Game Narrative

Story is very important to me, whether it be in a movie or a game. Most things rely on a good story as their foundation, and I also enjoy playing games that revolve around great stories.

I'll begin with the Legend of Zelda series. This is a great series of games that revolve around recurring themes and storyline. The world of Zelda has its own characters and lore that enrich the game play. The game itself is moved along by the plot, and while you play you feel immersed in the story of Link and Zelda. When I was little I started out with playing the Ocarina of Time. I was hooked to this great N64 game. I was pretty young (and sucked really bad at it) but I enjoyed it nonetheless. For me, I wanted to know the story of these great characters. I so desperately wanted to know how the story would end that I actually had my older cousin beat Ganandorf for me just so I could see the ending! I've been hooked on the franchise ever since, so I like to think that this proves how successful the narrative was in the case of the Zelda series.

A more recent series I have been playing is the Professor Layton Games. Created for the Nintendo DS, these games are set up as playable detective stories. While the gameplay revoves around solving puzzles with the Professor, narrative is the overall driving force of the game. Between each "chapter" of the game there are little movie clips that move the storyline along. The Professor also keeps a journal of his findings and his thoughts on the events throughout the story that you can read along with. Each game ties into the last to move the story along (aside from the most recent, which is a prequel story.) I really enjoy the Professor Layton games and it is currently my favorite series. I am currently playing Professor Layton and the Last Specter.

Another game I have recently started playing is Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon! I was obsessed with the original Luigi's mansion for the gamecube. It is a great combination of my favorite virtual plumber and haunted houses and spooky ghosts! So far Dark Moon has been a really great play. The narrative isn't as engaging so far as the original Luigi's mansion story...but I'm still pretty early in the game.