Narratives in interactive entertainment often unfold with a directional reading, mirroring the common convention of progressing through text from the starting point to the concluding point. This structure presents challenges and opportunities for designers who want players to naturally navigate and perceive their world, receive crucial information in sequential order and understand the consequence of each actions within the game. An example might be a platformer where levels are traversed horizontally, or a strategy game where new technologies unlock and become available in a fixed chronological order.
This unidirectional progression aids comprehension and intuitive gameplay, leading to reduced user frustration and enhanced engagement. From a historical standpoint, such an approach reflects early technological limitations and design philosophies. It provides a controlled experience, allowing developers to shape the player’s understanding of the narrative and gameplay mechanics, while offering a clear path for progression and minimizing cognitive overload. Understanding this aspect is essential to see the design choices of game developers, which they will then use to develop more innovative games.
