لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Narrative Descriptors
On a black screen there's nothing but white Rorschach-shaped outlines moving around, and you're to hit them, so to speak, before they hit you. Once you've figured out what "you" is.The name on the machine implies you're in a field of asteroids, not that you know what a field of asteroids is, or what it'd be like to be a being in one.— David Sudnow, Pilgrim in the Microworld
We will return presently to the narrative play of digital games. But first we must pause to identify a key storytelling element: narrative descriptors. Narrative descriptors are representations, which means that they are depictions of one or more aspects of the game world. Games offer players narrative descriptors on many levels. Graphics on the side of arcade cabinets depict objects or characters that will appear in the game world. Game manual text explains many aspects of a game experience, from the interactive controls to plot and backstory. Audio soundtracks help establish and embellish the narrative setting, while opening cinematics tell us what the game world looks like and why we are there. Even within game play, graphical elements and sound effects communicate the narrative identity of game objects and characters. Each type of narrative descriptor plays a different storytelling role in explicating the game universe, creating a narrative context for events and actions. Everything in a game is potentially a kind of narrative descriptor. Thinking in terms of narrative descriptors means framing the elements inside and outside of a game as objects that communicate the story. As players, we rely on narrative description to help us make sense of the settings, events, and characters encountered. Although narrative descriptors bear some relation to the formal structure of a game, they are somewhat separable from it. The very same game can be depicted in different ways by different narrative descriptors. For example, Breakout has been narrativized in a number of ways. The original arcade game had pictures of escaping prisoners on the game cabinet, telling the story of a jailbreak. In this case, the layers of blocks on the screen represent the walls of the prison from which the prisoner is attempting to "break out." The first Atari 2600 version of Breakout framed the narrative as a Pong-style Tennis match: the box cover featured stylish illustrations of Tennis players. The sequel Super Breakout moved into the realm of science fiction, a lone spaceship facing off against a mysterious force field. Although the core formal structure of Breakout remained the same in each of these three variations, the framing narrative changed radically. But don't get the wrong impression: this doesn't mean that any narrative can be applied to any game. In the case of Breakout, the abstract quality of the game graphics and sound lent themselves more easily to multiple narrative interpretations. Furthermore, each of the three narrative frameworks (jailbreak, Tennis match, force field) bore a genuine relationship to the actual game play, although each narrative emphasized different aspects of the game structure and interaction. It is interesting to note that narrative descriptors are not always effective in creating a clear context for interaction. In Super Breakout, for example, the written narrative in the game manual is actually somewhat confusing. We quoted it at the beginning of this chapter, but below is a short excerpt: Suddenly, without warning, there's a brilliant flash straight ahead. You check the radar screen. Nothing. Pretty soon there's another flash, and another. Next thing you know the flashes have turned into one gigantic force field of some kind and it's dead ahead. You check the radar screen, still nothing.
From a game play perspective, this narrative is strangely disconnected from player interaction. Twice in the text the "you" of the narrative checks the radar screen. What radar screen? There isn't any radar element in the game at all. And what about the flashes of light? When the game begins, there are no flashes of light, only solid rows of colored blocks and a ball. What is it suppose to mean? The narrative's insistent emphasis on the blankness of the radar screen, the fact that the force field doesn't show up on the spaceship's radar, emphasizes the light-based immateriality of the Breakout experience, still a novelty in the early era of digital gaming. Perhaps the text references the first moment of play, the instant the television set is turned on and the darkness suddenly lights up with the glowing pattern of a warming cathode ray tube. Sometimes, a narrative descriptor doesn't have to provide a logical basis for play, and can simply reference a more general narrative genre. In the case of Super Breakout, the descriptor fails to produce an accurate narrative for the impending game play, but it does tell a wonderfully meta-textual story of electrons dancing on a phosphor screen, circa 1981. In addition to acting as a "frame" for the central game play, narrative descriptors also can appear within a game. In Thunderstorm there is little or no pre-game narrative set-up that describes player interaction. Instead, the narrative play of Thunderstorm transforms the numbers on the dice into a story of an approaching storm, during the game itself. Lines on a page become houses; dice rolls become acts of construction and destruction. Narrative descriptors work in two ways. They can act to identify objects or events inside a game: "prison," "house," "thunderstorm," "force field." They can also provide frameworks of interaction for players: "this is a game about thunderstorms;"this is a Tennis simulation."(These two uses of descriptors correspond directly with the two modes of game representation from the previous chapter—that games can represent and that they are representations.) Let's take a close look at one game, Asteroids, to see how it integrates narrative descriptors to create a compelling game experience. The game instructions on the arcade cabinet contain the following text: Shoot the asteroids while avoiding collisions with them. Occasionally a flying saucer will appear and attempt to shoot you down with guided missiles. Destroy it or the missiles for more points. What information does this narrative description contain? We can infer that:
There are two kinds of objects in the game we will battle: asteroids and flying saucers. Both have destructive capabilities. Destruction occurs through collision, either with an asteroid or a guided missile.
Interaction with the asteroids takes two forms: we can shoot them or we can maneuver around the asteroids to avoid contact.
Interaction with the flying saucers involves shooting and maneuvering as well. Because the flying saucers use guided missiles, it will be more difficult to outmaneuver them.
Flying saucers are more rare and therefore more valuable. We gain additional points by destroying them.
Flying saucers are active enemies: they will try to destroy us. Asteroids are passive enemies: we must avoid running into them.
The movement of the asteroids is independent of the movement of our ship, whereas the movement of the guided missiles is directly linked to it.
The guided missiles can destroy asteroids if we position our ship behind an asteroid. The asteroid then becomes a shield for the ship.
So much information contained within such a short descriptor! But there is more. Although it is not explicitly stated that we are in a spaceship or that we are in outer space, both of these facts follow from the instructions. We know asteroids and flying saucers exist in outer space, not in the desert or the ocean. We also know that if we are able to shoot and maneuver we must be in a vehicle that allows these actions. We can conclude from the story's narrative logic that we are in a spaceship. The details about our spaceship—what it is called, what it uses for fuel, the size of the crew—don't matter. The key narrative information is that it can maneuver and shoot the enemy.
But what if a player skips over the instructions and just starts playing? Without the introductory textual description, will players know what to do? In a well-designed game like Asteroids the answer is yes, as there are many other narrative descriptors to orient the player. First, the name of the game and the hard-to-miss cabinet graphics communicate that Asteroids is a sci-ence-fiction narrative that takes place in outer space and that the white geometric outlines moving on the dark screen are asteroids. Second, the representation of objects in the game world provides information about what they are and what forms of interaction will take place. When the game begins, the screen is filled with many asteroids but only one arrow-shaped object, located dead center. If the central placement and unique identity of the arrow-shaped object is not enough of a clue, a player who simply starts mashing the button interface will quickly discover that he or she can directly control the arrow (but not the asteroids). It is easy to conclude that the arrow object represents the player, situated in the game world of an asteroid field. A player unfamiliar with the game or its objectives will quickly be smashed to bits by an asteroid. This dramatic event is represented by a visual and audio explosion, as well as by the removal of one of the player's remaining ships from the corner of the screen. The act of being destroyed by an asteroid contains a wealth of information for the player, signifying that the asteroids are lethal and should be avoided.When a flying saucer suddenly appears and starts shooting at the player, it is logical to infer that it too is an enemy and therefore worthy of destruction. When a player successfully destroys a flying saucer and receives bonus points, he or she learns that flying saucers are more valuable than asteroids. Flying saucers only appear at intermittent intervals, and their rarity emphasizes their bonus point value and their extra degree of deadliness. Each of these events is made possible by a narrative descriptor, a representation that helps players understand the activity of the game within a larger narrative context. In Asteroids, all of the narrative elements are both integrated and discernable, the two key qualities of meaningful play. Even without reading the instructions, players can, through interaction with the game world, experience narrative play.This is a sign of a well-designed game, one that provides a clear and compelling system of meaning. In this kind of context, play itself reveals the narrative meaning of the game world. Every element of a game brims with narrative potential. The narrative components of a game are not just the backstory and cutscenes. Any representational element can be a narrative descriptor, an opportunity for you to communicate the story that you want your players to experience. In Asteroids, the game elements, the interface, and even the arcade game cabinet all play a role in the narrative. Nothing is irrelevant: every piece helps tell the story, which is greater than the sum of the parts. Is your game narrative as tightly and elegantly designed as Asteroids?
