Looking now at 2013 and what seems likely to be the three big contenders for Game of the Year I saw a theme as to the state of gaming. These games are The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto 5. I will speak in general terms to try my very best to avoid any spoilers.
These games take place in dramatically different settings with distinct characters and stories. So what are the core elements I experienced that made them similar?
1. Violence
2. Reflection of violence
Now, it is nothing new that games use conflict, particular violence as a driving factor to push a narrative forward. We've seen this countless times. What makes these three games interesting to me is that at certain points the games take a step back to contextualize the violence being enacted by the protagonist and, by proxy, the player. In all three a secondary character calls you out in shock of what you're doing.
So, this brings me to two conclusions, one optimistic, and one cynical.
1. Games are developing richer more complex narratives and beginning to question their own tropes.
Games have stedily evolved into an artform with its own characteristics, and we've reached the point where 90% of game makers grew up experiencing what games offered. We have people questioning a game where the protagonist murders hundreds of people over the course of their journey. This allows for new wrinkles on stories we all know. The interactive nature is explored and our expectations betrayed when we think what it means to be a mass murder while achieving ones goals. This deconstruction is healthy to evaluate the clash between game and story.
2. Game makers like to have it both ways, the visiceral thrill of killing with the philosophical deconstruction.
Game makers really want to games to more like classical works of story telling such as books or film, yet are constricted by game conventions. This leads to pretentious sotries that serve little more than to stroke the creators ego. So, since action games dominate the field the only way to achieve this is to hold up a mirror and go "see how immature and/or barbaric this medium is!"
I am not sure if either answer is correct, or if various other conclusions could be submitted. I did think interesting that all three are critical darlings showing what the industry is championing as desirable forms of narrative.
So, post your thoughts as to the nature of narrative and meta narrative in games and what the future holds for a medium that in the past decade has become increasingly aware of itself.
