Gaming Narrative

This week we were assigned to read the video game novel, You, by Austin Grossman. I found that the way the author jumped around on the timeline was one of the more interesting ways I’ve seen it done. As the reader, we weren’t told when we were going back or forward in time, but had to infer by which video game the main character, Russell, was playing. This got somewhat confusing for me as I’m not a huge gaming person. Another consequence to me not being a gamer was the long, sometimes unnecessary explanations of the more technological aspects of a games creation.

Nowadays I do believe that games are becoming more and more cinematic. For example, I’m currently watching a video game that recently came out called Beyond: Two Souls. In order to create this game they used motion capture, so everything from the people to their environments are extremely realistic.  Even the main characters in the film are well-known Hollywood actors (Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page). The gameplay itself isn’t demanding, you only have to click specific buttons when it tells you to, making it feel more like you’re watching a movie with slight interaction. For this game specifically, I’m finding the story to be very lacking and done-before, so as a literary experience I don’t think it would hold up.

I am also currently watching a game called The Last of Us, convinced after hearing how great it was. The zombie theme in any form has been overdone in so many ways, but this is a completely fresh take on it, and the writing really tugs at your heartstrings. For example, within the first ten minutes, we’re introduced to the main character and his daughter just as the apocalypse is starting. Shortly after, we see the daughter get mercilessly killed, thought to be infected. We follow the main character through this whirlwind of near-death experiences with a young teenager he has to take care of, and it’s never a dull moment. If this were made into a book or graphic novel I would definitely read it. However, as a book, it would be impossible to replicate the stunning visual that hundreds of artists worked on. Then again, maybe if it were a book, the individual reader could imagine something far more complex and imaginative that could be brought up on a screen.

Video games and books are very difficult to compare. I think this is because when you’re experiencing them you’re holding them to different standards. For example, when you play a video game, you’re most likely going to judge if it looks pretty, but with a book that’s not something you have to worry about, aside from descriptions for the viewer. Sometimes people will play a video game even if the story is terrible, but it looks good and vice versa. This could never happen with a novel because we’re relying on solely whether or not the story holds up. I think both mediums are a good way of communicating a story, it just depends what you’re looking for.