Interactive Narrative Focus
I feel that interactive media in the form of narrative is occasionally confused. Often, the interaction forwarding the narrative seems to be simplified to the point of being the equivalent of a page turn as with flash like Inanimate Alice (lA), or in the form of games which focus interaction over the narrative.
Narratives like the above linked have the advantage of being well paced and structured like any linear narrative such as a movie. The running time and each scene are pre-planned and execute the same each time around. In doing this however (and by removing most interactive game elements) the sense of immersion within the story isn’t heightened because of the detached nature of the story progression.
Modern day games have somewhat the opposite issue within the interactive environment. Often times it is the interactivity of each game that creates the immersion, rather than the strength of its narrative.
Interactive cut-scenes like this are commonplace in a large proportion of video games. It was a technique employed to make story elements within these games more immersive and exciting. Unfortunately games suffer from being overly long/short and lacking the focused narrative structure of a movie due to its nature of having to provide a deep gameplay experience.
Where am I going with this?
I wonder if a balance can be found. Is there a way of taking the best from both worlds? Watching the innocent victim enter into the dark forbidden room is scary, most gamers will argue that entering into the dark forbidden room yourself is scarier.
A game like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (and it’s many sequels) are a great example of an Interactive linear narrative with game elements to increase the level of immersion, although the technology powering it is limited.
As with IA, many of the sequences require the push of a next button, but interactive evidence analysation and courtroom interactivity up the immersion. Voice recognition is also included as well as touchscreen technology which brings me to my next post regarding input devices.
