One of the main things I have been reflecting on since the unlecture this week, is whether video games are a form of hypertext narrative. Well it’s obvious that they are not, but I would certainly disagree with something proposed in the lecture; that “at the heart of all games, they are like a game of pinball.” You attempt to hit the buttons and do the right things, if you do it well you win, if you don’t, you lose, and that is why they are different to hypertext. I would certainly not put myself in the ‘gamer’ category, however, being close with my older brother, video games have always been around to catch my interest, and i can conclude that while they are all classified as ‘video games,’ many who are familiar with them know that they differ in more ways than just the cover art.

The motivations and narratives of each game are different. There are games where you either win or lose; multiplayer games, many platformers, where you are trying to get to the end for completion reasons, to achieve that 100% next to your file name.  However, many games have taken an entirely different route.  Many that i am exposed to feature prominent story lines and character development, and although you may do slightly different things along the way, you still go on a journey to arrive at the end of the story, like a book. And for that reason too, not to ‘win’ the game.

Nobody completes and experiences the heartbreaking endings of ‘The Walking Dead (game)‘ and ‘The Last Of Us‘ feeling as though they had won the game. Likewise, nobody loses in these games either, even if you make a bad decision, you keep going from where you left off. Even World of Warcraft can be classified as this type of game, when you die, you do not ‘lose,’ you walk around as a spirit, find your body and keep going. When you get to your highest level, you may have taken slightly different paths, but you have generally been to the same places and completed the same quests as most people who share your class/ race. In Divine Divinity, the world is so impressively complex and climactic, yet realistic and mature that i would definitely relate it closer to the experience of an amazing novel, rather than a game of pinball.

I certainly agree that video games are not similar to hypertext narrative, but to simplify them to the level of pinball or a board game is just as inaccurate. There is a difference between ‘winning’ a game and ‘completing’ a game, in the same way one would complete a novel. With the best games of today, it is not about doing a good job, to get the most points, or to win, but to experience the narrative. Just like in stories, you don’t win anything at the end of ‘The Last of Us,’ you are just faced with the ending to the story, which explains why the endings can even lead people to tears, and have profound effects on them, as well as the huge subcultures that form around the experience of the game. To conclude, a more accurate description of video games would be somewhat similar to those ‘choose your own adventure’ stories everyone read as a kid, where you arrive at more or less the same ending as everyone else, but far more adult and complex.