The contrast and similarities between Narratological and Ludological Videogames

1501ART New Communication Technologies
Essay- The Contrast and Similarities between Narratological game and Ludological games.
Chris Burns (s2676732)


Video games are divided under two different types, Narratological and Ludological. The focus of a Narratological Videogame is to tell a story and that means that they become more of an interactive movie or a visual book (J. Murray, 1997). These games focus on a story, with game play being adjusted or shaped around it. Ludological Videogames, on the other hand, concerns themselves with actual game play and those types of elements. Storyline is not so important. The game is created, and then some form of story might come into being (G. Frasca, 1999). This essay looks at the history of the Videogames and then observes the differences between the Narratological Videogame and the Ludological Videogame, such as the characters and goals.

For a while, from the 70s until the early 90s, Videogames were very simple in graphics and also in story. The memory that each game had was a lot more limited compared to today’s standards and so game designers could not allow memory to be wasted on why things were happening (the story) but what was happening (Wolf, M, 2001). Therefore, up till the 90s, games that concentrated on game play dominated the market. Characters in games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario and Donkey Kong had goals (Like making it to the end to save Princess Peach from Bowser) but they never deeply explained why they were chasing the bad guy.

All Videogames, just like in movies and novels, have characters. Strong characters are very valuable in videogames; they sell games and even game consoles. Mario sold Nintendo; Master Chief, from Halo, sold Xbox ( Stephen Poole, 2000). A good Ludological game would be Pacman. The character in Pacman is a small yellow ball, who is obviously called Pacman. The aim of this game is to eat all the dots in each level, which happens to be some form of a maze, getting as many points as you can. Of course, making things hard for you are four blobs with eyes trying to eat you, so you must avoid them as they chase you through the maze. Of course, we know very little about Pacman except the vague descriptions that we see. Little in this game is evident, because in a Ludological game the focus is the game, not the story behind it. And the essential item in a story is a character. In most books, the little quirks and personality of a character is important in order to continue the story. So a Ludological game shouldn’t be too bothered with the little details of a character, because it doesn’t need them. We don’t need to know what Pacman thinks, or whether yellow is a natural colour for the species that he is, because it’s not relevant to the rules of the game.

Videogames, just like the characters in a novel or movie, have a goal in mind. The goals vary, and the goal itself wouldn’t indicate whether a game is Ludological or Narratological. The goal might be as simple as destroying every single one of your enemies, which is common in games such as Halo (A Narratological game) or in Doom (Ludological). However, there is greater depth in a Narratological game because it isn’t content to allow you to do something, but wants to explain why it happened. Aliens might be shooting at you with laser guns in Halo, but you discover that this is because you’ve crash landed on their sacred site. Monsters might be attacking you in Doom, but this is because they are monsters and obstacles from allowing you to reach the end of the game. The reasoning behind why something is happening is more obvious in Narratological games.

Choices happen in both types of games. If there were no decisions in Videogames, they wouldn’t be interactive. Should you attack the monster on the right first? Or the one on the left? The one you attack might affect the outcome of the battle. But in Narratological games, the choices are more likely to reveal what happens to the character you are playing. That is why all Role Playing Games are Narratological, because the choices you make in them determine the outcome of what happens to the character in a more advanced way than a simple explanation that your character survived or died. In Fable, for example, you have the choice of being evil and good and there are consequences for the actions you choose. By slaughtering innocent people or stealing, your character becomes mutilated, evil looking and feared by the minor characters around you. By the end of the game, you might choose to keep the evil powers of the villain for yourself, and you will be remembered by the inhabitants of the world as a legendary figure that is pure evil. Or, you might choose to spare the villains that plead for mercy or get rid of evil powers from the world, and you will become a legendary hero of all time.

Overall, Narratological games have the time to reveal the minor details of a character, explain the reasons behind the circumstances and reveal the consequences of the choices you make in a much greater way. If a game can do this, it leaves the threshold of being a Ludological game and becomes Narratological, because it is now concentrates on the story and the reasons behind the action, rather than the simple actions themselves.



Bibliography

Books/Journals

Murray, Janet (1997) Hamlet on the Holodeck, The free press: New York.

Wolf, Mark J.P (2001) The Medium of the Video game, The University of Texas Press: Austin, Texas.

Poole, Steven (2000) Trigger Happy, Arcade Publishing: New York

Carr, Diana. Buckingham, David. Burns, Andrew. Schott, Gareth (2006) Computer Games: Text. Narrative and Play, Polity Press: Cambridge.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007) Second Person, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press: Cambridge, London.


Websites

Frasca, Gonzalo (1999) Ludology meets Narratology, <www.Ludology.com>

Felluga, Dino (2003) Introductory guide to Narratology. Purdue. U,
<http://www.purgue.edu/guidetotheory/narratology/modules/introduction.html>

Perry, C. Douglass. Brudvig, Erik. Miller, John. 2007.
< http://au.xbox.ign.com/articles/772/772315pl.html>

Adams, Ernest. 2002. The role of archetecture in Video games.
<http://www.designersnotebook.com/Columns/047_The_Role_of_Architecture/047_the_role_of_architecture.htm>


Science Daily. 2007. How does Online gaming affect social interactions?
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070915110957.htm>