Why Aren't You Playing Video Games?

Storytelling comes in all forms, and one of them is the video game.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Obviously this question is for all my fellow story lovers; fans of books, movies and television who still look at video games with disinterest or disdain. I can only assume your exposure to the medium has been minimal. Perhaps you think all video games are shooters or candy crush. Let me show you in this weekly series, how you are missing an entire world of story that will challenge, move, and entertain you as much as, or more than, your favorite book, movie or show. I’m going to ask that you let go of your preconceived notions. All video games are not the same, like all books, movies, and shows are not the same.

Let me preface this by saying, I am not a gaming expert, only a lover of story driven games. I’ve been playing video games since I was a little girl on my father’s knee, guiding Prince Alexander through the strange, Alice in Wonderland inspired, Land of the Green Isles to rescue his one true love, Princess Cassima, in the point and click adventure King’s Quest VI. In fact, I was introduced to my favorite book series of all time, the Discworld novels, by first playing the point and click adventure Discworld, which featured one of Sir Terry Pratchett's most iconic characters, Rincewind (voiced by the fabulous Eric Idle) on one of his first misadventures.

I mainly play Role Playing Games (RPGs), where you follow a character or characters in first or third person on an adventure. So my examples, my explanations, my categorizations are just that, my own, shaped on my own experiences and not the industry’s.

Breaking down the different types of games is complicated. I set out to match genres of books and movies with corresponding games, but the way “genre” is used in video gaming is different than literature and film. Genre in video games includes how the game is played; how they player experiences the game. So, you have genres like action, role-playing, simulation and strategy to name a few. Then these genres break down into subgenres. Under action you have platformers, shooters, fighting games, etc... Then those subgenres can also be broken down into more specific genres (first person shooter, third person shooter, etc…). What all this means, is that the word "genre" applies oddly to games. I will be focusing on story, not the game-play mechanics, so I will try to keep my use of the word genre to the literary definition, leaving game play mostly out of it.

My goal with this series, is for the video game medium to start being recognized in the mainstream as a valid and valued form of modern storytelling.

First up, I want to share with you an adventure game. Fans of The Little Prince should enjoy this tale, which is most equitable to a fable or allegory.

The Unfinished Swan developed by Giant Sparrow and released in October of 2012 for the PlayStation 3

“Monroe’s mother had always been much better at starting things than finishing them,” The game opens. “When she died she left behind over 300 canvases, not one of them finished. Along with Monroe who felt pretty unfinished himself.”

Ink splashes on a page and then an invisible hand minimalistically draws the scene. Words appear at the bottom, reminiscent of a children’s story book, and a soothing woman’s voice narrates.

We learn that our character, Monroe, is now living in an orphanage. He was only allowed to keep one of his dead mother’s paintings, and he chose her favorite, the unfinished swan.

One night, he woke up to find the swan had escaped from the painting, so he grabbed his mother’s paintbrush and followed the swan’s footprints through a small, newly appeared door. Now, we the player have control, and all we see, is a sea of white.

You progress by shooting out blobs of black ink, which splash against the environment, revealing the world around you:

Monroe follows the trail of his mother’s unfinished swan, wandering through an eerily empty kingdom, learning about the king who built it and who eventually brought about its end. It is a journey of self-discovery, and a story about loss and loneliness.

The Unfinished Swan is a simple story told in an incredibly unique, and memorable way. Short and poignant, it is an example of effective, artistic, immersive storytelling. All that’s left is for you to pick up the controller and brace yourself for the feels.

-The End