The Importance of Narrative

As I’ve stated before in my blogs, good narrative is a crucial component to the success of films and games. But what is it about narrative that keeps the audience enthralled in a good film or game? Narrative as described by the oxford English dictionary is the ‘telling of some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events’, the story is what the narrative is and the plot is the way in which the narrative is told. Narratives are everything, and we as humans make them everything – we are constantly turning things into narratives; even in our sleep we create narratives through dreams - it’s human nature.

It’s no wonder to us then that narratives can become repetitive and boring, which keeps us on the constant look out for fresh new concepts and ideas. The gaming industry has seen a large increase in sandbox games and rpgs where the player can influence and manipulate the plot to their liking. By doing this it meets the new demands of gamers for fresh interactive narratives. Bioware’s ‘Mass Effect’ is a good example of an rpg that involves the player in the direction the narrative takes. Its interactive dialogue system adds an unrestricted feel to the plot.

Todorov’s analysis of narrative breaks the plot down into five events. The ‘equilibrium’ is the first; it is a state of normality before the ‘disruption’ which is the next event. The disruption can come under many things, from the offer for a weekend away a Mr Hammond’s ‘Jurassic Park’ or the arrival of notorious Captain Jack Sparrow to Port Royale. Following the disruption is the ‘recognition’ – in the case of Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’ the recognition is that pirates of the Black Pearl had abducted Miss Swan. Then comes the ‘repair’ – to rescue Elizabeth. Finalizing in the recovery of the Black Pearl to Jack and Elizabeth to Will the Equilibrium is then again found. This cycle of events can be found many films and games, which makes the radical nonlinear narrative structure in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Momento’ a breeze of fresh air. The editing in this film is a work of art, the backwards trail of events leaves you thinking back to what has just happened; the same as the protagonist Leonard Shelby whom suffers from amnesia.

 

However Todorov’s narrative structure is successful for its concluded endings and rhythmic plot. Open endings like Nolan’s ‘Inception’ cliff hanger left the audience gripping their seats. Fresh – yes, but many people leave the film begging for a proper conclusion. Perhaps this is why narrative is so important? Perhaps as human beings with our natural lust for narrative we adapt the ending to ‘Inception’ for our also natural desire for conclusion in narrative? I don’t know the answer, but thoroughly enjoyed discussing it and hope to see many new forms of narrative structure found in games and films of the future and include radical ones in my own short films and animations on the course.