Indie games are perfect games to explore concepts. I love it when experimental games try exploring how narratives work in a videogame, or develop games with eccentric or particular artistic content, even minimal sometimes. What we're gonna see today is about some videogames I've found over http://indiegames.com, which try out different approaches to story-telling and evoke emotions from the player in different ways.
...BUT THAT WAS YESTERDAY
http://jayisgames.com/cgdc9/?gameID=11
This game is... simply beautiful. It's art is bright and clean, and the setting evokes nostalgia from the player (a snowy setting, a dog, memories).Basically, what you do in the game is platform for a bit and move the story forward, trying to understand the main character's story. Platforming was somewhat connected to the story, but could have been more cohesive. However, what stands out from this game is how it handles the main character's personal story. Telling the story through a mix of interactive-activities and scenes, music follows the mood of the scenes carefully and help the player make this story their own. The most important characters in the game bear distinctive colors, which holds a meaning as well.
The game talks about the main character's best friend, ex-girlfriend and loyal dog, how he connects with them, and what he discovers from his interactions with them. The game makes the player think about encounters, life, how each day gives a chance to learn. The game is loaded with metaphors, as just the main events of the story are told and details are omitted (so as every person may identify with these events, I believe). Finally, the game gives a message of self-growth and advancing in life by resolving personal struggles... and this was even integrated into the gameplay. How? Read on.
Each of the main characters teaches the main character a 'move' he could not use before. To reach the end of the game, the main character has to use all of these moves... which he learned from his past friends. The game masterfully communicates the meaning outlined above and even integrates it into gameplay. Metaphoric, huh? Very curious and fun game, from which we can all learn something about. Games which help in solving personal struggles have always been quite interesting to me, and this game proves to be successful in giving a hopeful message. By learning from our experiences, we can move on in life.
LOOMING
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541333
The game has the player explore a place called 'Looming', which holds the remains of an ancient civilization. Throughout documents and artifacts, the player progressively learns more and more about the tribes which inhabited this place and their affairs and problems. There's a screen which holds how many artifacts you've found (discovery journal), and an indicator telling you how many 'special events' you got. Each time you exit Looming, a 'special event' is launched, which enables you to know more about these people and the main character, and progress is saved. The game's minimalistic approach to graphics and music attracted me, and the fact that the player was really small helped in building a huge world surrounding him. Huge worlds often turn me off, but the fact that there was a discovery journal motivated me to finish it, giving a reason to all the exploration (so as to complete the journal).
What I liked the most was that the game kept me thinking the whole time, wondering about the people who lived in the area, about why the main character is actually there, about why they became extint, and about what exactly is Looming. It made me explore the whole place a lot of times in order to find all artifacts so as to discover 100% of the story. It was the perfect example of a gamer who moves forward so as to discover more about the game's world. Most important, the game's world is described by the notes and artifacts you find, apart from the actual world you see. I believe the idea of 'exploring so as to discover the past' is a pure implementation of archeology in gaming... and actually, it works! It's a great motivation for the player, and I will remember it when designing games. Keeping the player's mind active motivates the player to keep playing, reduces frustration and increases fun.
Conclusions
Very well, the games we've seen today give us a couple of ideas on how to tell a story in a game.
The first game presents the interesting idea of conveying a message through gameplay and interactive scenes with almost no text in the whole game. The game centers in one main character and his past relationships, giving little importance to the actual world which surrounds him. However, the story is told, and the idea that the main characters learns from his past experiences is integrated into gameplay.
The second game is a bit of the opposite from the first one. Minimalistic graphics and a lot of text, small focus on the main character and big focus on the game's world. It's interesting how fun a game turns out to be when there're things to be discovered. The sole existence of a "table of discoveries" made me search every corner of Looming so as to fill it out and learn all of the world's secrets. The game has the player filled with doubt and curiosity, wondering about what happened to the previous inhabitants and the civilization, having him search for objects and learn about them, as every artifact carries a story behind it.
All in all, they're two experimental and interesting games I hope somebody likes (apart from me, that is).
