Cultural Differences in Interactive Storytelling

The conclusion to my independent study analyzing interactive storytelling styles across different cultures.

Size = 1416 words 15.7kb
Date - 11/22/15
Medium - Microsoft Word

Geoffrey Epstein

Independent Study

Conclusion paper

11/22/15

            The purpose of my independent study was to analyze three different examples of interactive storytelling from three separate cultures in order to understand the distinctions between the way each culture handles storytelling through an interactive medium. I hoped to understand the effects of storytelling in each culture, which thematic elements are most significant, and how each culture translates their beliefs into modern works. I chose to analyze Tales of Xillia, from the Japanese Namco Tales Studio; Bioshock, and to a lesser extent Bioshock: Infinite, from American game developers Irrational Games; and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, from Polish studio CD Projekt Red.

The importance of interactivity comes down to perspective. In order to be interactive, a story must have a conversational relationship from its audience. Every action must have a response, and every response can then be met with a reaction from the audience. Even the simplest mechanics, from controlling the motion of a character to the ability for a player to make an impactful choice, cause the depth of attachment to grow stronger. When the player’s perspective is that of someone experiencing a story firsthand, I find that his connection to the events of the story grows stronger, and thus it makes a more lasting impression.

There is no way to define the exact tendencies of each culture’s development style and goals by taking only three samples. Tales of Xillia, for example, cannot be held as the sole representation of the enormous breadth of Japanese video games. However, I simply hoped to gain some insight through these three series which are very prominent in their homelands in order to garner an understanding for some of the basic inspirations that fuel the creativity of designers from these three distinct areas of the world.

When I started this project, I had very specific learning goals in mind on my quest to find the differences in interactive storytelling across cultures. I wanted not only a better understanding of different cultures and their approaches to an investment in interactive storytelling; but also what it was that each culture valued most and wanted their particular product to express. In order to analyze my overall findings, I wanted to use this paper to take another look at my original learning goals as a reference to ensure that I have discovered what I set out to discover.

My first goal was the very general objective of this project as a whole. I wanted to determine the specific difference between interactive stories across different cultures based on the backgrounds of each stories’ creators. I think this is  a question that is very subjective but  each of the subjects I chose to study have powerful thematic differences, which also defines another one of my learning goals which was to discover the different thematic elements across each culture. Tales of Xillia focuses on the relationship of man and nature as well as man and his community. These are both very Japanese themes as there is an emphasis on honoring nature and the importance of group unity in Japanese culture. The American game Bioshock focuses on the relationship between man and himself as well as man and society. Bioshock forces the player to consider what position they want to take in life and whether or not they can be assertive enough to strike out on their own to achieve success without being used. This exemplifies the American theme of manifest destiny. The European game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, pits man against all of the elements. Nature, community, and even man himself were obstacles to overcome in medieval Europe, and these overwhelming hardships are very much embedded in European culture and even extend to American folklore.

My next learning goal was to discover what each culture put the most emphasis on when designing the world of their story in addition to focusing on differences in artistic direction. I found that Tales of Xillia boasted colorful, sprawling environments that reinforced the importance of nature. These environments were reminiscent of beauteous places in Japan that would often house Shinto shrines. Bioshock on the other hand, was set in a bleak and dilapidated place that modeled after a thriving American city. The fact that such a familiar setting could fall into such disrepair was a staunch reminder of the game’s themes. Society can very easily fall apart when people lose track of their ambitions. Finally, the world of The Witcher 3 was designed to be big and beautiful and to closely resemble medieval Europe; and while the developer achieved these things, I think the most important thing to note about this world is the people. The non-player characters, or NPCs, that the player interacts with are all expertly modeled, voiced, and animated so as to represent the culture of the creators. This game has a very immersive world where each conflict has an actual weight to it because you feel like a tourist who is actually visiting a real place.

  Tone is an interesting element to look at when comparing interactive storytelling because each developer will clearly have a desired tone, but ultimately the expressed tone will be based on the perspective of the player. For example, some games tend to have very graphic violence that is meant to convey a serious tone; however, when this violence becomes gratuitous, it can be seen as comical and thus will offer a more humorous tone than intended. The tone in Tales of Xillia is fairly bright and cheery as Japanese characters tend to be very overly animated and expressive. Bioshock, however, has a very serious tone where everything has a very bleak and dreary feel to it as though the world has ended and all hope is gone. The Witcher 3, as usual, is very hard to peg in this category. The plot line is not meant to be humorous, but at the same time, it is not entirely serious either. It is a depiction of people trying to make the best of what they have. If my research into this game has taught me anything, it is that people will use whatever they can in order to overcome adversity, whether it be drunkenness, sarcasm, or folklore.

Finally, I wanted to know which elements of interactivity were most important to each culture. Tales of Xillia’s interactivity was most emphasized by the combat system in the game. Throughout the game, you would accrue a party of up to six characters who would constantly talk to each other as you made your through the game world. You could only choose four out of your party of six to bring with you into combat, and you also had to choose which characters would partner up as well as how they would fight together. While this mechanic had no real effect on the overall plot, it did make the player change their opinions of certain characters and see them all in a different light. Having a party of interacting characters is a very common occurrence in Japanese games and underlies the importance of group unity. In the case of Bioshock, the story was fairly linear but the overall ending could be altered in one very important way based on a very ostensible player choice. While this choice won’t change the plot of the game or the meaning of its story, it does completely change the player’s perspective of the game’s events by framing the player’s character in a completely different light based on which choice they made and providing a different perspective on the events of the story. Finally, in the case of The Witcher 3, player choice is absolutely plentiful,so I wanted to narrow down exactly what category of player choice is the most significant. This game allows player to play a role more than most role-playing games ever do. The player character is cast in a very specific position and has a personality that has been set by the source material. However, the player still chooses what would suit their version on the main character the best while staying within the confines of that character’s parameters. No matter what choice the player makes, Geralt still has a very distinct, preset personality that will shine in all interactions. It ensures that no matter how much the opinion of different players differ, they still get a genuine perspective from Geralt’s intended role in this world making character based role-playing and interaction the most important part of this game.