Interactive storytelling containing interactive gameplay segments and separate non-interactive, story-focused segments

A game might consist of sequence like:

  1) cutscene, 2) gameplay, 3) cutscene, 4) gameplay, ...

We can call each of the elements in the sequence a 'segment'.

Story-focused segments like cutscenes are non-interactive, and they can contribute to a strong narrative. Cutscenes are like a short animation or movie that plays.

Gameplay segments are interaction-focused and they have a loose narrative.

This basic structure, of some segments focused on gameplay, and others focused on non-interactive storytelling, is found in many different genres of game, such as point-and-click adventure games, JRPGs, Western RPGs, platform games, and first-person shooters.

In different game genres, the nature of the gameplay segments differ. In classic point-and-click games, they're primarily about looking at and manipulating objects, and talking to characters, to solve puzzles. In classic JRPGs or Western RPGs, the gameplay segments primarily involve exploring around and fighting monsters. In a classic platform game, they involve running and jumping, to avoid or take out enemies, and to traverse different platforms and gaps. In a classic first-person shooter, it's traversing through an environment, shooting enemies and trying to avoid getting shot.

In all these genres, a gameplay segment ends when the player does some particular thing, like solve a puzzle, defeat a boss enemy, or get to the end of a level. When the gameplay segment ends, a story segment starts.

Let's consider all this in the context of classic point-and-click adventure games.

In gameplay segments, the player can move their character around within their current location, and move to other locations. They can choose to look at different objects in the surrounds. They can interact with objects (e.g. turn on a tap), to use an object they have on another object (e.g. use a lighter on a pile of sticks, to create a fire). They may be able to talk to other characters and choose between a few different dialog options. They do these things to try to solve puzzles, and by doing so, advance the narrative.

The gameplay segments tend to have a very loose narrative. Under the player's control, their character walks about, looks at and interacts with various objects. They may go back and forth between locations, and repeatedly interact with the same objects, as the player tries to figure out a puzzle solution. The player may get stuck for tens of minutes or even hours, before they figure out how to solve a puzzle.

The sequence of all these events within a gameplay segment will likely form a very loose narrative. If these gameplay segments were made into a movie, they'd be very dull movies to watch (imagine the UI elements were removed, and the footage was given to someone to watch and they weren't told it was from a game).

(The gameplay segments in the other genres we've talked about -- JRPGs, Western RPGs, platform games, and first-person shooters -- all have very loose narratives, too. This isn't to say gameplay segments can't contribute anything to the storytelling. They can, for example, do a lot of world building or character building. In a future post, I'd like to look at some of the ways the gameplay segments can contribute to the storytelling. Still, I'd maintain that these gameplay segments have a loose narrative.)

While the non-interactive, story-focused segments can together form a strong narrative, that narrative gets "diluted" by the loose narrative in the gameplay segments that sit in between them. If the entire experience was just the story-focused segments, it could have a strong narrative. But because the entire experience also includes the gameplay segments, the narrative of the entire experience is loosened. And since the gameplay segments tend to comprise the majority of the time the player spends with the game, there's substantial loosening of the narrative.

There are other ways that the gameplay segments affect the narrative of the non-interactive, story-focused segments. The gameplay segments constrain the types of narratives that can work in the story-focused segments.

One, the overall plot has to be compatible with being repeatedly put on hold, for long periods of time, during the gameplay segments.

Consider point-and-click adventures again. In these, the reason the plot has to be put on hold during the gameplay segments is the following. In a gameplay segment, the player will usually need to complete one or more puzzles before the next story-focused segment (cutscene) is triggered. The player is usually given as much time as they need to finish those puzzle(s), and the state of the game world (and thus the story) needs to basically be put on hold until the player solves the puzzle(s). If it wasn't put on hold, it'd interfere with the player's ability to complete the puzzles.

A second way that gameplay segments constrain the overall plot is that the plot has to be compatible with the sorts of activities the player character undertakes during them. In a point-and-click adventure game, the character will usually be walking around, examining objects, using objects and combining objects together.

In principle, any sort of plot could be used in the story-focused segments. But, a lot of them wouldn't "work" very well with being put on hold for extended periods of time, or with the kinds of activities the player character is undertaking during the gameplay segments.

Think of it this way: the plot of many novels or movies wouldn't really work if they contained extended sections where the main character went about like a player character does a point-and-click adventure game.

And again, the same applies to all those other genres where you have gameplay segments sandwiched between non-interactive story-focused segments. Many stories wouldn't work very well if the majority of the time in the game is spent in gameplay segments where a character is running and jumping, like in a classic platform game, or if the character is shooting down hordes of bad guys like in a classic first-person shooter.

 

To summarise, the gameplay segments loosen the overall narrative of such games, and they won't be compatible with various kinds of plots.  

I think the best way to think of those games, from a storytelling perspective, is that the gameplay is the main focus, and the storytelling is used to enhance the experience of the gameplay. That is, as opposed to if the storytelling was the main focus, and the gameplay was used to enhance the storytelling.

And, if we're interested in interactive storytelling, that raises the question of, what ways can the gameplay enhance the experience of the storytelling?