Faculty of Arts
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- Videogame genres as a narration determiner
- Action games
Multiple narratorsA storywriter can also decide to describe a story from several different angles and perspectives. This “multiperspectivity” then shapes the story into many interpretations. The reader may even decide which narrator seems the most reliable throughout the story. This might, however, depend on the style the writer chooses to write in, or even the specific individual approaches to the story, through every other character. Stories written in this way are never static because they are shaped by the relationship between the narrator and the audience. Also, adding small details or minor changes to the story changes the possible interpretations. This thus provides countless variations of the story. This specific type of storytelling is not very common in videogames since the stories are mostly being scripted and offer small alterations from the main story. Nevertheless, there are games which provide this type of narration, most of them being a genre of RPG1 or a rather special type of games which focuses mainly on the storytelling aspect. Lately, this phenomenon is becoming celebrated by the players. A famous co-founder of, id Software2, John Carmack, once said that: “Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It’s expected to be there, but it’s not that important.” (Kushner, 2003, p.120). Nowadays though, based on the general opinion of players, more of them prefer good storyline, strong relationships and drama to shooting and action. This is predominantly affected by the genre of the game, and to what extent the game allows players to perform the action they want. Videogame genres as a narration determinerIn addition to the definition of a narrative, it is important to identify and distinguish essential videogame genres as they significantly shape the dialogical interactions available. Video games genre is a specific group of games, which share common gameplay characteristics. In the videogame industry, the genres are defined according to their structure and challenge. Naming of the genres is basically a matter of technical terms. While categorizing the genres, I decided to use the characterization of R. Callois (1961), with the terms also based on the ones generally used by players worldwide3. In addition to this, however clear a definition of genres may be, certain combinations of them appear. Callois did not see these combinations as a possible solution (Hrabec, 2012, p. 29-30). Nevertheless, modern games do not tend to strictly cater only to one genre, rather, the companies want them to be original and interesting, mixing several of the genres together. I will also apply my own observation and experiences collected while playing these genres. Action gamesGames with constant movement, action and conflict with an enemy. Similar to the action movies, this genre is to give the player a feeling of thrill. Usually, the whole game is to be played with one character, but today, especially if a strong narrative is present, action games tend to tell the story from different perspectives. As mentioned earlier, this genre gives the opportunity to act immorally, (destroying buildings, killing people), dangerously (jumping from a plane, venture to space) and so on. An important part of action games is multiplayer, which gives all the players the same conditions, stirring up excitement while battling against each other. Having the same weapons, health and dealing the same amount of damage are standard fair play rules for everyone. The decisive factor is the skill of a player, the knowledge of the game system, map designs, speed, precise aim, and other abilities acquired by spending time playing the game. Subgenres: FPS (First person shooter) – A Shooter seen from the eyes of a main character. The most common type of shooters, giving an authentic feeling of action. Stories are known to take place during historical events such as the D-Day in World War II. in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA, 2002), modern conflicts in Middle East in Battlefield 3 (EA, 2011) and even in more futuristic settings featuring robots and spaceships in Titanfall (Respawn Entertainment, 2014) . TPS (Third person shooter) – The camera is set behind the main character or can be rotated around them, giving different angles without moving the character. In some cases though, it is possible to switch to first person view for better orientation in the environment e.g. in Hitman (IO Interactive, 2001). TPS allows players to see the character’s animation, equipment or injuries, helping them to better immerse themselves in the gameplay. Platformers – Platformers are a genre, where shooting is not the most important component of gameplay. As the name suggests, the main idea is to jump, dodge, crawl and climb different types of obstacles and to get to a certain goal. (Super Mario Bros.) Enemies serve as a challenge for player to overcome but do not serve a primary role in the story. Often, the character gets some special abilities to work and solve puzzles such as in Braid (Number None, Inc., 2008), which are largely used in the genre. Tactical action – A shooter with a strong sense of tactical skills. Very simulative, as the player often gets a map radar and needs to plan their advance to get the best possible results. Warfare simulators are very common. Giving commands in real time is frequently used in this genre. The player often needs to react accordingly and make proper adjustments for a given situation as in S.W.A.T (Irrational Games, 2005). Arcade – The first genre there was. With a long history, these games were played back on the automatic machines, in so called ‘penny arcades’ (large venues filled with them). Arcades are usually very simplistic, with easy rules and mostly consisting of action fighting games for a dynamic, explosive experience. Fighting games – Action games focused on martial arts and their game adaptation. Players fight each other in several rounds of matches, trying to defeat one another using kicks, punches, and special moves, while trying to outfight and outsmart each other. A huge variety of characters is available to choose from, with each having a slightly different set of attacks and abilities. Mortal Kombat (Midway Games, 1992) is a prototype of this genre. Download 184.59 Kb. Share with your friends:
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