The Resurgence of Video Game Storytelling

CNN offers an editorial on the recent resurgence of video game storytelling, using Deus Ex: Human Revolution and BioShock: Infinite as examples.

When compared to more time-honored forms of storytelling, video game creators are just beginning to come to grips with the massive range of toys available in today’s high-tech toolbox.

But after taking a backseat to 3-D graphics and white-knuckle action around the CD-ROM’s heyday in the mid-’90s, scriptwriting and dialogue are suddenly becoming killer gaming apps once again. Witness recent nail-biting episodic game adventures, the resurfacing of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for smartphones and eReaders, or fundraisers fueling all-new interactive fiction titles.

For this we can credit numerous factors, both sociological and practical alike. Modern consoles’ longer lifespan, increasingly mature audiences and stabilizing production budgets are forcing developers to look beyond jaw-dropping graphics and sprawling 3-D worlds to drive fans’ enthusiasm.

Combine that with the rise of touchscreen devices like the iPhone and tablet PCs (seemingly tailor-made for classic point-and-click adventures), plus indie studios’ need to find cost-effective ways to compete, and you have an unexpected renaissance in virtual storytelling.