Well, to nobody's surprise whatsoever I felt right at home in this chapter and content module. Interactive storytelling is a medium I personally cherish and seek out as a form of entertainment. Good literature can absolutely come in digital forms, and I'd go a step further to say experimenting with new forms of literature is an immensely enriching experience.
The posed question of "games or literature" is asked much more often than we tend to think; people do it all the time, even subconsciously, when deciding their feelings on forms of media. Just like many people will spend hundreds or even thousands of hours playing video games but refuse to touch a book, there are literature lovers who would probably never pick up a game. Preference aside, the benefits of each are so far apart that there is little overlap at all in my mind. Interactivity and tangibility of a story gives that deeper level of engagement, but written works supplement visual detail for imagination and structure.
Concerning empathy or other emotion, a game is equally able to convey any range of emotion to written word for the same reason that literature is lauded for this ability in the first place: human element. People who love what they do put themselves within it, no matter the medium. If a game has soul, then it has feeling, same with text. Equally true are soulless creations, that were not made with love, or maybe just didn't come out right. To use Howling Dogs as an example: there is intention and care in every phrase and description of the sanatorium (10/10 setting). It's literature because it's story is being shared with you through an author's words, but it holds the same interactive elements that make it an engaging game. Both of these elements work in tandem, and I'd argue that the experience would be lesser without either of them. A game without the vivid descriptions of surroundings, lighting, and layout would feel flat, and a written story would lack the mystery, agency, and exploration present in a game.
tldr: BOTH! Both is great!
Haha, yes for BOTH!
ReplyDeleteI agree that a big part of both mediums is communicating emotion and a human story to the reader/player in some form of creative elements. I think mixing them and creating new digital storytelling games is important experimentation as well!
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on people playing video games but never reading, and vice versa. There are so many intersections in niches, people just need to explore them further.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this response because it was basically the opposite reaction that I had. I discussed not really being compatible with video games and my struggle with finding them enjoyable. It was interesting to see a different perspective.
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