From the Page to the Screen: How Storytelling Is Evolving in Digital Play
The written word is the oldest technique for preserving entertainment. Oral traditions may predate books. But without written text we would not still be reading the stories of Herakles or Gilgamesh thousands of years after they were conceived. Story telling is one of humanity’s oldest pastimes; and it remains a deeply important aspect of our lives to this day.
But digital technology has greatly affected writing as it has done to all aspects of our lives. Storytelling is much different in the era of digital play than it has ever been before. In some ways it does remain largely unchanged. Written works continue to dominate popular culture and storytellers continue to draw inspiration from the past. The modern world is not much different from the past; at least as far as entertainment is concerned.
Storytelling and Gaming
Gaming has become the breakthrough medium of the modern era. Video games are more popular than ever before. Their surge certainly makes sense when taking into account the growing capabilities of modern technology. Games look better than ever. Improvements in graphics make it possible for players to become truly immersed in the original world that the developers have crafted. More importantly games play better than ever. Clunky controls and strange glitches have been greatly reduced in the past few years.
But the new generation of gamers is interested in games as a story telling medium. Old-school classics like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog had rudimentary tales of beating the bad guys. But they never fully utilized the medium to tell a fascinating story. Today’s game developers put story first a lot of the time. Such was the case with The Last of Us; a game which has won immense accolades and has even been adapted to a successful television show.
The impact of storytelling goes beyond typical video games. Even online slot developers are now likely to infuse some rudimentary story in their titles. Anyone who wants to play online slot games here can find a slew of examples where thematic and aesthetic elements are used masterfully to convey a basic plot. This new way to tell stories is quite fascinating; and it certainly would not have been possible without developing digital technology.
Visual Novels and Episodic Adventures
Debate rages on regarding the definition of a novel. Arguments date the first novel back to the 11th century in Japan. The noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote “The Tale of Genji;” a long story detailing the life of a young prince and his adventures in the court. Others claim that the first novel would be something like “Don Quixote” by Miguel Cervantes. The comic romance follows a down-on-his-luck nobleman with his head in the clouds.
Whatever the first novel might have been; there is no denying that the form has been hugely successful. Most of the best-sellers today are novels; and the form is a lot of people’s introduction to literature. But even the novel has not gone unchanged in the digital age. Japanese game developers have managed to blend gaming and reading into a wholly new product; an interactive novel of sorts that has come to be known as a visual novel.
Visual novels are remarkably popular in Japan. Many have been adapted into highly-regarded and beloved animated series. Anime’s growing success has sparked an interest in these types of games among a western audience. Visual novels like “When the Seagulls Cry” have always had a huge fan following in Japan. Narrative and character interaction are driving forces behind these games. It is possible to alter the course of events by making decisions for the characters at key intervals. But the true joy comes from experiencing the story that you have helped to weave.
Some may come to the conclusion that visual novels are an exclusively Japanese medium. Western developers have also released visual novels in the past. The only difference is that they’ve released them under different names. Episodic adventure games have very little gameplay. They rely entirely on the story to entertain the player. There may be quick-time events or choices that the customer can make as the story progresses. These choices will certainly affect the outcome of the game; but the story itself is still front and center. Does that not sound exactly like the visual novels we described?
New Ways to Read
The digital age has managed to blend reading and gaming in a truly exciting way. But blending two mediums is not all that the digital era is good for. Thanks to cyber technology we have managed to push all sorts of entertainment forward; from literature to erotica. Just like how platforms like OnlyFans allow for independent erotic content; there are also ways that the internet has elevated independent writers to massive acclaim.
The web serial is bringing back an old-school way to engage in literature. The penny dreadfuls and pulp fiction tales of the 19th and 20th century largely relied on serialized content to get viewers invested. Independent writers are now reinventing this approach by posting their own stories on the internet. Anyone who has a passing interest in super hero or fantasy fiction has certainly heard the name Wildbow. His most notable work is “Worm;” a web serial that spans over 1,5 million words and can easily fill out the length of over twenty novels.
It is not just the new web novels and independent writings that the internet elevates. Project Gutenberg and Archive.org are organizations dedicated to bringing the classics to a modern audience. The greatest works continue to live on online; just waiting for new readers to discover them. Those interested can get acquainted with the works of Shakespeare and enjoy the poetry of Blake. Some who dare to stare at the abyss might also want to engage with the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. All the greatest works in human history are available free of charge thanks to the world wide web.
