Playing with narrative: on the

tension between gameplay and

narrative in videogames

SNR: 1272354
Date: 12/04/2019
Master Track: Philosophy of Humanity and Culture
Subject: Digital Aesthetics
Word count: 2703 words
Introduction
In a review of Bayonetta on the amusement website www.ign.com, critic Ryan
Clements begins by dissecting the narrative aspects of the game. Although the backstory is
interesting, the plot is “loose at best” (Clements, 2009). He criticizes the presentation of the
narrative in filmstrip cutscenes where some events are displayed with still models of the
character, rather than fully animated scenes. In terms of the plot, character motivations and
past events are not clearly explained resulting in a confusing plot. However, he argues that
storytelling should not be the only reason for picking up Bayonetta because it is after all, an
action game. He then praises the action gameplay. He is not the only one praising the
franchise for gameplay. Bayonetta has a 84 rating on critic review aggregator
www.metacritic.com, whereas the second installment has a 92 rating. This is a very high
rating for a game in which narrativity leaves a lot to desire. The Switchplayer.net critic Ollie
Reynolds calls the plot of Bayonetta 2 “as nonsensical as you’d expect” (Reynolds, 2018).
However, he argues that the reason for playing the game is not the storyline, but that the
strengths lie purely within its gameplay. This seems to be consensus amongst critics.
This example demonstrates an interesting tendency of video games between the
quality of gameplay and the quality of narrative. In this paper I would like to illustrate and
comment on this tension. Clements argues that, in virtue of being an action game, the story
does not need to be selling point of the game. While this is true, would a good story not make
the game better? The reviews indicate that the plot issues do not, or barely, affect the ratings.
Granted, narrative is not a necessary component of games as there are many examples of
popular games that do not really have a plot, such as Tetris or Pac-Man. However, narrative
is not a negligible part of games that do feature a narrative. Tavinor suggests that there is a
tension between good narrative and good gameplay in video games because the executions of
narrative in relation to gameplay or traditional fiction leave a lot to be desired. I will look
closer to this argument and try to find ways to see how the tension between good gameplay
and good narrative can resolved, if at all.

Games as films
In order to look at the tension between narrative and gameplay, I will first look at
what narrativity is, and how this relates to video games.
When looking at popular video games, it is clear that most of these games feature a
prominent story. Examples are Red Dead Redemption 2, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu, Super
Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.The way these stories are
presented vary in style, substance and quality. The role of narrative in video games has then
become more prominent. There are rare instances of games that do not feature narrative in
some way. There are two problems that authors on the tension between video games and
narrative identify with narrative: Narrative in video games is often either (1) incidental to the
nature as game (Tavinor, 2009, p. 115), or (2) wrongly understood as the part that should be
appreciated aesthetically in video games in comparative approaches (Jurgensen, 2018, p. 61).
The case for video games being art is often made by comparing them to other
accepted works of art (Jurgensen, 2018, p. 63). The case is usually made by comparing video
games to films, as game designers try to make the narrative aspects of video games filmic by
including cutscenes for example. However, Jurgensen argued that we should appreciate video
games aesthetically in virtue of them being games. There is a difference between video
games and traditional fiction in that they are interactive. He then does not want to emphasize
narrative, but rather gameplay when appreciating video games. The tension between narrative
and gameplay remains, but rather the emphasis is here on gameplay rather than on narrative.
However, he does not make this statement because he deems narrative as unimportant, but
because he wants to reply to scholars who have in the past deliberately ignored the gamehood
of games when establishing the art status of video games (Jurgensen, 2018, p. 71). The
tension between narrative and gameplay is then found in the way scholars approach video
games, but also in the way game designers approach video game design. The tension
between narrative and video games is hence twofold. Narrative and gameplay are often out of
balance. An example is the case of Bayonetta where the narrative is often deemed as bad,
whereas the gameplay is highly praised. Here the balance is disrupted in terms of quality.
However, as interactive fictions, the discrepancy between narrative and gameplay is
also found in how gameplay affects the narrative, and how much choices the narrative gives
to the player. When a story is too worked out, the gamer options are limited. Even when the
narrative is really good, this could diminish the aesthetic worth of the game. An example
Jurgensen uses for this is The Last of Us. This game has been mainly praised by critics for the
story. The gameplay is good, though standard for games of the genre. The focus of the game
is mainly on character development and narrativity through cutscenes and dialogues between
the two main characters. At one pivotal point, a decision must be made that determines how
the story ends. However, this choice is not up to the player. In the end, the player did not
have much influence on the narrative through gameplay. Jurgensen then argues that this
game, although highly praised, should not be as highly praised because it is a less interesting
as a work of art qua video game (Jurgensen, 2018, p. 75).
Tavinor’s critique of the quality of gameplay
As we have seen, The Last of Us is praised for the narrative and is more criticized by
its limitation in player options. However, Tavinor argues that most games he has played do
not have a good narrative at all (Tavinor, 2009, p. 108). This gives the tension a one-sided
dimension. It seems then that narrative is misplaced in video games. In some cases, the
narrative would distract from otherwise good gameplay. He mentions Metal Gear Solid 4 as
an example in which the cut-scenes distract from the game. They are lengthy and often.
Furthermore, he argues that games usually do not have the same emotional value as films,
even though it seems that the player is closer to their avatar in a game than in a film. I will
talk more about character identification and narrative in the next paragraph. Because game
designers focus too much on trying to fit in as many events as possible, there is little dramatic
events to them. He thinks that game designers should not strive for RPGs in which fantasy
figures have long names and personal histories as this just leads to confusion (Tavinor, 2009,
p. 114). He argues that the reason that narrative in games can be distracting, confusing and as
a result, downright bad is because the demands narrative and video games make are hard to
reconcile into a coherent whole (Tavinor, 2009, p. 114). It seems that in order to have a good
narrative, the author should limit player’s choices, that may result in irritation for the player.
Tavinor’s argument seems to be that good gameplay usually comes at the cost of good
narrative.

What is narrative?
To understand the tension further, the question is what makes a narrative a good
narrative. John Yorke states in his book Into The Woods about stories that an archetypal
story introduces you to a central character and invites you to identify with them as they
become your avatar in the drama (Yorke, 2013, p. 3). You live the story through them. This
occurs in films, books and video games, amongst others. The process of identification is
different, however. In a film or book you understand the character that the author has written.
You might share some characteristics with the character, making it easier to identify with
them. However, character identification usually occurs when a character is developed
properly by the author. In video games, you may literally become the avatar, e.g. you can
give them your name and choose your own appearance. If not, you will still be able to control
the character. Character identification is less psychoanalytic here, and more literal although
we may apply psychoanalysis to this as well. In video games you can do horrible things that
you would normally not condone. This often works within a framework of a story (e.g. you
are on a mission to save civilizations). In understanding our avatar in way of identification, it
makes it clear that the screen functions more like a mirror thus resulting in a more
psychoanalytic understanding of video games and films. Yorke argues that the key to
empathy lies in its ability to to access and bond with our unconscious (Yorke, 2013, p. 5).
However, Tavinor opposes this idea as he thinks that character development in games is not
so much as giving the character an emotional dimension, but more about levelling up and
gaining skills that help you further in the game. However, this does not necessarily distract
from the idea of identification with the avatar. Even if the game designers have not developed
the character, it is up to the player to give the character depth (through (inter)actions for
example). In terms of identification, the avatar functions as a proxy for the player to inhibit
the story.
The tension between good narrative and good gameplay is therefore harder to tackle
when we look at video games from this perspective. There will be different rules for
appreciating a video game aesthetically when we form a symbolic bond with the avatar. In
this way we would be more inclined to appreciate a video game as a fiction, as is the case
with The Last of Us. It would still seem that more player choices would result in a better way
of identifying with the avatar, but might make for less compelling character development as
game designers generally can not make many different background stories resulting from
player choices. It would be too much work. This then seems to support a claim that the better
the story, the less would be left to the player. However, as video games are interactive
fictions, the rules would have to be different than those of traditional fiction. Eventually, the
player will be left frustrated when the choice in The Last of Us was not up to them as they
believe that they are in control, and this breaks down that narrative of control. However,
many players may appreciate the game for what it is and not be disappointed by the lack of
decision in this instance. They may see that this was needed in order for the game to be as
good as it is. Some games may be more cinematic in nature, and this should be included in
our aesthetic understanding of video games. Even though video games are different than
films, they share similarities and the way spectators engage with a film is not all that different
than the way players interact with games, especially if the games are made with this aim. This
does not solve the tension, however, this seems to be a plea for a more narrative approach to
understanding video games.

The importance of gameplay

 When encountering this problem of narrativity, a case must be made for gameplay.
Jurgensen argues that we should focus on gameplay when understanding games aesthetically.
I find this argument uncompelling, as we have seen that narrative can also have a function in
aesthetic appreciation (when applicable). Some games ask that you appreciate them in terms
of narrativity, and some games in terms of gameplay. There are many games in which there is
not much of a discrepancy between narrative and gameplay. If narrative alone is not good
enough to look at video games (as this is a mere comparative approach and misses what
makes video games unique), and focus on gameplay is also not good enough (as some video
games are more narrative-driven and should then look mostly at narrativity), it would seem
that to look at a combination is the solution. This is in part also what Jurgensen argues for. He
does not think we should focus solely on gameplay. He did however criticize The Last of Us
for its gameplay. I would argue that there should be room for artistic choices like these in
video games. The player interacts with the game in a different way than it would with a
fighting game. This just shows how diverse the range of video games actually is. RPGs
would fulfill the player’s desire for narrative. An RPG would not be as enjoyable when the
story is not immersive enough. If the story is not interesting, the player will be less interested
in playing a role in that world. A game like World of Warcraft is so appreciated mainly by
how much lore there is. A fighting game asks for a different kind of enjoyment. Whereas the
combat in games as World of Warcraft can also be highly developed and great, you play an
RPG for the combination of gameplay and narrative. A fighting game is usually played
purely for the gameplay. One can spend hundreds of hours playing Super Smash Bros. by just
playing matches online versus other players. The same goes for FIFA, for example. So
perhaps the tension between good narrative and good gameplay is also a tension between
video game genres. Just like one would have different standards for narrative in a comedy
film than in a war drama, the importance the player puts on a balance between good
gameplay and good narrative varies per genre.

Conclusions
In this paper I have tried to illustrate the tension between (good) gameplay and (good)
narrative. It can be hard to reconcile a tight, developed narrative with player options. Some
games do not need an extensive narrative and benefits from emphasis on gameplay, whereas
bad narrative in some (narrative-driven) games will also affect the player’s enjoyment of the
gameplay. In understanding video games aesthetically, people need to acknowledge this
tension. This does not mean that this tension can directly be solved. It is logical that games
with a great narrative are less driven by player options, and more by control of the game
designers. This may seem bad because video games are interactive fictions, and this limits the
interactive aspect of fiction. Giving the player too many options may fracture the narrative
and the game will be a less cohesive story. Therefore I think we should not think in absolutes
when it comes to understanding any medium aesthetically, but especially video games. Video
games run the same risk as do films (style over substance, for example), and more because
they are interactive as well (some games will only give the player the illusion of choice, or
the interaction may distract from the narrative). Whereas in films, cinematography and sound
may take a backseat to narrativity (one will generally not rate a film lower because it does not
feature a good soundtrack, and many low-budget films with way less impressive
cinematography than current films are still praised amongst the greatest films ever), in video
games both narrativity and gameplay are of equal importance in cases where you can speak
of both (this debate then does not apply to games as Tetris). We should not just focus on
narrative by comparing video games to films without losing sight of gameplay, and we
should not just emphasize gameplay either. It is important to still enjoy a game that may have
less interaction but with a great narrative, or games as Bayonetta in which the story is not that
great but the gameplay is. There are still games that manage to balance both and there will be
more games that seek to diminish the discrepancy between quality of gameplay and narrative.

Bibliography

Clements, R. (2009, December 22). Bayonetta review. Retrieved from

https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/12/22/bayonetta-review
Jurgensen, Z. (2018). Appreciating videogames. In J. Robson & G. Tavinor, The Aesthetics of
Videogames (pp. 60-77). New York & London: Routledge.
Reynolds, O. (2018, February 14). Bayonetta review. Retrieved from
https://switchplayer.net/2018/02/14/bayonetta-review/
Tavinor, G. (2009). The art of videogames. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Yorke, J. (2013). Into the woods. London: Penguin Books.