Story in Video Games part 5 - Point n Click
Originally published September 2016In previous articles on this topic, I've mentioned a variety of ways that a story can have an impact on the experience of a video game in both positive and negative ways. I've discussed some examples of failures, as well as the successes that have personally impacted me. However, I'd be remiss if I discussed stories in video games without at least tipping my hat to the games that made storytelling such an important part of the equation, and not just a novelty.
Before The Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Bioshock, Half-Life, or Chrono Trigger, there was a game genre that's primary focus was on telling an interesting story, so much, gameplay almost took a back seat. There were games like Zork, that didn't have any graphics to it and required players to type in their actions in a choose-your-own-adventure scenario. However, that's not the genre that actually had enough impact and popularity to make a lasting impact on game development. The point-n-click adventure games were a special breed of games that provided players with unique puzzles and brainteasers while still focusing on a plot. They were games that required a fair amount of time and resources, as well as dedication from their players. They were also games that were overlooked or forgotten by the general game consumer, that is until the genre made a big resurgence.
Zork
Chances are, if you ever liked video games at a young age, or during the early years of PC gaming, you had to have at least touched one of these fabled franchises. King's Quest, Day of the Tentacle, the Monkey Island Series, and Grim Fandango, among many others, are often considered classics with a cold reverence. These games have inspired many others that have come since then and were important in the very process of including stories in video games, but they are also products of their time with outdated game design mechanics and referential humor that don't match the current century. Grim Fandango and Monkey Island of the franchises mentioned perhaps hold up the best out of them all and have seen more positive attention in the past few years due to recent re-releases or sequels being made to bring the old games to a new generation. For the most part, it's been largely successful in bringing the adventure game back into the limelight and has even allowed some newer development studios focused on this genre to blossom as a result. Though, I wonder if that blossom wilt from overexposure.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, as usual. For those who don't know, point-n-click adventure games were a specific genre of games that existed, primarily, for home computers during the late 80's and throughout the 90's. Players controlled a character, typically on a flat 2D space, and used the mouse to point to various objects or pieces of the environment on the screen to make their characters interact with it in some way, hence the genre name. The whole point of interacting with these objects was usually to just progress the story in some way. As the protagonist, you would go through parts of the story, talk to various NPCs, and then, at some point, progression through the storyline would stop due to some seen or unforeseen obstacle. This would require you to acquire an item or solve a puzzle before being able to proceed. The puzzles would often be real brainteasers, and the methods of obtaining the necessary items were sometimes extremely vague or obscure, requiring players to take some illogical steps to accomplish their goals. Nonetheless, the whole reason you did so was for the sake of seeing the plot through to completion.
Image: Sierra | King’s Quest
Since home consoles rarely had games of this type, due to their various limitations and a design meant to entertain a living room, and since PC gaming was typically a solitary experience before the internet, point-n-click adventure games rarely saw much action on home consoles. As a result, the fanbase of this genre was smaller, but still quite loyal. Even with the small fanbase, there certainly wasn't a shortage of games within the genre. In fact, there was some real competition within the genre with two primary design competitors vying for the top spot. Sierra and LucasArts pumped out a ton of quality games that people still remember to this day. King's Quest alone saw more than 7 sequels, and games like Day of the Tentacle helped launch careers for people who would go on to create the popular Grim Fandango, among other successes.
I'll be the first to admit, my personal experience with this genre of games is somewhat limited. A home computer was not available to me during the peak of this genre's popularity, and probably wouldn't have been allotted to me anyway due to how long these games typically were. However, I did get to experience a bit of what both Sierra and LucasArts had to offer; I spent some time in the King's Quest sequels and I managed to finish The Dig while I was on a lengthy road trip with a laptop that was really fancy for the late 90's. Much like how people might be one way or another for music preferences that were popular at the same time (i.e. The Rolling Stones vs The Beatles, or Black Sabbath vs Led Zeppelin), players of the point-n-click adventure games usually had a preference for the design: either Sierra or LucasArts.
Image: Lucasarts
Sierra games tended to be in the more obscure camp with more serious stories or outcomes for the protagonist. Despite these adventure games being a slow-paced in their design, your protagonist in could die easily and often. The puzzles or methods of obtaining items were often tedious affairs due to just how abstract the solutions were. Still, there was a bit of ironic adult humor to some of the solutions and the games were mostly fun.
The LucasArts design style, meanwhile, was a little more accessible, from what I've played. Death did not come as easily in their games and humor played a strong part in the overall experience. The puzzles and solutions were sometimes just as obtuse and out-there as the Sierra games, but there still felt like a boundary to the gameplay, allowing for players to never completely screw up their experience. I never beat a Sierra game, but I did finish a LucasArts point-n-click, so I tend to prefer the latter format. Interestingly, the loyalty to either camp has allowed for new games in the genre to follow the familiar formats in the adventure game renaissance that has occurred.
Image: Lucasarts
I can't say that there was a singular moment when it started, but I think the audience for the genre had expanded after Steam and Good Old Games (GOG.com) became popular digital vendors for PC games, and PCs became a cheaper and more accessible method of playing games for people. I also believe that certain games—Heavy Rain and LA Noire, in particular—brought a similar gameplay style to console audiences who had not experienced point-n-click adventure games before. Despite LA Noire being a bland final product, it was very well-received upon its initial release. It sold rather well and many thought this was a brand-new gameplay style, not knowing it had existed for decades. Suddenly, there was an audience and a demand for these types of games.
Then the remaster craze started and Kickstarter emerged, allowing developers to re-release their old games to a new audience, or create new spins on the adventure formula that would draw the old fans in, eventually creating the "graphic-adventure" sub-genre. It was the genre to which Heavy Rain and LA Noire belonged; games that focused more on story than even the old puzzling grandfathers of the point-n-click genre had. Most of these new adventure games and remakes of the old ones would come to the PC to match the market, but some would eventually make their way to the consoles.
One particular development studio exploded in popularity for their efforts in the graphic adventure genre: Telltale Games. While they had some small, relatively unnoticed, or unsuccessful adventure games with big names in their humble beginnings, like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, they eventually hit it big with The Walking Dead in 2012. It was praised for its story-telling and the experience of making decisions throughout the story that would affect characters deeply over time, though, replaying the game would somewhat discredit that theory. While Telltale's gameplay was less about point-n-click problem solving and more about dialogue options, the fundamental similarities to the experience and the focus on the story were still there.
Image: Telltale Games
With the rise, comes the fall. Telltale has grown a great deal and has released numerous games based on different franchises in their signature style since 2012. They've also managed to fatigue the market a great deal in a short amount of time and I can't think of the last time people were as enamored or excited about one of their games like they were with The Walking Dead. Even games like Broken Age, which had some key people behind the classic LucasArts games, went through a great deal of scrutiny and scorn from the public upon its release.
Image: Telltale Games
Nonetheless, the loyalty of the genre's fans remains, and new players are still getting involved in these old-fashioned games. Indie developers are still dipping their toes in the format and experimenting with new ways to tell their stories. Some stick to the point-n-click format, while others take the graphic adventure format and turn it into a first-person story-adventure. In fact, it's given birth to many popular indie horror games. Games, such as Fran Bow and Neverending Nightmares follow the old format, while games like Layers of Fear or PT create the walking-simulator funhouse experience.
While plenty of big-budget titles may fail at telling the same old stories over and over, storytelling in games is as important now as it ever was. It has been an important part of the experience for decades and only continues to become more involved. It can help make a good game great or make a poor game terrible. The gameplay design of the game may change the overall involvement of the story, or it may remove it altogether, but when a good story is told, regardless of the format, it's difficult to forget.
I hope you enjoyed my lengthy opinions on stories in video games from the core concepts, to the craft of discretion, to the poor examples, to the best examples. If you haven't read my other posts (1, 2, 3, & 4), give them a read. Let me know what you think in the comments here, or on Facebook. What games have you played that have stuck with you for their story? Where did the story completely ruin your experience? What do you think can be done to improve the entertainment medium as a whole? Let me know!