Doing some interesting introductions and conclusions

 

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This week for our reading task, we've been tasked with writing an introduction and conclusion to our chapters. We've been told that it's important to have and good introduction to draw the reader in, that way they'll want to read on, as with the conclusion it allows the reader to leave the chapter feeling satisfied with what information they gathered. I can definitely understand pinpointing down the perfect intros and conclusions, as it will not just make our overall quality of work better but also improve our result from the chapter. So here are my attempts at them.

Introduction:

Narrative Tools is something that if you were asked about, you wouldn’t be able to define what they are with absolute certainty. It’s a very obscurely named topic, which is what makes it so intriguing, as many things in a game can be considered a narrative tool. Music, for example, can be considered a narrative tool. Music helps carry an emotional weight to a scenario, in a way even telling its own story through the instruments. The same premise applies to cinematic cutscenes, the gameplay, and other aspects that’ll be discussed.

Body:

Music:

As previously mentioned, music is a narrative tool that can carry an immense amount of emotion. It can help elevate a scene, giving it more emotional depth. An infamous example of the power of music as a narrative tool would be from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. While the entire game in general has an amazing score, one scene in particular stands out when compared to the rest of the game, the ladder sequence. After defeating The End, Snake must continue on his mission towards the mountains. He enters through a cave that leads towards the mountains. As he reaches the end of the cave, he reaches a ladder, and begins to climb. The player naturally expects the ladder to be a short climb, but after a few seconds of climbing, all you can hear is the rhythmic sound of Snake as he climbs higher and higher. A faint sound can be heard echoing through the confined shaft as you climb, it’s the games' main theme, “Snake Eater”. 

 

The player is left alone, no threat, no fear, just them, the theme, and their thoughts. It gives them time to ponder what they’ve been through thus far, and what has yet to come. Though a simple scene in essence, the music conveys so much emotion, and results in one of the most memorable scenes, not only in the game, but the entire series. 

Writing:

The backbone behind every narrative is its writing. A well written story is the most important narrative tool. It’s what draws a player in, and feeds their curiosity to discover what happens next. A good story can even sometimes help players overlook lacklustre gameplay. None exemplify this better than Telltale, particularly with their series, The Wolf Among Us. While minimal in terms of gameplay, the story is what keeps the players drawn in.   

 

The dark mystery that unravels through the first season grows more and more gripping, in part to its amazing dialogue. Getting to truly understand the effect it’s having on people, and even showing the toll it takes on the playable character, Bigby. We get to see characters change in interesting ways, seeing previously aggressive and recluse characters break down over events in game, or share their fear to Bigby as they slowly grow more trustworthy of him. This level of development gives players some form of personal connection with the characters, as you develop along with them, and how you treat them results in how they treat you. Even the files you keep on the characters allows you to get a better understanding of who they are and what they’ve been through. Giving you the impression, you’re talking to someone with a real personality, life before you knew them, and someone who is full of experiences waiting to be heard if you’ll hear them out. 

 

Cinematics:

Games have increasingly begun to utilise cinematics and cutscenes as a way to show you exactly what they want to show you. The use of these cinematics and specific camera angles results in games being able to invoke a response or feeling from its players. One of the most powerful uses of cinematics in games is displayed in The Last of Us. During the beginning stages of the zombie apocalypse, our character Joel, is trying to escape to safety alongside his daughter and brother. After narrowly escaping a group of zombies, Joel carries his daughter, Sarah, to a nearby soldier, in hopes of getting some help. The soldier, in a state of panic aims his gun and opens fire. While Joel is fine, his daughter is gasping, and crying in pain, as she bleeds out in his arms. 

 

This scene is gut-wrenching, not only from the events but how it is shot. Before we even get to see what happened, we hear Sarah, gasping for air. Without even getting to see her, we, like Joel, are immediately able to realise what has happened. Then when the camera focuses on her, bleeding out in Joel’s arms, without even knowing her long, we are met with this powerful shot that elicits emotion like no other. The scene wouldn’t draw nearly as much emotion as it would if we saw it entirely from the beginning, the close-up shots on Joel and Sarah’s faces allow us to experience the emotion through them. It adds an element of reality to the situation, as if we were in such a situation, we wouldn’t have seen it unfold and seen the tragedy immediately. We’d see past it at first just like Joel, only to acknowledge it after hearing the gasps.

Conclusion:

With the use of these tools, game creators invoke impactful, and emotional narratives that tell multiple stories through the tools they use effectively. With how some of these tools have been used thus far it instils excitement for what tales will be told in future throughout the medium.