The Strength of Videogames

Stories that carry the greatest emotional impact are ones that you take part in. If you have a hand in creating or shaping it, you’ll feel more attached. This concept is what makes me believe that videogames have the greatest potential for storytelling prowess. Hit the jump for more!

(What follows is different than my usual post. I needed to get some random thoughts out.)

We’ve all watched movies or read books that made us cry or sit on the edge of our seat. Don’t lie. It doesn’t make you less of a man; it just means the story made a connection with you. It touched you in a way that caused you to be invested in the story. Music, movies, and books have to do this by creating characters or situations that the reader can relate to. Videogames use aspects from all of these mediums, but they have the ability to take it a step further with interactivity.

Videogames give players control over the narrative. When you kill a teammate, you are the one who made it happen. When an ally falls because your character failed to save him, that one is also on you. Videogames get to combine narrative and interaction in a way that no other medium can. The end result can be absolutely thrilling.

In recent years, the narrative for games has greatly improved. Players are now getting to enjoy stories on par with the best of movies. I’ve even managed to shed a few tears within the past year. Yes, a videogame made me cry. Actually, three of them did in 2012. Journey, Mass Effect 3, and The Walking Dead: The Game all transformed me into a bawling man child, but none of them accomplished this task as quick as The Last of Us did this year. I was sobbing within the first 20 minutes of that game.

Set in a post-apocalyptic United States, The Last of Us tells the story of a man named Joel as he guides a girl named Ellie across the remnants of our country. The Last of Us has received universal acclaim for all aspects of the game. It truly is one of the best uses of narrative in a videogame and the fact that you control the action makes it even more engrossing. Look for my next post when I delve into the intro of TLoU.