Narrative in Games

While some people argue that Games are all about playing and narrative should take a backseat in favor of better mechanics and dynamics, I think it's perfectly acceptable to expect both in a good game.

Take a game like Portal. Would it have been nearly as successful if the narratives of the game had been pushed back to work on gameplay? Of course not. While the levels mechanics work smoothly and is extremely well designed, the game doesn't do this by pushing back on narrative.

However, while the narrative in Portal is reasonably simple, other games take a more Hollywood road with their narratives. Games like Call of Duty focus on a more gritty explosion-fest , usually with little-to-no stop in dramatic narrative.

Of course, some games do not need almost any narrative to remain successful. Games like Team Fortress 2, with the exception of Valves trailers for the characters inside it, have little narrative and yet remain highly popular.