Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Textual analysis: Week 02

Did Linear Storytelling in your chosen game(s) engage and excite you as a player? Explain why or why not.

In my chosen game, "Prince of Persia The Sands Of Time", the linear storytelling managed to excite and engage me with its intriguing cinematics and clearly presented production elements that reflect in game actions.
As I progressed into the gameplay which would take me to different parts of the world to achieve certain tasks, the game provided context through the cut scenes and gave incentive to follow the provided path to see what comes next. An example of this is when the player discovers a shrine/tomb in which a shining dagger resides elevated high above, and your character narrates its majestic appeal to him. I found myself compelled to progress the designated path despite its puzzling nature which after solving gives great satisfaction. Upon discovering through a later cut scene that the dagger is a central plot device for the entire game makes the task feel extremely significant.
In essence the task is often to get from one point to another but solving the correct way to get there can be just as rewarding as getting to the end itself. By having the cinematics reflect your success of a certain task in the narrative makes the sense of reward exponential and encourages you to progress further.
Even though the narrative is linear, I was able to find myself engaged and excited to progress through it because of its interesting and well presented story which reflect in game elements giving the player a great sense of agency despite the story's end being predetermined. 

No comments:

Post a Comment