possibilities for embedding narratives in a video game: horizontal (single-level games with multiple narrators), vertical (multi-level or story-within-a-story games), and modal (alternate reality, similar to when the screen goes wavy in a TV show). I suspect that experts in narrative theory would find this paper to be elementary, at best. Video game designers would find it barely comprehensible. What is evident is the chasm between an analytical field such as narrative theory, which is concerned with naming types of phenomena, and a synthetic or design field such as video game design, which is concerned with producing outcomes. The video game designer who reads this paper would say, "That is all well and good, but which approach do I choose to produce a particular result__?__" The student of narrative theory would say, "You need more examples in video games for us to study." We do, however, have to start somewhere. Online Computing Reviews Service
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