The key concepts of interactive narrative games.
Interactive narrative games date far back, but the ones we will look at are the Fighting Fantasy books created by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. When these books came out they became an instant hit as they allowed readers to forge their own path through a fantasy world. This allure gathered a huge following. The books consisted of numbered paragraphs in which the reader would choose a path and navigate through the numbers they were told to help create their own story. The player had to navigate their way through the book whilst they may have rules to restrict them and different mechanics to challenge them. The reader has to decide on a path and accept the consequences of their choice, whether they be immediate consequences or later down the line.
The books acted as a game that the reader could play by themselves which was revolutionary at the time. By rolling a dice at the beginning of the game they could create character stats such as luck and skill which meant that the story would never be the same as they could have a different character every time. This decision made the game very popular and would later inspire other games. The link below is an interesting article on the Fighting Fantasy books and how they were created. The webpage also has numerous articles on who Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson were as well as how to obtain these books.
- http://officialfightingfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-is-fighting-fantasy.html
A key question is whether or not Interactive narrative is still valid and used in modern games. And the answer to that is simply, yes. There are plenty of modern games that successfully nurture the interactive narrative genre. From episodic titles such as TellTales Walking Dead. This game as an example is a good example of an interactive narrative. The game has you play a character and progress through different environments by making choices which lead you down different paths and change the nature of the game. Some choices may result in you losing and some change how the game can be played and eliminate other options from the game.
This article below on the web page talks about how interactive narrative video games have been changing throughout the years and the how the change in technology has had an impact on them. It mentions games such as Colossal Cave, Zoark and Kings Quest whist talking about how they had an impact on gaming at the time. Whether or not the success of the games are clear, what is clear is that interactive narrative will continue to be a part of gamings future. This is evident by the release of upcoming titles such as Detroit – Become Human, which is an extremely anticipated game that is completely based around interactive narrative. You’ll see the player choosing between a large variety of options without knowing the outcome and having to deal with the consequences which is what interactive games are all about.
- https://www.imore.com/colossal-cave-walking-dead-legacy-interactive-fiction