Highlights
- Emergent Storytelling in video games allows for dynamic and unique narratives to emerge from player interactions rather than scripted storylines.
- Games like The Sims, Helldivers 2, and Minecraft showcase how player choices, random events, and open worlds create diverse storytelling experiences.
- EVE Online exemplifies how large player bases can shape an ongoing narrative through freedom of choice, player-driven economies, and emergent political developments.
From early video games such as Space Invaders to modern classics like The Last Of Us, narrative in video games has evolved and matured. This highly interactive form of entertainment has brought new methods of storytelling that are unique to the medium. Video games engage players in ways film and television cannot. By giving the player different choices, a dynamic world to explore, and randomly occurring events, unique stories can now emerge from the gameplay itself rather than through pre-determined storylines.
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This new form is called Emergent Storytelling, where the players' interaction with the game creates the story, rather than experiencing a scripted narrative. Emergent Storytelling is defined most of all by the gameplay itself. With random in-game events forcing the player to react, the game creates a unique experience for each playthrough. These games often utilize large open worlds, a dynamic weather system, or randomly spawning enemies, all of which can create unique situations where brand-new stories can emerge.
1 The Sims
Endless Creation Of Unique Characters
The Sims
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS2 , GameCube , Xbox (Original)
- Released
- February 4, 2000
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation
This classic life-simulation game has been a popular franchise among gamers for years. The sandbox classic has no single defined goal. It allows players to control virtual people, directing their lives down to their moods, hunger, and ambitions. Players are also able to place their Sims in player-built homes or pre-set homes.
The nature of The Sims is ideal for emergent storytelling. With no set goal for players to follow, the random nature of the game creates a unique life for each in-game character, with their stories evolving with the choices the player makes. With each expansion of the game, more actions and possibilities for the Sims are added, creating a more dynamic world with a greater potential for unique stories to emerge.
2 Helldivers 2
An Emerging Narrative Created By The Community
Helldivers 2 has been a recent success story in gaming, quickly garnering a large player base for its action-packed and fun gameplay. Helldivers 2 is primarily a multiplayer shooter, where groups team up to take on hordes of enemies in a futuristic theater of war.
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In the intergalactic war between Helldivers and alien foes, rules of engagement have emerged that encourage cooperation and teamwork.
One of the unique aspects of the game is the emerging narrative of the war itself. In-game, players will find an ever-changing galaxy map, where they will come across a Major Order which lasts around two weeks. This order changes with the successes or failures of the player community. This simple mechanic has created an ongoing emergent narrative for Helldivers 2 that everyone is a part of. The story of the game is written constantly by the players themselves, with each victory adding to the overarching narrative of the war and opening up new possibilities for the future.
3 Minecraft
Explore And Create With Friends
The most successful game ever made, the idea behind Minecraft is simple. A procedurally generated, 3D world, made up of blocks that the player can build with or destroy. There are no set goals within the game, but randomly spawning enemies and resources to find and collect. Players are also able to share a single game world, which has led to millions of players often sharing a single server.
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Minecraft has created countless stories, all emerging from the gameplay. As players interact within the same world, they explore, build, and fight, creating narratives that are unique to their experiences. Minecraft offers endless opportunities for creativity, exploration, and unique moments between players, which continues to build a dedicated fanbase year after year.
4 Dwarf Fortress
An Early Experiment In Emergent Storytelling
Dwarf Fortress
- Platform(s)
- Linux , macOS , Microsoft Windows
- Released
- August 8, 2006
- Developer
- Bay 12 Games, Tarn Adams, Zach Adams
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike , Strategy , Simulation
This highly influential construction management and roguelike game was an early notable example of emergent storyline games. Set within a procedurally generated world, this indie fantasy game allows players to control a colony of dwarfs and set out on unique adventures. In the game, players can explore four different game modes, each catering to a different style of gameplay. Fortress mode leans more into the construction and management side, while adventure mode places fans in the shoes of an adventurer.
Dwarf Fortress was an influence on subsequent emergent narrative games, such as Minecraft and Rimworld. With its randomly generated NPCs, enemies, and world map, players have a different experience every time. The game is known for its steep learning curve and mechanics that promote complexity along with its emergent storylines.
5 EVE Online
A Persistent Online World Where Players Control The Story
This popular sci-fi MMORPG is a prime example of how video games can create emergent storytelling. The game presents players with thousands of star systems to explore within the persistent online galaxy. The large player base forms a dedicated online community, whose combined actions create the ongoing narrative of the game. EVE offers a large amount of freedom for players, who can join player-run corporations, gangs of pirates, or fly it solo.
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The freedom of the game, mixed with the dynamic, largely player-driven economy, has seen many turn to crime, with extortion and stealing a common occurrence. The large player factions, all competing with each other, have also led to political backstabbing, alliances, and all-out war. EVE Online gives players the tools, but the many stories that emerge from the game are created by the players themselves.
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