The environment within games is often taken for granted. When playing a game, sometimes we forget about all the minor things that tell a story and make the play a better experience. A horror game without spooky wind, darkness, and small hallways might be less scary because its environment is lacking sufficient backup to the monster or jump scare that lies within it. With this in mind, surroundings provide an experience themselves. In “Game Design as Narrative Architecture”, it proposes that video games don’t inherently need a narrative. A game can speak just through its atmosphere. This has a lot to do with the type of media. Video games are interactive and don’t have to tell you every single detail in order to understand something. The player explores the world and processes the cryptic information. In a game like FireWatch, we are exploring a simple forest, but the appearance of the forest abstractly represents more than just what it appears. The forest is an escape from the protagonist’s past. It is tranquil and peaceful and we are trying to protect this calmness from fires breaking out. The forest is an environment that we travel through and decode like what was mentioned before. Even in multiplayer games, the ambience still exists. In dead by daylight, you play as either a survivor or a killer. When the killer moves closer to you, heartbeats can be heard. This sound cue is a game changer because without them, the killer is much harder to notice. On the same note, the killer can hear generator sounds, birds, and breathing, which all signify that a survivor is nearby. Sounds are atmospheric, but they add essential mechanics. 

It is through the atmosphere that we can also alter stories in unheard manners. The storyteller can do much more than create something original. Brought up by Jenkins, the concept of taking existing knowledge and repurposing it is a profound mode of producing a story. An existing folktale can be adjusted and altered in such a way that it creates a new experience. For example, Jenkins talked about American McGee’s Alice, which readapts Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. Wonderland becomes a much darker and grittier world. It contrasts with the previous conception of wonderland that is whimsical and lighthearted. It is through the tone and atmosphere that McGee reinterprets the story.

In summary, a game’s background is not just something to look at. It is a game mechanic as well as a story component. Previously existing environments can have their tone adjusted to become a new space for the player to traverse with new found joy. The environment is not something to be underestimated and it can change the game for narratives in video games completely.

Works Cited

“Game Design as Narrative Architecture”, Electronic Book Review, July 10, 2004, .