Narratology Vs. Ludology

Narratology: the idea that the story line within a game is what makes it.

Some people would argue that the story line of a game is essential. They believe that every game tells a story and can be analysed as such. To be precise, narratology is the theory that games are a media that is used to portray a story. Without a narrative, most, if not all games would be without purpose and would make little to no sense in some cases. It connects the players actions to the development of the game and makes sense of the progressions the player goes through.

For example: Uncharted is a game that has many objectives but without the narrative to stitch the game together it makes no sense. The game would become a jumble of running around finding things and killing things but without direction and with no value. The story provides basic understanding, adds depth and gives the player an inclination of where to proceed.

Ludology: the concept that the rules and player interactions are the key features within a game.

Ludology defines simulation as the ultimate principle of video games meaning that they believe that the set of rules with which a player is set defines the game that they are playing. Ludologists would claim that narrative doesn’t have any impact on the game. For them the players actions are the only things that matter; except the rules, demands and expectations the game had already set as boundaries for the player. 

For example: In Uncharted 4 during the mission to the volcano, the NPCs interacting with each other and the character did not affect the gameplay or the mission at hand. It acted as a bridge between one objective to the next. The NPCs had conversations throughout the players journey which only developed the characters but added no real value to the actions the players had to carry out. A more successful example of Ludology would be space invaders, although the game is dated, many people played the game without any understanding of the actual concept or awareness of the story behind it.

Games consist of three things:

• RULES

• GAME WORLD

• GAME PLAY

The combination of these three elements establishes the gaming experience. In some circumstances, the payer chooses how the story proceeds and adapts to the rules and the world generated around them. I personally believe that although Narratology has very key and basic principles that do apply to video games, the theory is becoming outdated due to the way the gaming industry has started to develop. Despite this, there are still classics that are the embodiment of Ludology that will outlive most of the Narratology based games. I do strongly believe that both points are very important and intertwine throughout most games but ultimately, Narratology makes a game a good game. 

Written by Jacqueline Heldmann