by Sam McClelland
Literature and immersivity have long run hand-in-hand. When we open a book we are not looking for the ink across the pages nor the caliper of the paper. We are looking for something deeper; to feel the heat of a fiery battle against an ancient dragon, or the smell of rain and blood as a detective stumbles upon the scene of the crime. We are looking to exist somewhere beyond ourselves.
Words and imagination can take you far, but what if you could go a step further? To not just follow a character, but to become a piece of them as you traverse their story. This level of immersivity can only be imagined through paper and realized through games.
Sensory storytelling that pushes the bounds of our emotional, auditorial, and visual expectations; that isn't the image video games bring to many people's minds. Misconception will lead most to envision a grubby Pac-Man in the back of an arcade, or an online shooter with no meaning beyond competitive score-keeping. The idea that games are modes of entertainment void of substance, artistic intent, and credibility as an art form can be equated to many things. From their relative youth as a digital media in the modern world, to their limited audience. Games aren’t viewed through the same critical lens as painting, film, literature, etc. Yet, just beyond the hack-and-slash monotony and pixelated ping pong, there is a world of literature and storytelling that is truly remarkable.
Story-based video games have made their way into being one of the most creative and immersive forms of modern storytelling. Not only can they provide compelling narratives, they can jump the audio and visual borders of books by themselves. Through video games, characters, sounds, and scenes that were once left to imagination are transformed into events we can experience first-hand. With the addition of visuals, voice acting, music, and the ability to explore your environment rather than being subjected only to what may be described in a specific passage, we experience these tales in a brand new light.
The sensory boundaries that games push aren't the only traits that make them such incredible modes of storytelling; games offer a level of emotional stakes that transcend those of books alone.
Take games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Detroit Become Human, and Life is Strange for example. Throughout these games, you not only follow the protagonist, you also alter their contextual fates. Choices made in these stories such as dialogue options, fights you pick and choose, and even things as simple as objects you interact with alter the story's outcome. Your choices directly impact the world you have immersed yourself in, creating a unique sense of responsibility and connection.
I’ll use a pivotal scene from Detroit Become Human as an example. You have followed two sides of a war brewing on the sidelines of society throughout the game's story:
Connor, an android designed to assist human law enforcement; programmed and taught to protect them since his first thought. As he's paired with his android-hating partner Hank, he discovers his own humanity, beliefs, and will for good.
Markus, an android cast into the junk heap after being framed for murder. The police did not care for his pleas of innocence, they did not see his humanity. Angry with the way his kind have been cast out and abused, he rises up. Using his voice to demand equality from those who created him, willing to fight for what he believes in.
You have spent countless hours behind their eyes. You have fought for their beliefs, created unbreakable bonds, and decided who their enemy truly is. Connor and Markus find each other at an impasse; a divisive fight about to ring out in the center of an android protest. A choice presents itself as you see them running for each other:
X:Control Connor O:Control Markus
The hours you've spent, choices you've made, causes you've followed and fought for boil down to one moment–a choice. Do you stand with Markus, or Connor?
I remember my first experience playing this game, and seeing that simple question pop up on the screen felt surreal. How was I supposed to choose?
That feeling is a level of immersivity that I truly believe is unique to games as a literature medium. Not the ability to make choices, not even the actions themselves, but the fact that they held consequences.
The hero will live or die by the end of his adventure. No matter what you do, that fact is unchanging. The main characters of the rom-com will fall in love no matter how you watch. The pages of the book, the script, and the play are printed and will not change.
Now put the fearless knight in the palm of your hand, his life now yours. The love interest asks you a question, and now you must give a response. To be kind or merciless, say yes or no, to save or abandon, questions that need your answers.
Ultimatums are no longer a spectator sport in the realm of video games. The security we often find in storytelling is gone. Now replaced with a new way to step inside the plot, making it unique to each and every player.
In recent years, appreciation for games as a literary art form has increased. Finally beginning to break the misconceptions that games are mindless fun, substanceless or simply a pass-time. Games have begun to shine alongside their storytelling counterparts. Their ability to not only use our minds, but also our senses to create a unique experience that challenges and utilizes our emotions, expectations, and morals makes them one of the most versatile and under-appreciated media forms in modern-day narratives.
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