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MERGING MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES THE RIGHT WAY

by

Andrew J. Burich

University of Advancing Technology

ABSTRACT

Video games have been shown to become more cinematic over the years, almost claiming to have reached the status of realism. What were once three rectangular blips on the screen, like that in Pong, have become two, fully rendered players with rackets and a ball. It is a misconception, however, to suggest that a game is cinematic simply because it looks like a movie, rather than how it plays like one. Most games labeled as cinematic pose a problem to players because they tend to place importance on quick-time events and cutscenes while neglecting the most important aspect: gameplay. The question then becomes: how can a video game be structured into a film without falling towards the tragic cliché of quick-time events and overlong cutscenes?

By comparing and contrasting certain components in video games to each other, the movie-like components can be better extracted and implemented to form what can only be described as a perfect video game and movie hybrid. The end result is not Metal Gear Solid. It is not Indigo Prophecy. It is something more. The result is a video game and movie hybrid that doesn't rely on cutscenes to tell it's story, but gameplay. By having this type of game, the process of sitting passively and afraid of skipping over important narrative becomes a moot point.

It turns out that the final result, however, is not completely devoid of non-interactive material. A game that strives to tell narrative must have non-interactive material in it to set up the player and the situation. It just won't be no where near as long as other games make it, so as to allow the player to get up, make a sandwich, and come back, only to notice that it is still going on. If there's any two genres right now that can pull this off, it is RPG and survival horror.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

|ABOUT THE INNOVATION……………………………………… |2 |

|Innovation |2 |

|Today’s Situation about the Innovation |3 |

|Innovation Timeline |4 |

|Innovation Inquiry |5 |

|REVIEW OF RELATED MATERIALS…………………………….. |7 |

|LEARNING PROCESS……………………………………………… |12 |

|RESULTS……………………………………………………………. |16 |

|REFERENCES………………………………………………………. |18 |

|APPENDIX: KEY TERMS…………………………………….......... |21 |

ABOUT THE INNOVATION

Innovation

Merging video games and movies the right way can make for a pretty interesting innovation. What exactly is the right way? Why, it is the way that properly gives the concept of a video game and movie hybrid merit in being called an actual hybrid in the first place. That is, the game still retains the gameplay aspect throughout its entirety while keeping to the principles of filmmaking.

One may ask, “Well, hasn't this been done in games already?” Games like Quantum Dream's Indigo Prophecy, 1983's Dragon's Lair, and the more recent Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots are games that contain movie elements (and most gamers would agree that they are movie-ish in nature), but those games bring them to the player at the expense of gameplay. The innovation at the focus of this paper attempts to find a simple formula for creating a game and movie hybrid that does not sacrifice gameplay, but, instead, transcends it into something more.

When gamers are sitting on the couch playing a game, they certainly have the capacity to enjoy it, but the activity becomes boredom to any one sitting by just watching. It's no fun to watch a video game being played. With the successful outcome of this innovation, two goals can be achieved. First: as mentioned, a true hybrid can finally exist amongst the vast genre of video games. Second: the person sitting passively on the couch can now finally enjoy the activity just as much as the player because, for that person, the game will unfold like a movie.

Today’s Situation about the Innovation

Games that are called cinematic today are called that because they contain many non-playable parts called cutscenes. Cutscenes are where the gameplay in a game is temporarily halted so that the game can show the player a non-interactive movie that progresses the narrative or story somewhat. Apparently, this can't be accomplished through the gameplay itself. The use of brilliantly rendered cutscenes in games has ultimately led them to be labeled as cinematic. That term is unfair though because it takes the spotlight away from gameplay: the most important aspect of any video game.

Some games today, like Indigo Prophecy, feature what's called quick-time events during their cutscenes, where the player is prompted to press a series of buttons at a particular time in order to progress through the game. Developers use this as a means to justify the long duration of their cutscenes because they think that random button pressing is gameplay when it is in fact not. Some games today, like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot, don't even implement quick-time events, thereby leaving the player watching a tremendously long cutscene (about thirty minutes worth) without any type of interactivity whatsoever. Is this cinematic? Sure it is. Is it a game? No it is not.

This trend of labeling games as cinematic just because they contain gameplay-halting cutscenes needs to stop. If a game is to be labeled as cinematic, it should retain it gameplay aspects. As it stands right now, gameplay and cutscenes are still mutually exclusive, regardless of what some developers may think. The question is how to effectively merge the two so that their functions remain harmonious simultaneously.

Innovation Timeline

In order to properly extract the components that make up movies and games, it is necessary to understand what they are to begin with. Resources can provide that answer, either directly or through interpretation. Once these components have been identified, they can be placed in a chart under the category they best fall under—the categories themselves being labeled “movie” and “game.” It is expected that certain components will be placed in opposite categories from where they originally came. This process of fully taking in the resources in order come up with an appropriate research methodology should take no longer than a semester or two.

Next, is the process of actually studying and observing the games and movies themselves. Because this research only needs to understand how games and movies play out to the observer, it does not matter what the games or movies are. Nevertheless, popular samples will be chosen on behalf that the average video game and movie lover already knows them; therefore, they will be easier to identify with them. This process should take no longer than a semester.

The final stage will be the interpretation phase. Once the components for each sample have been placed in their respective categories, a semester will be given to try and mix-match certain components with others in order to create a perfect hybrid of the two mediums. It is within this phase that the general resources will come into play again. If the mix-matching of components seems to abide to the interpretation of what the general resources say about game design and movies making, then the hypothesis will be proven true.

Activities to be Completed During Each Semester

| |1st Semester |2nd Semester |3rd Semester |Beyond |

| |(PRO211) |(PRO250) |(PRO300) | |

|Observe movies and games |X |X |X | |

|Record specific parts or |X |X |X | |

|areas in games that utilize| | | | |

|movie components | | | | |

|Record what genre of game | |X |X | |

|such areas correspond to | | | | |

|Compare such areas to | |X |X | |

|scenes in movies | | | | |

|Analyze their similarities | |X |X | |

|and differences | | | | |

|Conceptualize possible | |X |X | |

|scenarios where such scenes| | | | |

|would work together | | | | |

|Hold up scenarios to the | |X |X | |

|decree of game design and | | | | |

|movie making. | | | | |

|Organize results to | | |X | |

|facilitate the drawing of | | | | |

|conclusions, and so that | | | | |

|conclusions can be as | | | | |

|accurate as possible | | | | |

|Complete Report | | |X | |

|Document Conceptual Design | | | |X |

Innovation Inquiry

As it stands right now, 'interactive' and 'cutscene' are two mutually exclusive terms. Interaction is where the gaming aspect comes from, and cutscene is where the movie and non-interactive aspects come from. The goal here is to borrow components from filmmaking and implement them into game design so that future games can be made for people who like to play but also require that movie touch. The only question is, how can video games and movies be merged so that their respective functions remain harmonious throughout? In other words, how can a game be made into a truly and fully interactive cutscene?

REVIEW OF RELATED MATERIAL

Introduction

On the outside, merging video games and movies may seem like a convoluted process. It shouldn't be though, as the basic design principles of games will still be followed. The only difference is the content within the design itself will have that movie touch added to it—from composition to the trademarks of Alfred Hitchhock.

What's Out There Now

The idea of merging video games and movies is nothing new in theory. Tell almost any gamer about the idea of merging a video game and movie, and they will most likely bring up Metal Gear Solid. The Metal Gear Solid series of games comprises the two separate mediums, but that's just it: they remain separate within the game.

Indigo Prophecy has been touted by its developers as one of the first games to avoid conventional gameplay. Quantum Dream, the developers behind it, labeled the game as an interactive film. In the game, the player never really has freedom to move where he wants to. Instead, the game takes the form of a movie, showing a series of scenes, and the player can determine where the player will go in those scenes by moving the analog stick in a particular direction.

Game and Movie Methods of Design

The process of designing games is not a simple one. A lot of crucial elements are put into their making, and what is more interesting is that the conceptual process is very similar to movie making, albeit with some minor differences.

According to de Beer (2008), when creating dialog for video games, it is best to hire voice actors rather than actors who perform for the screen. The reason for this is clear: Actors who perform for the screen aren't used to just providing their voice. It's a different environment altogether for them, and this awkwardness shows in the game. The point that de Beer really stresses though is that hearing a famous actor or actress in a game takes the player out of the game.

According to de Beer(2008),

“Instead of being immersed in this environment with these characters who are supposed to be a part of whatever world you're playing, you say, “Oh, I recognize that voice," and it brings you back into the real world. It's a very disruptive experience for me personally.” (de Beer, 2008)

One of the key story aspects that games, and to a certain extent, movies, follow is The Hero's Journey. Taken straight from Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), this foolproof concept has the main protagonist starting off on his little secluded island, getting the call to adventure, acquiring the knowledge from the wise old mentor, and proceeding to the adventure to fight the shadowy figure that has plagued the protagonist's land with evil. Campbell (2008) argues that this concept has been applied to pretty much every story ever written with a hero, starting all the way back to mythology; hence, the hero with a thousand faces. If one were to write a story involving a hero and a villain, they basically couldn't lose with this formula.

Rollings & Adams (2003) even argue that Campbell's formula is a foolproof plan to go by when designing narrative and gameplay in video games. Because the player will most likely be controlling a hero character and going after a villain at some point, Campbell's trials are the perfect set up, not only in a narrative sense but in a gameplay sense as well. At the beginning, the player starts off with pretty much nothing—no equipment and no weapons. The game needs an incentive to get the player moving, to get stronger and feel like he is progressing; that is where the “call to adventure” comes in. Then, the rest of Campbell's trials take over from there. Rollings & Adams (2003) don't just agree with Campbell's concept, they swear by it.

In his article Secrets of Interactive Storytelling, Adams (2006), suggests that what shouldn't be done when designing games is making the player think he is in control when he actually isn't, or “fake interactivity” as Ernest Adams calls it.

According to Adams (2006),

“You allow the player to control their character during a sequence, but no matter what the player does, the sequence can only go one way. Since it's not clear that it would ever happen, when it does happen, it makes you want to try the sequence again, but that only gives you the same result. If it can only go one way, make it a cutscene.” (Adams, 2006)

Adams (2006) also argues that there is no one way for providing game narrative. With so many forms of storytelling, there simply can't be. (Adams, 2006)

Hancock (2002) discusses the many forms of storytelling through cutscenes, and unlike the “fake interactivity” explained above, these cutscenes either don't provide any interactivity altogether (e.g. Metal Gear Solid) or only provide some by allowing the player to at least maneuver his avatar freely during the transmission of one (e.g. Half-Life, Half-Life 2). According to Hancock (2002), cutscenes are very useful—“a valuable, sometimes essential tool for game design,” he says; “they are a film-in-a-game.” Not only do they provide great marketing screenshots for advertisements because of their film-like form, but they also help sustain player immersion, act as a reward for the player by explaining backstory and whatnot, and they help control the pacing in the game. (Hancock, 2002)

According to Maschwitz (2007), the composition of a scene should normally adhere to the rule of thirds, where the screen, for instance, is divided into squares of three for each of the three rows. For example, in a particular shot, the character of focus should be seen at full size—feet at the bottom of the frame, head near the top. This is what is known as a long shot (Chandler, 1995). Keeping with this frame, the character of focus should also be off to one of the sides—either occupying the left column of squares or the right. This provides a much more interesting composition and allows for the viewer's eye to wonder around the scene more whereas placing the character of focus directly in the center would be stale by comparison. (Maschwitz, 2007)

Great composition opens the window for establishing and bringing out the narrative—the important factor in gaming if games are to become more cinematic. What exactly fuels this narrative is none other than dialogue of course, whether it is spoken dialogue from voice actors or captioned. According to Onyett (2008), the choice of giving players as much dialogue to go through but also keeping it simple is what keeps players hooked and entertained while not being overwhelmed by it. (Onyett, 2008)

Bays (2004) suggests that any narrative can be made more engaging by conforming to the methods used by legendary director Alfred Hitchhock. In his article, Bays argues that adjusting the screenplay to suit the audience is one of the key points for keeping the audience at bay—no pun intended. “Nothing is more important than how each scene is going to affect the viewer, he says.” The content has to engage them and reel them in, like a fish. The characters need to be used to tease the audience, to pull the audience along, leaving the audience desperately wanting more. Keeping the characters occupied during dialogue scenes is another way to keep the audience's interests up. For example, two characters could be eating a slice of pie over a conversation, and one might even be smoking a cigar. (Bays, 2004)

In Conclusion

When taking these authors' opinions into consideration, it becomes clear that whatever techniques are used for game design, a lot of them come from or can come from movie making, especially in today's times, where the focus is on composition, dialogue, voice, lighting, mood, and even music. Now, one might be concerned with Ernest Adams' take on “fake interactivity”—where a game should not make the player think he is in control when he actually isn't, and then consider him a hypocrite when he states that there is no one way to tell narrative. Although this concern is understandable, it is most certainly not hypocritical. Just because there isn't one way to tell narrative doesn't mean that all those ways are perfect. Hancock obviously loves cutscenes. He describes their necessity from both a storytelling standpoint as well as a mechanical standpoint. If a game was to feature one long cutscene, it might be grandiose in his opinion. With that in mind, it is easy to see why cutscenes are considered to play an essential role in the process of game design. The problem with these cutscenes though, is that while they can certainly improve the storytelling and cinematic presentation of a game, they simultaneously prevent the most important aspect of any video game from transpiring—gameplay.

LEARNING PROCESS

Determining the Components

After comprehensive study, it has been decided that the four main components that make up movies and games are: cinematography, story, characters, and sound. How these components came to be stemmed from the fact that all movies have them, so that provided the benchmark to go off of. Although these components have the same name, their primary purposes are different for the medium from which they came. For example, characters in movies are usually portrayed convincingly enough so that the viewer can invest in them, while characters in games are not as important as long as the player enjoys controlling them, and that is usually determined by the gameplay. There are crossovers however, where a game's component will be more reminiscent of a movie's component, and this is where the fundamental drive for this data collection comes into play—that is, using the samples of games as a foundation to see which components from the movie side can cross over without jeopardizing the other components. Anybody can simply take movie concepts and apply them to games, but in order to that, it is absolutely necessary to understand the consequences that will emerge when doing so. In other words, game design can't just be thrown out the window.

Setting the Foundation

When observing movies, it became apparent that their primary characters followed a particular path—that is, they usually had a character that they could turn back to for advice or sanctuary. In the Indiana Jones films, for example, there were characters that Indy rendezvoused with that served as a break in the action. These characters, such as Sallah, for example, not only acted as a node for Dr. Jones, but they also took the time to get to know him better. In games of the same nature, these particular characters simply act as nodes and rarely try to get to know the protagonist on a personal level. The only characters that truly come close to this in games are the characters stationed in the player's party. So, in other words, role playing games are about the closest thing to movies than any other video game genre. One simply has to observe the wonderful characters and dialogue employed throughout Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect to see that.

The reason KOTOR and Mass Effect have so much dialog is because they are RPGs after all, and RPGs, being role playing games, would not fair off at all if dialog was subdued or cut out altogether. Movies, no matter how much action is in them, have dialogue. Even the silent movies had dialogue. If a game is to resemble a movie, it has to have dialogue. It's as simple as that. Now, is the RPG genre the only genre of video game that contains dialog amongst its characters? No. But, it is the most likely genre to build off of as a foundation for a movie hybrid because it has characters in a party that the player has been with and can relate to by the end of the game.

The only other genre where players strongly identify with their characters is the fighting genre. Although it seems unlikely, the reason for this is because, in fighting games, characters possess a number of unique abilities and combos that players learn comprehensively in order to master that particular character. The abilities themselves are like an extension of that character's personality, so in turn, the player identifies with the character like none other due to his mastery of that character.

No other genres can pull off fleshed out characters effectively as the RPG or fighting game. What the fighting game lacks, however, is a three-dimension playing field. Fighting games are played on 2D plane. Because all movies take place in a three-dimensional environment, that throws the foundation of fighting games out the window. One simply can't shoot an entire movie like a portrait where two characters are constantly facing each other. It just won't work. There needs to be more diverse interaction, and the RPG offers that. Also, unlike the action, adventure and fighting genres, the player expects there to be a lot of dialog within the RPG, so in turn, the RPG was the way to go.

Camera Angles

If there's one glaring obvious thing that games do different than movies, it is the placement of their camera. Movies make use of the rule of thirds while games try to center the camera on the main character throughout their entirety. The reason is simple: since the player is controlling the avatar, a change in direction can come about at any moment, so it is wise to keep as much field of vision as open as possible on all sides of the avatar.

If one were to conceive of a movie that was shot exactly how the camera in a third-person RPG is displayed, one would find that the camera never leaves the main character. Therein lies the biggest obstacle with merging a movies and gameplay: that is, if the camera is kept on the main character or party, that movie feel is lost because in movies, even though the action is seen from the third person, there are cuts to other scenes. However, should action be cut away in a third-person RPG, two questions might arise for the player: 1) “Why is the game cutting away?” and 2) “Exactly what is it cutting away to?” After all, the main character or party is right there on the screen, so the action should stay with them, right? Here is a proposal for how that dilemma may be solved.

1) Split up the party (make each individual a separate party)

2) Provide a different goal for each character (or give them a common goal, but provide a different route)

3) Make each character playable

Movies have characters that are diverse so that the main character stands out amongst the rest. Practically all characters want something different; this is either shown to the viewer directly or through subtext, but in an RPG video game, the leader of the party's goal is emphasized the most, and because he is the leader, his goal makes it seem like it's everybody else's goal when it is, in fact, not. So, what if splitting up the gang and simply cutting to them when the time is right could be implemented as gameplay? Each cut would entail a scene, just like in a movie, and the best part is, the player would still be playing the game because the cuts themselves are part of the gameplay.

One series of games that sort of does this is Resident Evil. What was interesting about Resident Evil (a survival horror game) was that it used static camera angles to employ cheap scare tactics. Whether this made the gameplay better remains debated, but what is known is that the camera certainly didn't stay centered. Perhaps the same tactic can be used on the RPG.

RESULTS

The biggest obstacle when merging video games and movies together was keeping the movie feel going throughout the gameplay. As expected, keeping the camera on a party while simply utilizing movie composition doesn't make it a movie. It will look like a movie for a few minutes or so, but the audience is going to want some transition at some point—say, a cut-away, for example. The question that arose out of this was, exactly what does a game cut away to? Another party? Taking a cue from movies, it was clear that in order to cut away to something without any exposition following, it has to be something that was already established. The closest contender for that were the characters already in the party; thus, came aim number one on the movie hybrid manifesto: split up the party at the very beginning of the game.

Splitting up the party can be done quite a few ways actually, but the best way was to just go about it with no explanation what so ever. In other words, make the separation a key part of the story. This way, the player is allowed to be just as captivated in reuniting with his party mates just as much as he is playing them in, what can be classified at that point as, 'amnesiac roles.' The amnesiac plot point is used in a lot of movies to drive the protagonist to unheard of situations. It wasn't that surprising to discover that, because games thrive on the same gist, using the cliched, but effective, amnesiac plot line was well warranted. What resulted were cut-aways to characters the player knew first and foremost.

These cut-aways presented a problem, however, because the transition can be rough sometimes, which may catch the player off guard. One could say that the player can get used to it, but it does not stop the fact that it can be disorientating. To combat this, it was recommended that the cut-aways be activated sparingly. The idea of limbo couldn't have been more pronounced. Like a scale, that perfect balance between cutting away sparingly but not so much so as to keep the composition from becoming stale had to be reached, and it wasn't simple. Truth be told, it may not be possible. There are going to be areas in the game when they definitely will feel more like a movie or a game rather than both at the same time, which was the goal here. It is suggested, therefore, that instead of cutting away sparingly, simply slow down the gameplay. In other words, don't make the gameplay so action-oriented. It worked in Resident Evil.

Keeping camera angles themselves consistent with the framing of a movie turned out to be less harm than given. This was expected due to other games, like Resident Evil, employing the same camera angle tactics. What Resident Evil lacked, however, were tight controls that allowed the player to smoothly transition from one scene to the next. The controls could be described as clunky, at best. While the innovation described in this paper is merely conceptual, it is recommended that should anybody build upon this innovation, that they utilize a more effective and less clunky control method. Good control plays a big part in determining how good the gameplay is going to be.

In Conclusion

The idea of merging video games and movies, much unlike the way Metal Gear Solid or Indigo Prophecy attempt do it, is quite possible. There will be some rough edges to smooth out, but a new genre of game can definitely emerge out of the already established genres utilized by video games and film. Here's two of them to get started from: RPG and survival horror.

REFERENCES

Adams, E. (2006). Secrets of interactive storytelling. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from The Designers Notebook. Website:

Adams, E. (2008). The designer's notebook: bad game designer, no twinkle! IX. Retrieved October 11, 2008, from Gamasutra. Website:

Advanced Microcomputer Systems (1983). Dragon's Lair (Video Game). Cinematronics

Bays, J. (2004). How to turn your boring movie into a Hitchcock thriller... Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Borgus Productions. Website:

BioWare (2007). Mass effect (Video Game). Microsoft Game Studios

Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Capcom (2005). Resident Evil REmake (Video Game). Capcom

Chandler, D. (1995). The 'grammar' of television and film. Retrieved October 12, 2008, from

. (2007). Why R-rated True Stories are Likely to Make Movie Magic. Retrieved October 4, 2008, from LexisNexis Database

Edwards, C. & Vella M. (2008). Morphing Video Games Into Movies. Business Week, (p.76, 4077), Retrieved October 4, 2008, from LexisNexis Database

Feil, J., & Scattergood, M. (2005). Beginning game level design. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology

Hancock, H. (2002). Better game design through cutscenes. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from

Hanon, C. (2007). Cutscenes without context. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from Grokker Database

Karl, B. & Rudden D. (2008). Net ten: Top Ten Blatant Screen Cover-ups. Retrieved September 28, from

Konami Productions (2008). Metal gear solid 4: guns of the patriots (Video Game). Konami

Laramee, F. D. (2002). Game design perspectives. Hingham, MA: Charles River Media, Inc.

Maschwitz, S. (2007). The DV rebel's guide: an all digital approach to making killer action movies on the cheap. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press

Onyett, C. (2008). AGDC 2008: BioWare's cinematic design: How the developer is pushing narrative boundaries. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from Grokker Database

Q & A: Stephan Hrbek, LightSprint. (2006). Retrieved October 4, 2008, from LexisNexis Database

Quantum Dream (2005). Indigo prophecy (Video Game). Atari

Rollings A., & Adams, E. (2003). Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on game design. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Publishing.

Schnitzer, A. (2008). How to build a better cutscene. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from Grokker Database

Sheffeld, B. (2008). Giving games a voice: Sony's dialog manager Greg deBeer speaks. Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Gamasutra. Website:

Silver, A., & Ursini, J. (1996). Film noir reader. Prompton Plains, NJ: Limelight Editions

Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (Video Game). Vivendi Universal Games

APPENDIX A. KEY TERMS

avatar – the main character in a video game that represents the player and to which the player has control of, either by keyboard and mouse, or gamepad

cinematic – the presentation of a game as a whole that showcases its high production values, usually fulfilled by composition, dialogue, great sound, and cutscenes

composition – the manner and placement of the elements in a frame with the intention to present them as best as possible to the viewer

cutscene – the section of a video game that halts gameplay and presents the player with a scripted movie the player has no control over.

front-end interface – the screen that houses the main menu and allows the player to access the main game, as well as giving him access to adjust and modify particular game settings, such as brightness and difficulty

gameplay – the main gist of any video game where the player inputs commands to the game via keyboard or gamepad, and the game responds in some manner, usually through the player's avatar

heads-up display (HUD) – the information on the in-game interface that usually alerts the player about how many lives he has, what his ammo count is, how much health he has left, etc.

in-game interface – the screen(s) that allows the player to exit the main game and return to the main menu, as well as letting the player select and adjust in-game essentials, such as switching and using weapons, items, etc.

interactive cutscene or quick-time action event – a scripted section of a video game presented like a standard cutscene that allows the player some interaction but always leads to the same end consequences

interactive narrative – gameplay provided simultaneously with a connected series of written or spoken dialogue that furthers the story and plot in a game

narrative – a connected series of written or spoken dialogue that furthers the story and plot in a game or movie

non-player characters – characters within a game that are controlled entirely by the game’s CPU

true interactive cutscene – a section of a video game presented like a standard cutscene that allows the player interaction and provides different end consequences depending on the type of interaction

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