Narrative of video games

Stories in video games are delivered in a myriad ways. While it is most common to deliver exposition through cutscenes, It is also common to deliver narrative through other means, such as via in-game text entries presented as journal entries or correspondences, or in audio recordings. Narratives do not even need to be given through spoken or written word; the game Inside tells its narrative through the scenery and events the player experiences as they progress through the game without any form of language. Narratives in games are of varying significance to the experience; while an increasing number of game stories are intended as the main focus, simple stories that are only intended to serve as a justification for the gameplay have been a common approach. such as its use to distinguish from the online multiplayer mode of Grand Theft Auto V, or as an alternative difficulty setting which is intended to allow players to enjoy the narrative of a video game without encountering significant difficulty that may hinder their progression. ==History==

Video games were first popularized with Pong. Pong was a simple virtual game of tennis in which, developer Nolan Bushnell said, the primary goal was "fun." According to Bushnell, games in that era had been so technologically challenging to produce that "it was exhausting to get the game to play without worrying about story" and as such, story was not a concern for many developers. Text adventure games such as Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork featured simple fantasy narratives which have been compared to Dungeons & Dragons. ==Criticism==

While video game stories have received praise, it has also been argued that video games are not an ideal medium for storytelling, and that the overall quality of narratives within video games is not equal to those in other forms. Writing for The Atlantic, Ian Bogost criticizes the environmental storytelling approach to narrative used in first-person games with an exploration focus, such as BioShock, Gone Home, and What Remains of Edith Finch, opining that the structure of such games, which requires players to explore environments and piece together the story through observation and discovery, offers little advantage over other storytelling mediums such as an animated film or novel. Bogost argues that the appeal of video games lies in their technical achievements, and that a game which chooses to focus on telling a story is "unambitious" and has no appeal that cannot be found in a more traditional work. Hayot argues that interactivity "was a story mode for centuries, if not millennia, before the invention of the microprocessor." though he cites Undertale and The Last of Us as two examples which subvert this tradition. Other critics have supported the inclusion of lower difficulty options which favor story over difficulty of play; Such options have been included in various titles, such as Hades (where it is called "God Mode") and Mass Effect: Andromeda. Carmack has since amended this opinion to acknowledge the existence of games where story is a greater focus; however, he still maintained that he believes games which prioritize gameplay are the "most important". ==See also==