How many times have you left a movie theater or watched a season finale of a television series and have actually felt upset, saddened? Have you ever allowed a book to engulf yourself, completely removing you from reality, grounding you in your mind – beyond your control? This is the power of a writer.
A good writer has the ability to manipulate your emotions with language. The art of writing has a foundation that spans centuries with influences from nearly all cultures. It’s a skill that people are not born with, but develop as we grow. The ability to transfer sounds (spoken language) into visual shapes (written language) is something we take for granted; it is a powerful tool.
As Stan Lee says, “with great power comes great responsibility” and when it comes to video games, we often find this power misused. Ask yourself, “how often have you felt an emotional attachment to a storyline in a video game?” There has yet to be a game with a storyline so well written that it could change the direction of the entire industry.
There are two schools of thought here. The first deals with the fact that gaming is simply a form of entertainment, similar to a card game or board game, but on a much more visual level. In this school of thought, there is hardly room for a dramatic, captivating storyline – and why should there be drama?
The second school of thought is the relatively new idea of “video games as art.” This approach puts gaming on a level that rivals movies, books, plays and music; it allows games to be another outlet, or medium, for storytelling. Opening the doors into the elite industry of storytelling requires video game developers to employ quality, experienced writers.
Video games have a unique approach to drama that no other mediums can emulate. This approach is found through the ability of the audience to break down the wall of “passive” entertainment, to emerge into a world of “active” entertainment. No other medium is capable of allowing the intended audience to make decisions that change the actual story! This creates a brand new world for writers to explore, taking some of that power away, in exchange for opportunities regarding choices.
Quantic Dream studio’s upcoming title “Heavy Rain” (PS3) is a game that capitalizes on this emerging path for unique narrative forms. The game intends to challenge the audience’s emotional response and morality. As Director David Cage said, “the real message is about how far you're willing to go to save someone you love” (http://tinyurl.com/ojqm2f).
Quantic Dream is just one studio that is pushing the boundaries of video game art forms. As more studios continue to explore this territory, we may soon find the industry split into various genres, well beyond the typical FPS, action/adventure, RPG variations; new genres will emerge, those that may rival the film industry for our visual story experiences.
[via My Article on Game Informer]
