As a person who loves video games, I was very excited when it came to our lecture on storytelling in games. I was interested to see what the class would consist of. We looked over a variety of ways in which games present stories. But only looked briefly over each type, and I took notes with some of my own opinions to help me further when it came to researching more in depth:
Narrative Descriptors
- Cutscenes: Games such as Uncharted tell the game’s narrative through cutscenes
- Writing/Text & Audio: Most games have elements of text, however the like of Undertale would have narrative told purely through writing and text
- Environmental Narrative: This is were a lot of the narrative is told through things such as props and the environment which you play in. The Bioshock series is a great example of this
Types of Game Narrative Structure:
- Linear: Straight forward narrative with generally one ending
- Branching: A game that could have multiple endings depending of players choices. A good example is Mass Effect
- Open house/Detective/Out of Sequence: Games such as ‘Her Story’, ‘Gone Home’, ‘Return of the Obra Dinn’
- Emergent: Games such as ‘Shadow of Mordor’ and ‘The Sims’
My Research:
After this lecture, I wanted to look into gender roles in video games and does it affect the narrative. Basically how female characters have evolved in video games. I want to specifically look at Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda series as it is one of my favourite game series. I also believe that it has diverse representations of Zelda across each game. I want to show how the evolution of Princess Zelda has greatly improved the narrative and love for the series.
Poor Representation, is the narrative affected?:
The Legend of Zelda (1986)
‘In the original game, she was essentially a prop with no more depth than a shard of the Triforce’ (Ashley, 2018)
The beginning of the series, so for the first plot line, similar to Princess Peach from the Mario Series, Princess Zelda is shown as nothing more than an objective in the game and a prize at the end of the game. This is very reminiscent of fairy tales too, and how generally their is a Princess at the end of the story for the hero to claim. The narrative of the game is very linear and has a clear ending which is predictable from the start of the game. Link saves the Princess.
Breath of the Wild:
The Princess Zelda that is presented in ‘Breath of the Wild’ at first glance seems like a unique and interesting development. It really looked like Nintendo were on to a winner. Her appearance of riding gear and her adventuring look makes her seem to be a more battle-ready princess and able to fight for herself. But, she isn’t actually a fighter herself. Her role in the game is a commanding one. She organises Hyrule’s defense along with the 4 Champions, which in itself is a positive role. However, this is not a role that she appears to be comfortable with. This was only a small downside to her character though, but then throughout the game we discover that the Princess has been locked in the castle along with the main villian. She was placed in a beautiful dress and is rarely seen for the wile if the game, unless in the limited flashbacks that the main character, Link has. I personally feel like this decision ruined Nintendo’s chance to make this incarnation of Princess Zelda, one of the best. I do believe she could have been a great part of the narrative and her role as commanding officer could have offered so much more to the plot line. Breath of the Wild reverts back to old traditional Zelda games and follows it’s old traditions. Nintendo had the perfect chance to create a unique and much more striking character, but I feel like they failed to convey this well.
Ocarina of Time:
While this game does show the typical Princess Zelda, I do believe she was much more than just the girl who needed saving.
‘This changed dramatically in Ocarina of Time. Zelda was the driving force behind the plot, masterminding Link’s plan to stop Gannon.’ (Ashley, 2018)
This version of Zelda shows a character that new Link from when she was young. Even when she was just a young girl, she was still aiding Link. When she is older she does end up being trapped in a castle like the sterotypical hero and princess story. But she does have an alter ego ‘Sheik’ who is featured in the game many times, guiding Link and teaching him songs which aid him on his journey. Sheik is a very strong and positive character, but its just a shame that these traits aren’t shown directly through Zelda. She has to disguise herself as a male and basically not be the princess in order to help Link.
Twilight Princess:
Twilight Princess is probably one of my favourite games in the series. This is due to its very unique story line, it’s unlike any of the previous games, and I fell in love with the characters when I first played the game. Princess Zelda in this game is more of a queen than a Princess. She runs the Kingdom of Hyrule, and is presented as a strong female leader rather than a fairy tale Princess like in the past. ‘Twilight Princess’ Zelda challenges the Princess Archetype and created a new outlook on her role in the game series. I feel like Twilight Princess was really over looked for it’s representation of Zelda. The game gives her a purpose in the game and gives her a much more interesting personality. The narrative shows Zelda being given the decision between the entirety of her kingdom being killed by the evil evil Zant, or for him to completely take over the Kingdom of Hyrule, covering the realm in Twilight and bringing upon the world his monsters. Zelda faces this tough choice and chooses what she thinks is best for her people. But unlike other games, she doesn’t just stand idly by while evil takes over. She takes action and helps guide Link and assists him in final battles.
Overall I do believe that the narrative of many games, including The Legend of Zelda can be affected by the representation of its lead characters. And that character development can make a huge impact of a game’s narrative. And on the larger scale I think most people will love Zelda games regardless, however the avid fans of the series appreciate and take notice of each character’s development.
References:
Ashley, J (2018) How Breath of the Wild Failed Princess Zelda and Representation: http://newnormative.com/2018/08/10/how-breath-of-the-wild-failed-princess-zelda-and-representation/ [Accessed 14/03/19]
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