On the Evolution of Narrative Mechanics in Open-World Games
Ulrich Götz · Edition Medienwissenschaft · 2021
Experiencing and propagating narratives is an essential component of cultural history.Although this process has changed over the course of centuries, its basic principles persist.Regardless of eras or means of transmission, it is a primordial human instinct to want to communicate real or imagined experiences, and experience them oneself.How deeply rooted this can be is reflected in a wide variety of social endeavors, demands and circumstances, which underscore the central importance of storytelling to our social fabric.The value of narrative and performative acts manifests itself in the layout of human settlements, which are oriented towards meaningful landmarks.New narrative styles intertwine themselves closely with the most advanced technologies, which they either advance as a driving force, or rapidly incorporate.The communication of narrative content may have altered its external appearance, but its essence has been preserved.Printing made it possible to replicate texts, replacing the oral transmission of poems, songs or performances.Contemporary technological innovations further expanded narrative possibilities: today, these range from audiovisual compositions and three-dimensional projections to hybrid performances that fuse real and virtual space.This change of narrative modes distills existing methods down to their core and creates new genres, until they, too, are subject to this process of reduction.At the heart of these continuing cyclical mechanisms lies the moment of narrative transfer.What was once conveyed through interpersonal contact is now amplified by highly diverse forms of media and performative practices.Despite radical changes in form and a tremendous increase in reach, some content has lasted