When I sit down to watch a movie, one of the most reliable predictors that I won’t enjoy it is the use of voiceover narration. Even novelists, not working in a visual medium, are urged to ‘show, not tell’ when it comes to writing fiction, and with good reason. Hearing about events that have, are or will take place is far less interesting than seeing those events unfold before the viewer’s eyes.
As used in the majority of Hollywood films and all too many indies, narration ends up as a lazy way to deliver exposition and/or illuminate a character’s inner life. The filmmakers’ intentions are usually good, but the experience of sitting through ill-considered narration is that the movie is talking at you, either robbing you of mysteries you would rather have uncovered for yourself or telling you things that you’ve already figured out.
This isn’t to say that narration can’t be an incredibly effective tool. In Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro’s voiceover captures the sensibility of written journal entries while emphasising his character’s isolation from the world around him. Ray Liotta’s narration in Goodfellas has the detailed snap of ‘as told to’ non-fiction, and the limited perspective of a brash hoodlum. The varied soldiers’ voices heard in The Thin Red Line steadily blur together, as if each were merely an aspect of a single organism, and Ed Norton’s narration in Fight Club both heightens the film’s satirical overtones while hiding its narrative twist in plain sight.
For much of the history of videogames, action and action adventure titles have tended towards interstitial storytelling – text, images and cutscenes that convey exposition between gameplay sequences rather than within them. One could see it as an oddity, reminiscent of the title cards in silent film. But it likely has more to do with game creators’ entirely reasonable belief that it’s hard for players to absorb and retain exposition during action sequences.
Over time, developers have become cleverer about tucking story elements into sections of gameplay that don’t demand a player’s full attention. Think of the conversations between characters sitting in a car as the player drives to their destination in Grand Theft Auto IV. The graffiti on the walls in Portal and Left 4 Dead. The ghostly flashbacks that play out before a gamer’s eyes in BioShock. The banter between Nathan Drake and his companions as he climbs from point A to point B in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The projected memories in Splinter Cell: Conviction. So while a firefight isn’t necessarily the best place to deliver exposition, moving from one place to another or exploring an environment that is devoid of enemies turn out to be excellent opportunities to do so.
Narration, on the other hand, still tends to be used sparingly during gameplay sequences in action and action adventure games. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because developers are more adept in conveying plot elements to players than they are the interior life of someone who, as often as not, is more avatar than character. But narration is more versatile than this. It can comment on the action: what the player has done, is doing or is about to do. And even though we don’t see this much in action and action adventure games, we see it all the time in sports games, where analysts and colour commentators hold forth on soccer, hockey, basketball and American football.
This is what makes Supergiant Games’ action-RPG Bastion so interesting. The game, which I saw and played for the first time at September’s Penny Arcade Expo, uses a taciturn narrator – who sounds as though he’s straight out of central casting for a western – to provide ongoing colour commentary on the player’s actions. From “He gets up,” “The Kid finds…” this or that weapon, Bastion’s ageing, gravel-voiced narrator contrasts wonderfully with the colourful worlds and somewhat childlike character designs that are reminiscent of the 16bit-era action-RPGs that inspired the team at Supergiant. And what could have easily been taken for mere homage feels more moody and mysterious, with a texture all its own.
In hindsight, it should have been obvious that voiceover narration during gameplay could be a powerful and efficient tool for delivering exposition and illuminating characters. But beyond that, as implemented in Bastion, it provides another layer of interactivity, creating a call-and-response relationship between the player’s actions and the old man’s narration. Players can choose to ignore it, or they can lean into it, testing and/or repeating certain actions to see how the narrator responds. And just as some players of Left 4 Dead will take a moment to read the graffiti in their vicinity, so too will certain players take the time to discover what words will emerge from the narrator’s mouth.
As more developers get their hands – and ears – on Bastion, it will be interesting to see how many pick up the torch. Even if they don’t go as far as Supergiant, it’s nice to know that another arrow has been added to the game creator’s quiver.
N’Gai Croal is a writer and videogame design consultant. You can follow him online at ncroal.tumblr.com, or read and follow all N'Gai's columns on his topic page.