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Do you enjoy reading journals in adventure games? Favorites?
I always loved reading journals or other types of written documents in adventure games. I viewed this as a nice break from adventuring and a chance to immerse myself in the story.
In the past couple years I think I’ve lost a bit of patience when it comes to things like reading journals. I have nothing against them, but being older means not having as much time to play games. So, usually I feel like I’m in a rush to play through games, just to catch up and shorten that backlog. This results in me sometimes skimming through written materials.
Anyway, one thing I’m going to try and do in the future is not skim over any journal entries or the like in games I play.
One memorable journal that comes to mind is from Scratches. You read it fairly early in the game, and it’s quite long, but it really unnerves you and sets the tone for the rest of the game. That’s an example of where skimming through the journal or not even reading it may detract from the game experience.
Anyways, how do others feel about reading journals? What are some of your favorites?
I must say that I really enjoy reading when playing adventure games. Even when sometimes, there are so much to read that you get distracted from the atmosphere, they usually provide you a lot of feedback, making it easier to apreciate some of the details in the game. Riven, Myst III and Myst IV all had great journals. Darkfall:the Journal (sic!) also had lots of interesting reading. The most rescent examples for me of great journals that add both to the feeling and the background story were in Corrosion: Cold Winter Waiting. The game’s heart practically IS those journals.
The heaviest reading I had however was the entire collection of dead kings journals in the hall of kings in URU and the wall of text in The Neverhood.
Strangely enough, almost all my examples are from 1st person adventures…
I don’t like having to read journals or the like. It’s not that I don’t have the patience for it, I just don’t want to experience any of the games content in that way. If it doesn’t fit into some actual gameplay then I’d rather have it left out.
Whether or not I read a journal depends almost entirely on how well the journal is written, and also somewhat on the length. I don’t like having huge amounts of reading dumped in my lap all at once. But sometimes a journal is the best way to tell the game’s backstory.
It’s also unnatural to go in a room full of books and none of them be readable.
One of the best uses of books you could pick up just to read is in games by Jon Boakes. They weren’t too long, the stories enhanced the atmosphere of the game, and sometimes contained a clue to a puzzle.
Having characters keep detailed notes of what’s happening to them and conveniently leave those lying around is a very poor story-telling technique (I mean, who actually does that?!), and I don’t play games to read tonnes of stuff anyway. I can live with it if it’s kept in small doses and not too obviously unbelievable. But hitting me in the head with an hour’s worth of written material, like Myst does in its first 5 minutes, is not a good idea.
I don’t like having to read journals or the like. It’s not that I don’t have the patience for it, I just don’t want to experience any of the games content in that way. If it doesn’t fit into some actual gameplay then I’d rather have it left out.
I totally agree, if you can’t tell the story through the gameplay, then leave it out.
There can of course be some execptions, like when you are investigating what have happen at a place, and find a journal or video diary explaining it. But it should always be in small quantities and never be a major part of the game.
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
For the most part, yes, I do. That’s not to say that I’ve enjoyed every journal I’ve ever read in an adventure game without exception, but in general I think it can add a deeper understanding of the characters, setting, and plot. It can also make me feel a more human connection to the story rather than just solving puzzle after puzzle.
Like any game element, there has to be a balance, and I definitely think it can be over-relied-upon and detract from the experience rather than adding to it. Journals should be one aspect of piecing together the story, in my opinion, not a thinly veiled list of puzzle hints masquerading as atmosphere.
In-game background reading I’ve most enjoyed was in the Myst/Uru series, pretty much anything by Jonathan Boakes, and Corrosion.
Being a journal writer myself and an avid reader, I’ve always found it natural to pick up and read journals in games. In the Myst games, Atrus was a writer, so it was natural that he keep journals of the ages he wrote. In first person games, with few or no people to give the player verbal clues, it’s a natural way, at least for me, to convey information.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
Black Mirror is a great example of journal being used in right doses, and tying up nicely chunks of the story. I guess it really depends whether the journal itself is interesting and how successfully it follows the gameplay and story. Some games experimented with journal being an integral part of the game and puzzles, providing clues (Sherlock Holmes series), or even being interactive (Darkness Within, I think) and I’d like those ideas developed and used more.
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I agree with some of the people above - journals (and most text, in general) tend to be the lazy developer’s way of telling a story. If you are making a game and get the idea to use a journal as an infodump, stop and reconsider! It is by far the most tedious way to tell us what has happened, is happening, or will happen. And journals are not even interactive, to boot! So, yeah, I do read journals (I have to) but do not enjoy it at all.
There are exceptions of course - I reckon that both Scratches and The Black Mirror use journals effectively to set the mood. (I think the one in BM also had puzzle clues IIRC.)
Oh, and I am convinced that The Neverhood’s Hall of Records text is the longest shaggy dog story in the history of adventure games and was meant as a joke at the expense of the player. Cf. the two-minute burp. (Off-topic: Neverhood gets away with a lot of crappy puzzle and gameplay choices that would have destroyed a game with lesser visuals and atmosphere.)
In first person games, with few or no people to give the player verbal clues, it’s a natural way, at least for me, to convey information.
Yeah, personally I much prefer journals to some of the alternatives - for example, dialog trees, which feel extremely stilted and unnatural to me (and the voice acting almost always lags well behind my reading speed, which can be tedious.) Many people in the real world actually do write in journals, but no one stands there speaking in scripted bursts trying to find their way to a predetermined conversational outcome.
It all just comes down to taste, I think. There’s nothing objectively wrong with interactive dialog. For me personally, though, I’d rather read a dozen journals than try to navigate through a single dialog tree.
I like journals in games, and I don’t mind reading, but frankly, it all boils down to how well the journal is written and/or how much of reading there is to do.
If it’s badly written text, then I’ll dislike any entry longer than three lines, but if it’s well written, then by all means give me long texts…
However there are limits. It still needs to remain a game, and not a book. I love all the extra background info that can really make the world seem real, but it can also become too much (even when well written).
I can’t really think of any good adventure examples, but RPGs often suffer from “too much”. I love finding books and scrolls that provide background info, but if you find a new text every five minutes and it’s pages long every time, then chances are I’ll start skimming them after a while, or even skipping them altogether.
But the occasional interesting text that makes the game world come alive? Bring it on!
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
I like reading, and I like reading journals in games, but reading from a computer screen is just not nice. I would like to be able to print out the journals or have them as a booklet in the box the game came in.
Yeah, Scratches journals were the best. Others… not so memorable. Bad writing I guess.
I like reading, and I like reading journals in games, but reading from a computer screen is just not nice. I would like to be able to print out the journals or have them as a booklet in the box the game came in.
A couple favorites spring to mind:
KQ6
Zork: Nemesis
I always assumed in game journals or other scrawling were very lazy attempts at storytelling. Especially if you’re REQUIRED to read them to advance in the game - then it becomes lazy game design too.
However, if the game’s lore is genuinely interesting then I’d be glad there’s more to learn about this world through the journals and whatnot.
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