Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters

Story has traditionally been seen as something separate to gameplay—frequently relegated to an afterthought or epiphenomenon. Nevertheless, in the FPS genre there has been something of a renaissance in the notion of the story-driven title. Partially, this is due to advances in technology enabling a...

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Main Author: Dan Pinchbeck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2008-01-01
Series:International Journal of Computer Games Technology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/783231
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author Dan Pinchbeck
author_facet Dan Pinchbeck
author_sort Dan Pinchbeck
collection DOAJ
description Story has traditionally been seen as something separate to gameplay—frequently relegated to an afterthought or epiphenomenon. Nevertheless, in the FPS genre there has been something of a renaissance in the notion of the story-driven title. Partially, this is due to advances in technology enabling a greater capacity for distributed storytelling and a better integration of story and gameplay. However, what has been underrecognised is the dynamic, epistemological, and psychological impact of story and story elements upon player behaviour. It is argued here that there is evidence that story may have a direct influence upon cognitive operations. Specifically, evidence is presented that it appears to demonstrate that games with highly visible, detailed stories may assist players in recalling and ordering their experiences. If story does, indeed, have a more direct influence, then it is clearly a more powerful and immediate tool in game design than either simply reward system or golden thread.
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series International Journal of Computer Games Technology
spelling doaj-art-18cf217e23c742088006f5bc82d9ceb22025-02-03T01:29:54ZengWileyInternational Journal of Computer Games Technology1687-70471687-70552008-01-01200810.1155/2008/783231783231Story and Recall in First-Person ShootersDan Pinchbeck0University of Portsmouth, Eldon Building, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2DJ, UKStory has traditionally been seen as something separate to gameplay—frequently relegated to an afterthought or epiphenomenon. Nevertheless, in the FPS genre there has been something of a renaissance in the notion of the story-driven title. Partially, this is due to advances in technology enabling a greater capacity for distributed storytelling and a better integration of story and gameplay. However, what has been underrecognised is the dynamic, epistemological, and psychological impact of story and story elements upon player behaviour. It is argued here that there is evidence that story may have a direct influence upon cognitive operations. Specifically, evidence is presented that it appears to demonstrate that games with highly visible, detailed stories may assist players in recalling and ordering their experiences. If story does, indeed, have a more direct influence, then it is clearly a more powerful and immediate tool in game design than either simply reward system or golden thread.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/783231
spellingShingle Dan Pinchbeck
Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
International Journal of Computer Games Technology
title Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
title_full Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
title_fullStr Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
title_full_unstemmed Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
title_short Story and Recall in First-Person Shooters
title_sort story and recall in first person shooters
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/783231
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