Game Analysis: The Walking Dead

It has often been a discussion of game creators and gamers alike whether a good game is made through the narration and story, or because through the mechanics. On one hand the player wants an emotional, immersive playable story, while on the other hand the player wants mechanics that make you feel inside the game’s world. There always needs to be a balance between these two polar opposites, but which one is more crucial in the creation of a great game? I believe that games are meant to take the player on a journey, whether it’s a happy, sad or even funny story, it has to give the player something to remember. If it leaves even an ounce of impact on the player, then it is a successful game. This being said, I still do believe that a game must …show more content…
But without storyline and a strong use of narration, the game has no direction. One game in particular has a very emotional and immersive storyline, The Walking Dead. For the sake of simplicity I will only be focusing on the first game/season of The Walking Dead as I feel it alone has a very deep and meaningful story without the need for the second game/season. As well as this, it doesn’t rely on fancy game mechanics or beautiful graphics to draw players in, the story is all it needs. I believe that The Walking Dead is the perfect example of a game that’s success is built on its story and narrative. The Walking Dead, created by Telltale Games, has a reputation for being a very emotional game. In this game, you play as Lee Everett, who at the beginning of the game finds a young girl called Clementine whose parents disappeared while on holiday. Left on her own, Lee takes her under his wing in his attempt to survive the outbreak. Later through the story they found themselves a group of other survivors, all with very different and contrasting personalities. This …show more content…
Giving the player a good storyline is one thing, but to give the player ideas and morals to think about is another. This is something that game mechanics simply cannot do. To make the player theorize what a game’s meaning is or to question a character’s motives gives the player something to think about outside of the game. Game mechanics can’t create that amount of thought within a person. Sure they may think about strategies in game mechanics, but nothing that creates questions within the player. This relates strongly to The Walking Dead game as it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. It leaves the player questioning why the characters do certain things, such as kill another character or betray the player in some way. “Since narrative empathy involves sharing feelings as well as sensations of immersion, it is reasonable to inquire into the status of emotions involved in fiction.” (Keen, 2013, para. 5) Here Keen states that in fictional stories, such as the storyline in The Walking Dead, the player will often share the same feelings as the characters in game, making them more relatable. The more relatable a game is, the more immersive it becomes, making it more enjoyable. However, in a game that takes a lot of influence on the player’s actions it is easy to become angry with the characters, or even with the players own self. It has an influence on the player outside of the