[Lee in Limbo]

~or~
The Unofficial Choose Your Own Adventure Game List

Okay, I'll keep it brief. A friend of mine and I were discussing the problem of defining just what INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING is. A few of us, including some professionals, have been dancing around this nebulous phrase like it actually exists, when most of us have no idea what they're talking about. Is it Branching Plot? Is it Emergent Narrative? Is it that Elastic Band thingy David Cage was talking about? Or are we all missing the point completely?

I'd like to open the floor for others to discuss the topic, but because it's a tricky subject to wrap your head around unless you know what's on the chopping block, I'll give it a format:

Name THREE (3) of your favourite games (in any genre) that are famous for their story, particularly if the story is considered a good example of non-linear storytelling.

THEN, explain why you think these are the best examples going of what Interactive Storytelling SHOULD be.

Finally, let's discuss the answers people give. This ain't one of those LIST threads that everyone responds to once and walks away. This is meant to be an open discussion.

[Lee in Limbo]

Now, to get the ball rolling, I'm gonna name my three games, and tell you why I think they're the best interactive storytelling going.

First off, let's start with the runaway hit of the season, PORTAL 2. That's right, the brand spanking new game has shot to the top of my list for interactive storytelling, even though it ably sweeps the pure gameplay list as well. In fact, it's because it does so that the game is so amazing to me. The gameplay and the art direction and the interface and the design and the sound and the levels and the chapters... it's a perfect fit. It does absolutely everything I ask of a game. It even has a section where you're more or less obliged to slow down and pay attention. The puzzles are logical. The solutions are ingenious without being unbelievable. The 'dialogue' and the voice acting and the music are flawless. It has ably slid into the first place position in my heart.

Previous to that, my favourite truly interactive story was THE LONGEST JOURNEY. Yeah, I know, it runs on rails like most games. But the neat thing about TLJ was, it FELT like you were making it up as you went along, like you were really there making the choices for yourself. The story was that immersive. However, it wasn't a flawless execution. Some of those puzzles were truly awful. However, that was par for the course for those days. Most games had at least a few hideous clunkers. I forgive the clunker puzzles for putting me into a story that so captured my imagination, I never really came back.

And finally, LIFE FLASHES BY, a fairly fresh addition that gets in the top three because it is so very different and so very personal, without any concessions to convention or the desire to make it a 'proper game'. There is a theory of game design that states games are all about testing and honing skills. What doesn't get any credit on this list is the ability to follow a story. I consider this an essential skill. Stories give us the concept of time, and of consequence. The creation of Story is the same thing as the creation of sentient thought, because they born at the same instant. Story teaches us things mere gaming skills do not, cannot, about mental acuity and deductive reasoning and closure and empathy, real life skills that everybody needs. And so, interactive storytelling, to me, is the most important game you can play, short of telling a story yourself. And that's what I love about Life Flashes By. It lets you play with the basic building blocks of storytelling without getting your fingers burned.

And there's a secret about the game I have yet to read in any of the numerous reviews its gotten, but that I figured out without being told: the game DOES let you choose the outcome. Not the plot. That's already sorted. But there's a little something that the plot can't do for you, and that's forge a rewarding, though fleeting, relationship with your sidekick, depending on how you react to the events of your life. It's a small thing, perhaps too small for some, but only if you place no importance at all on people.

And that's where the game sneaks one past you. The story is about coming to terms with a life lived without really understanding the importance of caring for the people around you, and being given one last chance, while looking back, to make one true connection before it's too late. No profound moralizing. No special effects. No trophy. Not even a conclusive ending. Just the merest suggestion that you have lived, and that you 'got it', at last.

If that's not interactive storytelling at its cleverest, then I really am in trouble, because I have no idea what interactivity is good for otherwise.

Ten Luv. Your serve.

[Ascovel]

Interesting thread and interesting choices Lee. I don't think I'll add my own picks though, because I don't think there's some ideal of "what Interactive Storytelling SHOULD be". As a gamer and game designer, I value the most wild storytelling experiments and adventure games that are totally unique in their mechanics. For example, something like The Last Express with its real time segments of full player freedom that connect into a more linear story. Sadly, I don't feel like there are that many truly experimental titles when it comes to telling a satisfying story that leaves the player a considerable (illusion of) influence over its course.

Oh, and does Life Flashes By really have a second ending where you end up having a bad relationship with Trevin? If so, I'll have to replay it.

[Lee in Limbo]

Ascovel: Yeah, The Last Express is a prime example of non-linear AG experiment, and most tragically, one that was never properly followed up on. I think the face of this genre would be quite a bit different if more developers had gotten interested in what TLE did with narrative and agency. I chose not to include it because I knew somebody else would, and perhaps more importantly, it doesn't seem to have influenced any other games going forward. I don't exclude it entirely; I just fear that it proved to be a genetic dead end, as far as developmental continuity on the road to Interactive Storytelling.

If I ever meet Jordan Mechner, though, I'm gonna make him sign a contract in blood swearing he will return to pick up where he left off with the concept behind TLE's narrative format.

And as for LFB... guess you'll just have to replay it like I did to find out, huh?

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I chose not to include it because I knew somebody else would, and perhaps more importantly, it doesn't seem to have influenced any other games going forward. I don't exclude it entirely; I just fear that it proved to be a genetic dead end, as far as developmental continuity on the road to Interactive Storytelling.

But that's what I meant in the earlier post. The most interesting story-focused games are usually the ones which ideas are not easily copied/improved on. I don't think the lack of copying makes an excellent idea irrelevant. Also, it's been only 11/12 years since the game came out - I bet there will be something of its kind in the long run.

And as for LFB... guess you'll just have to replay it like I did to find out, huh?

Ok, If you're not telling, I guess I'll have to risk disappointment and learn the truth on my own.

[Arial Type]

I didn't quite understand the concept of the perfect story-based game you described. Is it a non-linear story with tree branches? Then the first things come to mind are The Pandora Directive, Cave Story, Blade Runner and The Last Express, of course.

While the first two are definitely on my top list, the last two are not, which doesn't make them any less important and/or revolutionary for the industry, that's for sure. I just value the gameplay too much.

Otherwise, I can come up with my own examples of games where stories were so immersive it felt like you were making them up But isn't that a bit unfair and too subjective?

[inm8#2]

I'm too lazy to type detailed thoughts, but the three best stories in my opinion are:

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - such great mythology/history and atmosphere blended with an extremely powerful story of self-discovery
Heavy Rain - not a true, classical AG but an incredibly emotional, complex story with real consequences and a great ending reveal
Syberia - another great story of self discovery and growth of the protagonist

[Oscar]

Well i'm not sure my game choices are famous for their story, they are simply good story implementation in a game. I'm not sure whether this thread is meant to about the story as a whole or the execution of the story, but i'm going to look at the story in light of it being an adventure game and totally disregard all other aspects of the game. A story in a game could be bad material for a book or movie but the interactive mode should suit it well, I feel. The way a story is presented in an AG is, to me, more important than the story itself.

Bureaucracy: You've just changed address and are trying to get your redirected mail. That's it, that's the game. What goes from there is a hilarious journey through all sort of bureaucratic systems which in real life would be pure hell - banks, airports, corporations. You cannot get too stressed because if your blood-pressure meter goes too high you die.
why?The story lends itself so well to text adventuring. It's a situation the common man would face against an enemy everyone hates - bureaucracy. You're really battling on two fronts here - against the frustrating Kafka-ian events in the game putting up barriers everywhere you go, and the game itself which is presented in a way which is almost like filling in tax forms (but ten times as fun!). When the game starts you get a ridiculous form to fill out which is almost a puzzle in itself. This wouldn't work as point-n-click, it's the perfect text adventure.

Safecracker: You're a safecracker. You're in a deceased millionaire's house trying to get to his will, but unfortunately you soon find out that he's obsessed with safes.
why?It's a great plot and very well adapted for gaming. No characters that I don't care about, no silly emotional cutscenes, just you, the puzzles and the clues. What's great is the simplicity, the minimalism and what it doesn't do. Too many games include all sort of unnecessary junk in the story that just complicate things and mostly ruin the fun. A game is not a novel, or a film. In Safecracker you know what you have to do and there's no pretences about it at all. The puzzles you face in the game aren't there as obstacles to more story, they ARE the game. I could have included many games in the place of Safecracker (RHEM, Myst), but Safecracker just illustrates the advantage of simplistic gaming perfectly.

The Experiment: You're an anonymous computer user with access to the security cameras on board an abandoned cargo ship. A stranger appears...
why?This is a computer game about someone on a computer. That's possibly the ultimate adventure game plot because you are doing what you would be doing if you were actually in the game. There's no backstory, no character development, you are playing as you and you are right there in the game. There is enormous mystery around what is going on in the game, due to the presentation. True, there have been better made stories and the actual story development is a bit boring and it could have been way better executed, but as an idea it marks where adventure games should be going in the 21st century. If developers could just take a hint from The Experiment on the kinds of ideas that could open up adventure games to new kinds of interactivity and immersion, there's a bright future ahead. Having the computer as an interface has been done before and a few games could go in The Experiment's place (esp. 1986's Portal which was more interactive fiction).

[mbday630]

I think the best story for a game is Gabriel Knight 1, and then GK2. both stories were very well thought out.

[Periglo]

What about visual novels and interactive fiction? These are not really "games", but the stories are usually great despite this fact (or, precisely because of it). I am currently playing (reading, whatever) Ever 17, which is quite amazing. I tried some IF a while ago, and some stories, like Slouching Towards Bedlam where very good.

[JackVanian]

To me the Gabriel Knight games are the perfect example of what interactive storytelling can achieve in theory. I still remember when I played Sins of the Fathers for the first time. My whole world was turned upside down, because for the very first time I realized how much potential this medium has as a mature platform for "real" storytelling. Unfortunately there are nearly no adventure game developers out there that make any use of this potential which is quite a shame, 18 years after the release of the milestone that Sins of the Fathers was.

Other games that impressed me from a storytelling perspective:
Heavy Rain. One of the most immersive things I've ever experienced. A great demonstration of how you can provoce complex emotions in a game.

Then there is the Last Express which has already been mentioned on here. Nothing more to add, truly a brilliant piece of art.

Then I'd also like to mention The Pandora Directive. At the first look, the story is totally trivial (Aliens, Roswell, conspiracy), but when you have a closer look at the script itself it is quite impressive to see how much depth the story actually has - at least for a computer game.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by JackVanian

Then I'd also like to mention The Pandora Directive. At the first look, the story is totally trivial (Aliens, Roswell, conspiracy), but when you have a closer look at the script itself it is quite impressive to see how much depth the story actually has - at least for a computer game.

For me it were always the characters, their backstories, the world of the future and the creative humorous bits that constituted the depth of the Tex Murphy games. The plots themselves are fairly trivial like you said. Probably it's something in the very nature of adventure games, but it strikes me in particular in the Tex Murphy series.

[gray pierce]

For me the game with the best, most complex, most immersive story was Dreamfall but I don't want to get into another argument about whether or not everything in Dreamfall was stolen.

Also I 100% second The Last Express but though I love Syberia I think it was a bit thin on the story side.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

For me it were always the characters, their backstories, the world of the future and the creative humorous bits that constituted the depth of the Tex Murphy games. The plots themselves are fairly trivial like you said. Probably it's something in the very nature of adventure games, but it strikes me in particular in the Tex Murphy series.

I agree, the stories were the worst part of Tex Murphy. They had a certain B-movie charm, but it was everything else which made Tex great - the interface, the puzzles, the characters and humour, the interactivity of everything. Just the way it was done was totally unique back in the 90s, and even to this day.

[Jannik]

I guess it boils down to each individuals definition of interactivity. Is it interactivity, in a game, if a radio is playing and your only option to make it quiet is to push the off-button? Or, do you need to have the choice of pushing the off-button or smashing the radio with a hammer?

In the field of communication each instance of interactivity is usually about choice, but I think games are a bit different, so in this case I'll go with the former.

The way I see it, there are four main branches of Interactive Storytelling:

- Linear stories: Non-repetitive gameplay; the player can't make choices that shape or change the plot. (Some adventure games.)

- Non-linear stories: Gameplay can be either repetitive or non-repetitive; the player can make choices that shape or change the plot. These choices can be seen as gameplay. (Heavy Rain, Deus Ex, Fallout.)

- Linear stories disguised as non-linear stories: Non-repetitive gameplay; the player can't make real choices that shape or change the plot, but maybe you don't need to solve all the tasks to progress the story, and/or you can decide in which order to solve the tasks. (Many adventure games.)

- Emergent stories: The player creates his or her own story from tools given by the developer; usually no or little plot. To make this work you usually need a strong simulation, besides the tools. E.g. one or more of the following: good AI, physics, a destructible environment, a dynamic world. (Probably The Sims 3.)

Personally I wouldn't categorize games with linear stories, repetitive gameplay, and no options to shape or change the plot (many shooters and strategy games) as examples of Interactive Storytelling. To me they're more like a stream of interactivity divided by story moments (or vice versa.) But I think it can be argued that they fit in the Interactive Storytelling category.

Game time:
The Longest Journey: Best plot-driven story I've experienced in a game. The gameplay is only slightly above average, in my opinion, but the story, the world, the integration of the main themes (and probably some of the characters, don't remember that aspect that clearly) is on par with great stories in books and movies - and that's rare for a game.

For the remaining two games, I'm going to mention games I haven't finished - so take this with a grain of salt - but otherwise I would just be mentioning games that do something similar to TLJ...

ICO: The world, the backstory, the characters, the themes and the game mechanics just melts in a great way (but not flawless), and it's a prime example of a (mostly) plotless game that works well. And also a story that probably wouldn't work that well in another medium.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time: The plot is meh, and the characters shallow (but charming nevertheless), but it's one of the best examples of a story told almost entirely through gameplay. Puzzles, minigames, combat - the game has almost everything, so while the plot isn't that interesting, you sort of feel you're creating your own plot through exploration and gameplay.

[Periglo]

Originally Posted by Jannik

ICO: ... a prime example of a (mostly) plotless game that works well

ICO story? What story? As you say, a perfect example of a good game which has almost no story behind it. Not one made explicit, at least - of course, this is way better than a bad story.

I think the original question was regarding stories. Not about immersion, branching, puzzles, just stories you could extract and write down as a novel. As shown above, a game does not need this to be excellent, although it does not hurt.

My contribution: two RPGs with great stories.

• Torment
• KoTOR (1)

[aaroncarney]

Portal 2

]Just completed it and I can say its definitely one of, if not my favourite game ever. BRILLIANT story, writing, pacing, puzzles, ending. Everything is perfect.

Grim Fandango

Just fun, and a fantastic story.

The Longest Journey

Gabriel Knight 3

Everyone seems to like the first 2 better. But I prefer the third. Seems to have more of a detective investigation about it. Also I like the voice actors better, and mosely's back. I like Grace's voice actor better as well, a huge improvement to the horrible actress in the 2nd. She just pissed me off.

Bioshock

A little different to the rest of my list. But god it's good!

[Lee in Limbo]

Hmmn. A good day's posts, I'd say. A few people were a little confused about what I was getting at, for which I apologize. Most folks seem to at least be in the ballpark of what I'm talking about, so good. The topic isn't a dead loss.

For those still wondering, I should say that I know there are lots and lots of 'games' both inside and out of the AG class of video games, that tell great stories. We've had lists of such games in numerous threads over the years. I love those threads myself. But this discussion isn't intended to be about listing the coolest game stories you've ever played. It's more a discussion of the concept of stories that actually do seem to be co-authored, to whatever extent it is possible, by the player hirself.

It's a pretty subjective topic; almost as subjective as 'best story IN a game'. What I'm hoping for is a discussion on what YOU think makes a great interactive story, and whether you think any game has achieved it yet. I'm certainly not interested in arguing about whether the stories were whole-cloth original, or whether you thought the story was great or sucked moose genitals. I just want to know whether you think Interactive Storytelling has been done right.

I don't intend this strictly as an Adventure Game Only thread, either. I know RPGs and FPSs and RTSs and MMOs and LifeSims and of course IF are also more than capable of telling immersive, emergent stories with very little in the way of classic, linear Rules-of-Drama storytelling.

So keep on with what you're doing. I think that there is a lot to be learned about the true nature of storytelling, and I truly believe the next chapter of storytelling is going to be digital.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

But this discussion isn't intended to be about listing the coolest game stories you've ever played. It's more a discussion of the concept of stories that actually do seem to be co-authored, to whatever extent it is possible, by the player hirself.

I'm not sure it's possible to any extent. The problem I have found is that the more co-authoring a player does in a story, the less quality it seems to have. The game developer needs to be able to tell a story, and in doing so, communicate something to his audience. If more and more eventualities come into play, with more and more choices available to the player to change the plot, there will be less control by the storyteller and less opportunity for expression.

So while Syberia is a linear story about self-discovery, greed and companionship, a non-linear version would be about whatever the player wants it to be. The player could choose not to revive Oscar and finish the game alone. Imagine a Scratches where you could ship in a boatload of marines to assist you, or a Monkey Island where you could become friends with LeChuck and help him to take over the world.

The games where you can "do anything" tend to be about nothing at all, or if the plot is to be meaningful the gameplay then has to be meaningless. I have not found any developer able to get around this problem. The most developers can do is arrange for slight optional detours and alternative endings which are practically there for novelty more than their contribution to the story, there being a 'correct' ending and a 'bad' ending.

[Pallav Nawani]

When working on Pahelika: Revelations, I tried hard to find a way to tell a story within the confines of a casual adventure game. Eventually I decided that Pahelika was a game about exploration, and not about telling a story, but even before that I found out that there was a major obstacle in my attempt to tell a story:

Stories are TOLD, not played. There is someone telling a story and there is someone receiving it. It has been argued that there is always a conversation between the speaker and the listener, but this is predominantly a one way street. The story doesn't change with the listener, and the writer is certainly unaware of any dialogue that takes place.

Gaming is interactive. Shoot! Player is shooting zombies. Solve! Player is solving puzzles. Dodge! Player is dodging fireballs.

What we call a 'game' today really consists of two parts: the interactive, game part, and the non interactive, story part. So the 'game' is actually two different art forms mixed together: storytelling and gameplay. Problem is that these two forms don't work well together.

All of the writers I have conversed with on online forums agree that there are no good game stories. I find it strange, because these very people are the ones writing the stories. When I challenged them on this point, they often claim that they never get a chance to do things their way. I happen to disagree.

Suppose I want to tell a story of love and loss in an adventure game. So I start with well written story, and manage to put the reader in the right frame of mind. But now the gameplay starts and the player has to solve a well integrated mood enhancing puzzle to move on to the next segment.

Eventually player will enter the puzzle solving mode and his mind will begin to see the game solely as a puzzle. At that point any and all emotional hold that the story had on the player will be broken. The game will be seen merely as a puzzle to be solved, greatly weakening the power of the storytelling. So, to my mind, if I say that I will tell a great story within an adventure/RPG/FPS (or whatever genre) game, then I have already lost the battle.

On gamasutra Citizen Kane is an often bandied about landmark, with some people expressing the desire to create a similar landmark in storytelling. Even ignoring the fact that Citizen Kane isn't such a great movie, it is obvious that to tell a story as well as in cinema/books, we will have to severely curtail the interactive portions. But that would mean that it won't be a game anymore...

Thoughts?