This week in class we played the highly narrative driven game, “Virginia”. This game continues our discussion on narrative in video games, while also showing a different kind of gameplay, more similar to a “walking simulator” or “interactive movie” type of game. The game tells the story of a newly appointed FBI agent named Anne Tarver, who is sent to Kingdom, Virginia to investigate a missing persons case, as well as investigate her partner, Maria Halperin. The game begins with a cinematic opening, showing locations throughout the game with an opening credits sequence and dramatic music accompanying the visuals. This is an interesting choice for a video game, as it makes the experience immediately feel more like a film rather than a game. Gameplay itself is pretty simple in this game, as it mostly consists of walking around as Tarver, taking in the surroundings and clicking on interactive objects to progress the story. There are no hidden collectibles, no levels, and no lives or even real danger. Everything in the game is scripted, and will happen every time no matter who is playing the game. The only variance in gameplay is how how long the player decides to take to move on with the story. In addition, the game is one fluent narrative, and has no real checkpoints or “levels” as I stated before. The game is segmented in “scenes” in the games menu, much like a DVD for a movie would display scenes. Truly, this game treats itself quite differently from other narrative driven games, such as “Half-Life”, “Portal 2”, or even “The Beginner’s Guide”. While these games each center on gameplay in a different way, a story is weaved into the experience, making for a memorable playthrough each and every time. “Virginia” is different in that it is almost a piece or art stuck between two mediums, game and film, yet still executes it story in a meaningful way. Earlier in the semester, we discussed how games can be played and what makes every game different because of these modes of play. For example, a game like “Hearthstone”, or a player versus player game, wildly varies from a game like “League of Legends”, or a team versus team oriented game. “Virginia” is hard to define, as it is a single player game, but there are no obstacles, nothing to fight against, it is just the experience you take from the story itself. It is truly something to think about when creating a game, and a narrative as a whole. Will the story benefit from being virtual? What hardships should a player face, if any? Telling a story through gameplay or environments certainly isn’t impossible, but “Virginia” certainly approaches this in a strange way.