Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 14:1 2023 Agora Conference Proceedings

The Narrative Capabilities of Gaming:
A New Chapter in Fiction
Blaine Noble
If you were to share with someone in the 1800s what is possible in video games, you would
be burned at the stake. Nevertheless, here we are. Game developers use techniques from all prior
media types to create various virtual experiences. Film, music, writing, and acting are all part of
modern video game production. Each of these has multiple roles necessary to complete a project.
That is a massive amount of source data to comb through! Let us specify. In what way are video
games the next frontier in delivering a unique and engaging narrative to the consumer? Video
games can possess the best aspects of all multimedia precursors in an interactive virtual setting
when adequately utilized. The innovation in video game technology is unprecedented in any other
modern media type due to the combination of interactivity and written story narrative. While the
plot might not always be why someone purchases a game, the active input of a gamer’s control
opens the possibility for a storytelling experience unlike any media type that has come before it.
A concept vital to understand gaming as it exists today is that of “transmedia storytelling” (Schiller
97), which Henry Jenkins describes as:
A process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple
delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment
experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of
the story. (qtd. in Schiller 97)
This concept was around for thousands of years before the existence of the modern entertainment
industry. Ancient Greeks told stories of Gods, which became plays, literature, and eventually
movies. Batman originated in comics, appearing later in television shows, movies, and fanfiction.
These fictional universes became part of a greater collective. People of different artistic skills and
niched mediums contributed to an imaginary world that grew in complexity as more people
contributed. Humans, by nature, are social creatures, and when someone finds a captivating story,
they are likely to share their discovered world with others, which leads to a growing fanbase. While
others may be interested in creating fanfiction additives to their beloved virtual worlds, one scene
written into source material can lead to authenticating others' work. Consider the example of

Netflix’s Daredevil; this fictional character is Matt Murdoch, played by actor Charlie Cox. The
Netflix series was not canon to Marvel at its release. As this series gained popularity, it only took
one scene of Cox in Spiderman: No Way Home (00:07:48-00:08:49) to make the show Daredevil
canon in the Marvel Universe. Video games can provide a similar effect to existing media, novels,
films, or otherwise—they can expand and recontextualize aspects of the fictional world to bring
fans together in mutual appreciation.
The ability of games to create a riveting story narrative has even led to video games often
creating more buzz than movies that came out simultaneously, such as No Film School awarding
the video game The Last of Us Pt. II the 2016 Trailer of the Year Award (Fusco). This trailer
outranked others for box office hits such as Suicide Squad, Logan, Dunkirk, Get Out, and Thor 3:
Ragnarök—however, The Last of Us Pt. II was the focus of fan controversy due to the narrative
leading to the gruesome death of the original game's beloved main character, Joel. Grieving gamers
then had to play as the character that killed him. Imagine Games Network (IGN), a video game
review website, has over 91 thousand dislikes on a video calling the game a perfect ten out of ten
(“The Top 10 Most Disliked IGN Reviews of All Time!” 19:43-19:57). Most of the hate is directed
at IGN for calling the story a “stunning, nuanced exploration of the strength and fragility of the
human spirit. The PlayStation 4 has one of its finest exclusives and one of the generation’s best
games” (IGN qtd. in “The Top 10 Most Disliked IGN Reviews of All Time!” 20:56-21:11).
Knowing full well that fans would be upset, the developers of this game, Naughty Dog, made an
unforgettable narrative decision to delineate the story as a tragedy. This bold choice was at the
expense of players who had become attached to Joel as the leading protagonist.
Today's technology powering video games is leaps and bounds ahead of what was possible
even twenty years ago, evolving from the minimalistic days of PONG to using a virtual reality
headset to physically play as an avatar in game. Today, game developers consider composition,
lighting, dialogue, camera angles, sound design, and many other artistic disciplines, which are all
heavily influenced by film development over the last century. Many modern games use
Performance Capture, which effectively records an actor’s movement, audio, and interaction with
a Motion Capture studio in real time. Often in the presence of other actors to replicate the dynamics
of a natural scene. This has proven to be a vast improvement from the days of clunky-sounding
game dialogue caused by a voice actor reading off a script in a sound studio. 2018’s God of War
is a notable example of Performance Capture that was utilized in a way that integrates the best
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aspects of live-action and gaming technology ("The First 9 Minutes of God of War"). Different
film and acting techniques are included, made possible by the current technology. The performance
is physical as well as verbal. Indeed, writing about them does not hold up to the experience of
watching or playing the game. A particular scene involves the player using their gaming inputs as
Kratos carrying the last log to his late wife’s funeral pyre, accompanied by his grieving son.
There is one major difference between gaming and other media types. While imagination
may lead to involvement in a passive viewership role in different media types, it is not as easy to
assume an active role as it is in the input in video games, which can be as simple as pressing X to
jump. Gaming is a highly received medium amongst its fans as "both a fantasy world and a means
to excel at something" ("Impact of Video Games on Culture"). It is hardly a secret that video
gamers were more widely known as being geeks in the past. However, the term geek has less of a
negative connotation now than it used to as “[g]eeks may have become 'cooler,' but mainstream
culture has also become “geekier" ("Impact of Video Games on Culture"). Look no further than
Vogue, a modern fashion and lifestyle magazine that included a spread of “Top Ten Cinematic
Nerds” (Sharp qtd in "The Impact of Video Games on Culture"). Schiller reinforces the impact of
video games on culture by discussing how gaming’s success is part of “a cultural shift from a
spectatorial culture of ‘passive’ media consumption to a more active, participatory culture”
(Schiller 98). There will always be a place for button masher games like Super Smash Bros. in the
community. However, regarding narrative, the “temporal composition” (Schiller 102) of
videogames continues to grow more intricate as the industry becomes more widely accessible to
the public — both as consumers and as contributors to the story.
As someone who appreciates gaming, I admit to a moderate bias. The experience of a
provocative film or book lingering in the mind for some time is undeniable. However, video games
continue to integrate into memory with each new play-through. Gaming has the potential for the
consumer to actively play out the role of any story they have perused in the past, provided that a
game developer makes the vision a reality. The first time I saw a zombie in a film is gone from my
memory, but the first time I saw a Necromorph in Dead Space still haunts me upon mention.
Having to turn and run away from one of these grotesque abominations after it kills a crewmate
on the spaceship USG Ishimura… chased down the hall, with no time to look back and no means
of protection as it roars mere steps behind. Admittedly, not every game primarily focuses on
narrative development, but then a game comes along like God of War. Diving into the story with
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minimal expectations, I found myself craving the next chunk of time possible to digest the virtual
representation of the nine worlds of Norse mythology. The way it integrated the lore of ancient
written mythos, the acting of a play, the cinematography of film, sound design, choreography,
stunt coordination, composition, and much more. All of which created an interactive title, leading
to a truly captivating story.
In short, gaming is the next frontier in the development of transmedia storytelling,
harnessing new-age technology and the attention of engaged gamers. The ways game developers
cater to fans is leading to a phase of “collective authorship” (Bernardo qtd. in Schiller 98) in the
medium. Ever-changing technological discoveries will also continue to build reasons for nongamers to check out what the hubbub is about. It is exciting to see how the gaming industry’s
brightest and best contributors can develop from here as technology continues to improve over
time. Only time will tell how the storytelling process evolves in the ever-growing gaming industry.

Works Cited
Daredevil, created by Drew Goddard, ABC Studios, 10 April 2015. Netflix. www.netflix.com.
“The First 9 Minutes of God of War”. YouTube, uploaded by GameSpot, 19 April 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCZXQGw7-8s.
Fusco, Jon. “Watch: When Video Games Are Better Than Movies”, No Film School, 18 Aug.
2017, nofilmschool.com/2017/08/watch-why-video-games-are-better-movies. Accessed 4
June 2023.

God of War. Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2018. PlayStation 4.

"The Impact of Video Games on Culture". Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass
Communication, University of Minnesota Libraries, 2021.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/10-4-the-impact-of-video-games-onculture/.
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“Rare Audition Footage for God of War Ft. Christopher Judge!”. PlayStation--News &
Trailers!, YouTube, 24 April 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmIrEqu91Ew.
Schiller, Melanie. “Transmedia Storytelling: New Practices and Audiences.” Stories, edited by
Ian Christie, Dominique Chateau, José Moure, & Annie van den Oever, Amsterdam
University Press, 2018, pp. 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048537082-008.

Spiderman: No Way Home. Directed by Jon Watts, Columbia Pictures, 2021.
“The Top 10 Most Disliked IGN Reviews of All Time!”, YouTube, uploaded by Tominator44,
18 October 2022, https://youtu.be/kxIFoLTTmwg?t=1176.

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