Evolution of Storytelling, Part 3

Fifth videogames consoles generation

The fifth generation witness the start of 3D graphics for videogames, that would be the norm for that point on. The race for more realistic graphics was going to start and some of the most famous franchises would either make the change to 3D or dissapear. The three most famous videogame consoles were the Playstation, the first console release by Sony, the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Dreamcast, the last console Sega would ever release.

Nintendo 64

Dreamcast

Playstation

This generations would also be remembered for having some of the most importants and influent games and the start of story driven videogames. One of the genres that found his golden age in this generation were RPG. Thanks to the better technology, a great quantity of dialogue lines could be added, the 3D graphics offer the posibility for spectacular and emotional scenes and complex combat systems.

Final Fantasy VII, and IX - The Final Fantasy saga, famous for being some of the first and more prominent games when it comes to storytelling, had in the fifth generations probably three of the most famous and better remembered games ever created. Final Fantasy VII was the first 3D game of the franchise, and is probably the most famous one. Although probably looking back now it  hasn't aged that well, your mileage may vary, by its time it presented an huge world, full of secrets all rendered in 3D. It was long and have a considerable amount of dialogue, psychological drama and, for the first time in the saga, sci-fi elements. It also presented a very controversial for the time twist, the death of Aerith, one of the first time a playable character, protagonist and love interest of the main character died, murdered by the antagonist, Sephirot.

Final Fantasy IX was a tribute game, made to celebrate the saga. It was set in a medieval fantasy scenario. It was the third Final Fantasy in 3D and considered one of the best, even if it is not as famous as Final Fantasy VII. Beautiful crafted 3D graphics, music composed by Nobuo Uematsu and art by both Tesuya Nomura and Yoshitaka Amano, the game was full of references to past Final Fantasy. Its plot was not only long, but touched numerous themes, talking about what is the meaning of life and what living is, fancing the fear of death and how we deal we the lost of those we love, while also presenting the player a world full of wonders and adventures, free to explore and with numerous things to do. All of this makes Final Fantasy IX, one of the last games of this generation, probably the best example of what RPG of this generation strive for and an example of game as a media capable of telling compelling stories.

Shenmue I and Shenmue II - Released for the Sega Dreamcast, Shenmue follow Ryo Hazuki who after witnessing the murder of his father, decided to persue the killer to learn why the motive behind the crime and claim justice. Shenmue is the precurso of storydriven videogames, presuming of top-notch graphics, a lot of spoken dialogue and introducing QTE (Quick-Time Events), cinematics playable sections where the player have to press the buttons in a specific way or speed to overcome challenges, that let the player still have control on the outcome while offering the most cinematography experience possible. The world of the games was open, letting the player to talk with all characters and interact with the scenary while also maintaining a high degree of realism.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora´s Mask - Although not nearly as popular as its predecesor when it was released, with the pass of the years Majora´s Mask has become one of the most recognised entry of the saga, presuming of a more dark, unique and mature plot and by the interesting way of telling it's story. The game features Link, our main protagonist, who arrives at the land of Termina, after following and strange masked boy who had cursed him, trasforming Link in a humanoid plant called Deku. There he meet a mysterious man who calle himself the Happy Mask Salesman, who reveal to Link that the mask the strange boy had was called Majora, and it had a dark power enough to put an end to all life. Furthermore, Link also discover that the moon is falling from the sky because of the dark influence of the mask and in three days it would impact and end the world. Thankfully, thanks to the magic of his ocarina, a gift from his last adventure, Link is able to return to the third day before the end, letting him time to find a way to avoid the impending doom.

Although at first sight the game may look simply in its plot, the deepness of the same only come to light when one immerse himself in its world. Instead of  letting all the important details in what could be called the main plot, each character of the game follow their daily routines, having each one a personal story, their own problems. Here we can see a masterfully combination of game mechanics and storytelling. By letting the player live the same three days over and over, not only it creates the feeling of a living world, but also let the playerexplore in a way never done before and that coulnd't be found in any other media, making actions and experimenting to see what consequences they bring making the story an active experience. The care put in the making of the characters and their deed personalities and problems not only would surprise the players, but also let them create a unique and strange bond with them, the player just as Link is an stranger at the start of the adventure and once it ends, Termina becomes a part of the player, and experience hard to forget.

Its numerous plots touch a lot of themes. The lost of loved ones, the weight of responsability, the pain caused by people not trusting each other and misunderstandings, how we face the end and accepting death as a part of life and much more all told with subtlety, in a bizarre and emotional adventure.

Of this three examples, Shenmue and Final Fantasy types of storytelling would be the most influential in following generations, specially in games made by big companies, From here games would strive to become more and more cinematic, and this trend is still visible nowadays. Any random trailer of triple A games  would remember to big blockbuster movies, realistic characters, renowned voice actors and bombastic music.

Majora's Mask influence can be found instead in the called indie games, wich tend to be more simplistic in thier presentation and focus more on game mechanics that cinematography. Still, some big company games have also opted with this style of storytelling.


In next part, we will still deal with some expamples of the fifth generation that marked a change in the way games tell stories.