Narratology in Video Games - the study of Ludology

"The game designer shouldn't be making a world in which the player is just a small part. The player's the boss; it's your duty to entertain him or her."

- John Carmack, on the creative ethos of DOOM

Despite a mass of the public attempting to disprove the fact the Video Games can hold the cultural capacity to be considered an 'art form' or a 'story-telling device', they tend to overlook the plethora of evidence which proves that Video Games indeed use traditional aspects of narrative and Narratology; as well as aspects exclusive to Video Games. A none-gamer looking in on the culture tends to only see the surface of Video Games; the simplicity of Pac-man and the mindless violent fun of Grand Theft Auto often spring to mind to their minds when making a statement on the subject. There has certainly been an evolution in Video Game narrative; to a point where Video Games dominate the study of Ludology. Most Video Games adopt a linear narrative, which is most obvious in 'Stone Age Video Games' such as Super Mario Bros, Pong, Tetris and Pac-man. A to B, nothing else to it. A lot of modern Video Games also adopt the linear narrative, A to B, but it comes with a carefully crafted illusion of choice.

The illusion of choice can be seen commonly in Sandbox such as Grand Theft Auto, Prototype, Deadrising, and Open-world games such as, Skyrim, Fallout, The Witcher, etc. You start at A, and you are given the illusion of being able to do whatever you want to your heart's content. Between A and B, the player can fulfil side-tasks or sate their boredom with mindless antics, explore the world or destroy the world, in the end, to complete the game you must reach B. This is why freedom in Video Games is a simple illusion,