Narrative, design, and diversity in video games

This chapter discusses how video games operate similarly to other creative mediums in mirroring the society within which they were created. The example of 'Fragments of Him' (a commercially released video game designed and written by the chapter's author) is used to illustrate how personal and social histories can be told and explored through interactive mediums. The chapter discusses how the term 'immersion' is often used without precision in the video game sector, and suggests four categories of immersion that may be more useful for both academics and professionals.

Curiosity is a fundamental trait of human nature, and as such, it has been studied and exploited in many aspects of game design. However, curiosity is not a static trigger that can just be activated, and game design needs to be carefully paired with the current state of the game flow to produce significant reactions. In this paper we present the preliminary results of an experiment aimed at understanding how different factors such as perceived narrative, unknown game mechanics, and non-standard controller mapping could influence the evolution of players’ behaviour throughout a game session. Data was gathered remotely through a puzzle game we developed and released for free on the internet, and no description on potential narrative was provided before gameplay. Players who downloaded the game did it on their free will and played the same way they would with any other game. Results show that initial curiosity towards both a static and dynamic environment is slowly overcome by the sense of challenge, and that interactions that were initially performed with focus lose accuracy as result of players’ attention shift towards the core game mechanics.

With hundreds of new games being released every week, designers rely on existing knowledge to design control schemes for their products. However, in the case of games with new game mechanics, designers struggle to implement new button schemes due to the lack of research on players’ adaptation to new and non-standard controls. In this study we investigated PC players habits when playing a game they have no knowledge of, and how they adapt to its non-standard control scheme. Data was collected by using a specifically designed game instead of relying on pre-existing ones, allowing us to design specific game mechanics to exploit users’ habits and monitor players’ behaviour in their home environments. Preliminary results seem to indicate that PC players do pay attention to control schemes and are able to quickly learn new ones, but they also prefer to make mistakes in favour of execution speed.

Extended version of the Inaugural Lecture delivered by Mata Haggis (now Haggis-Burridge) on the occasion of their appointment as Lector/Professor of Creative and Entertainment Games at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands, 1st June 2016. A discussion and summary of the economic, social, and cultural value of video games. We are at a tipping point in the history of video games. Their value as training and educational tools has been recognised for decades, but their value and contribution to society as purely creative and/or entertainment products has been much more controversial. In fifty years it will probably seem ridiculous that highlighting this contribution is necessary: their value will be self-evident. It is increasingly clear from their economic benefits, their social benefits and challenges, and their contributions to the cultural sector that creative and entertainment video games are much more than toys for the amusement of children: millions of copies are sold, they are played by people of all ages, and they are good for our mental health. They are taking their place in galleries alongside venerable masterpieces, they are online, and they are delighting millions at public art and music festivals across the world. Entertainment has value beyond economics; it is part of who we are and how we express our cultures. Video games, like other mediums of entertainment, and society will benefit if we research and develop further understanding of their content, the processes of their creation, and their cultural context.

The term ‘immersion’ is used frequently by professional video game developers (in both the entertainment and serious/applied industries), academics, journalists, and players. However, this word can refer to a range of different modes of engagement for players and standardisation would improve discussion of the topic. This paper suggests and explains four categories: • 'Systems immersion' can be used to describe when players are deeply engaged with the mechanics, challenges, and rules of a game, and is similar to a state of ‘flow’ • 'Spatial immersion' is the sense of a player being present in, or transported to, the virtual world, and is linked to the concept of embodiment • 'Empathic/social immersion' describes the connection that a player may develop towards the characters (AI or human) and the social context of a game • 'Narrative/sequential immersion' can be used to describe a player’s compulsion to see how a sequence of events continues, typically in a narrative, but this is related to any progression, such as exploring new spaces or evolving gameplay mechanics.

The video game industry, by its wider reputation, is not commonly regarded for its deep and thoughtful experiences. In its common media presence it is represented as frequently dealing with content that is excessively violent and usually expressing themes and genres that are otherworldly: science-fiction, horror, or fantasy. However, the broad reputation is not wholly deserved, partly due to an arthouse-esque movement growing rapidly alongside the larger, traditional releases. In the last decade, and five years especially, there have been an increasing number of games which tell personal stories that are either inspired by life or that are autobiographical and that defy the stereotype of video games. These games are often highly concerned with creating vivid and believable characters, telling personal stories, or conveying emotional experiences using interaction to enhance the narrative. This article discusses some of the key titles in this area, the debates in video game culture surrounding them, and some of the choices made in the development of the author's own narrative game experience 'Fragments of Him'.