Welcome to the Gaming World.
By Theresa R
By Theresa R
In a century so advanced in technology, our ancient past history of gaming has now taken on a diverse world of their own.With millions of people around the world, familiar and apart of the industry, it has been agreed that the story behind their game is what spurs their ongoing obsession.
There are eight forms of storytelling, Cave Paintings, Oral Traditions, Fable,Myth,Legend,Theatre, Text, and Film/Tv. All of which are uniquely and individually distinctive but yet familiar in their purpose to tell a story.
Storytelling began with Cave Paintings that date back to more than 40000 years ago which was not only the first form of storytelling,but also the first type of art form. After the development of a spoken language, Oral Traditions was introduced as the telling of stories began to be passed down from one generation to another .
Fables are known for their main characters being animals.Which had also started off verbally as conversing literary had already been developed before text was introduced.A story based upon the creation of another world or life such as mythical characters is known as a Myth.It definitely is not true but yet still resembles some form of superstition and belief in some cultures.
Legend stories are factual and historic.The human character in Legend stories possess admirable characteristics of bravery,courage,and honesty.They are morally upright and have too been passed down by generations verbally. Theatre is a collaborative form of story telling that is presented to a mass audience.It is also seen as a form of art. Stories told in the theater were not just communicated verbally but also through the performers body language,actions and gestures.This form of story telling was more entertaining and interactive as listeners of stories became observers as they saw and experienced the story unfold in front of them.
When Text was introduced,stories were adapted to language understanding and suitability of the reader due to the development of the language itself. Like many of the other forms of storytelling, Text is still used today and is extremely popular.Film and TV is the latest form of storytelling.Technology development has introduced storytelling through Film and TV to not only project to a larger audience but also for the convenience of viewers.Like Theater, Film and TV is audio and visual based but unlike theater and the other forms of storytelling, Film and TV can be continual and never ending.
The forms of storytelling coincide with the various game genres to produce the prominent aspects that contributes to the popular factors of both computer and video games. Like the forms of storytelling, game genres differ greatly to each other in comparison.The wide range of game genres that make it appealing to varying audiences are Adventure, Platform, Strategy, Fighting, Simulation, Racing, Arcade, Action, Music, Role-Play,Sports,Shooting and Hybrid.
One of the most popular Adventure Games is Legend Of Zelda and Skylanders Spyro's Adventure. The typical narrative behind this specific genre is that tasks and challenges are given to the player as he assumes the role of protagonist.Challenges must be completed through exploration and investigation in order for the player to progress onto the next level.Of which would be to receive another challenge and move on.Since the emphasis is on the character and the story behind the game, action challenges would, however be the secondary focus while still playing a significant role in the contribution of the games main objective.
The story features that relate specifically to the game Legend of Zelda is the timeline of the game.The linear chronology of events takes place over a span of centuries.Also,there are several plot twists in the story line of the game which makes it even more appealing and cleverly executed,as it introduces a whole new dimension to not only the story but also the game itself,creating another adventure within the actual adventure journey of the game.Furthermore,the game seems to be never ending as series and sequels are continually being made which relates to the Film and Tv form of storytelling .The story of the game evolves around a princess named Zelda that has to be rescued by the player. The protagonist has to avoid its enemies and collect useful items that it may be rewarded with,in order to proceed onto the next level.This clearly supports the Adventure game genre characteristics.
The video above is a players review on his thoughts on one of the sequels of The Legend Of Zelda game.
This video above is a promotional trailer about the Skylanders Spyro Adventure geme.
Though both games derive from the same genre, they differ greatly in terms of not only their Story Form, but also their exposure to the Adventure Genre Characteristics,as well as the Chronology . Skylanders Spyro Adventure game definitely possess the attributes of an Adventure game Genre such as exploration and puzzle-solving as the game is entirely about those key features,however The Legend Of Zelda covers a much broader range that also includes combat, action, fighting and racing. In addition, The Legend Of Zelda revolves around a linear chronological time frame, which is non existent in Skylanders.
The typical narrative for the Role-playing game genre is where the player assumes the role of a fictional character for him to be the protagonist.The whole game is a reenactment of the story which is most commonly based on a Film,TV show, or book. It can however be a quest based structure where the character would have the freedom of choice to make their own decisions in the game, while playing according to the rules and guidelines.With Role-playing games, there is a limit as to what the protagonist can or cannot do as the game is strictly structured within the narrative of the story.Also, the story line is commonly known to be heroic as there is always a ''Good vs Evil'' theme.
The Harry Potter game is an exact replica of the book and movie.Like the novel and the movie,the game evolves around Harry Potter and his life as a new Wizard ,it also includes sequels and series that are continual with no particular ending. The player becomes the protagonist, Harry Potter. Due to the game being based on a familiar book and movie,it is predictable and at times fundamental. The protagonist attempts all the challenges Harry Potter had to go through ,such as the defeating of the Basilisk, surviving the Triwizard Tournament, winning the dual against Voldemort and many more.The story form of the game is Text and Myth since the story began as a novel written by the author, J.K. Rowling and elaborates on magic,fantasy,and mythical creatures in an alternate world.
Though in the Harry Potter novels and movies there is a non-linear chronology time frame due to Harry's flashbacks of the past,the chronology in the game itself is purely linear because the game is played according to what Harry will be doing in the present and future. Harry's past before being a Wizard is not mentioned in the game, thus I strongly believe the game has a linear chronology despite the book and the movie being non-linear.
The video above is just a small scene of one of the challenges Harry Potter was faced with, on the gaming format.
Another example of a Role-play game is Pokemon. Personally, I would say that the story form behind Pokemon would be a combination between Text , Cave Painting,Fable and Myth as this mythical animal based story was initially composed into a Anime Manga Comic book in Japan,before expanding into the many media forms it is today.The story line of Pokemon is about the protagonist named Ash who wants to be a Pokemon Master.He begins his journey by training different Pokemons with his own Pokemon,Pikachu. Many Pokemon Monsters are found and trained for a battle between other Pokemon Monsters.
In comparison to Harry Potter, both games are very much alike in terms of their story lines being about an alternate world where creatures such as the Pokemon Monsters and Harry Potters Magic exists.Moreover the characters of both stories are mythical because Harry Potter is based on Witches and Wizards,Pokemon on Monsters . Also, both protagonists,Harry and Ash start off as normal boys in the equilibrium of the story, before becoming a Wizard and a Pokemon Master during the distribution and the disruption of the story .In addition to their similarities, the story narratives of both games are themed upon heroism.Both Harry and Ash are the Heroes of their story.As mentioned before, there is a ''Good vs Evil'' theme where there are characters portrayed to be evil so as to be the enemies. In Harry Potters case, his enemy is Lord Voldemort whom tries to kill him . In Pokemon ,Ash's enemies are Team Rocket who always try to capture Pikachu.
Above is a video short video on how the Pokemon game is played.
Amongst all the gaming genres , the Sports genre is what I believe to be ''the closest genre to reality''. The typical narrative of the sports genre is simple and straight-forward. To build a team,beat the opponent (or team), and win the game are the only objectives and narratives of the genre. The story line would be simplistic and minimal,if not non existent because the entire focus is on the actual sport.From what I have gathered from my own research and learning is, that story lines were primarily introduced to video and computer games solely to attract the target audience into playing the game.Personally, I think a story line in a Sports genre game is unnecessary.The attraction to the genre would be the Sport itself. Whether it be a Amateur,Athletic,Underwater,Professional,Team,or Rhythmic type of Sport, the player would play the game out of competitiveness and personal enjoyment for that particular sport the game is representing . If there were to be a story line behind the sport game it would be based either on a Film/TV form of storytelling that has a main theme of competitiveness.Otherwise,the storyline would be factual and televised such as the FIFA World Cup video game that is an actual portrayal of the FIFA World Cup football competitions.
The FIFA Cup game is a Football sporting game whereby the player would create their own teams of which the characters provided would be a representation of real life sportsmen . The player would be able to alternate which protagonist they want to be as they are playing for the whole entire team, and not just one specific protagonist which is very unlike all the other gaming genres.
Though the story lines of Sport genre games are almost non existent, there are games that do have a story line behind them.The dance game, Just Dance, is an example of a sporting game with a story line that also conforms into the Film/TV form of storytelling.The Just Dance game story is about dancing competitions and 'dance-offs ' between opponents. There is no clear evidence to support that the idea behind the story line of the game derives from a particular Film/TV but I believe the story goes in relation to all dance films/tv shows in general.Where by dance is seen as the only competitive performing art form. The aim of the Just Dance game is to mimic the dance steps of the onscreen game dancer. The competitions in the game exist because it marks the players progression.
This video is an example of how Just Dance is played
In contrast to FIFA World Cup, Just Dance has a protagonist representation of a single player while FIFA World Cup is the whole entire team.Moreover the FIFA World Cup games whole entirety is influenced by the real FIFAWorld Cup Football Competitions as opposed to Just Dance's influence by dancing Film/TV storylines in general making it fiction.The only similarity between the two games is that they are both Sport genre games.
In conclusion, storytelling does play an essential and immense role in video games in relation to their game genres. They not only have an impact on the financial side of the gaming industry as its used for promotional purposes, but it also turns telling stories from being ancient and historic to now an extraordinary technology invention through gaming. Stories through games are magnificent and like no other forms of storytelling. They are interactive, graphically visual, entertaining, challenging, creative and addictive. A relationship between author,and reader is developed into author,reader,and player, brought to us by a whole different dimension we never knew existed.
Thorough and comprehensive explanation of storytelling elements , with very good level of detail in places, such as analysis of the narrative elements in the Harry Potter games . You have also made effective and appropriate links between games and genres , demonstrating a subtle and sophisticated awareness of terminology and personal response. At the moment you are working generally at Distinction level ; one area for improvement is that occasionally your language is too descriptive and not analytical enough throughout a task. Overall though , your work has been of a high quality with good attention to detail.
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