In Ian Bogost’s article, Video Games Are Better Without Stories, the author states “I called it [Gone Home] the video-game equivalent of young-adult fiction. Hardly anything to be ashamed of, but maybe much nothing to praise, either. If the ultimate bar for meaning in games is set at teen fare, then perhaps they will remain stuck in a perpetual adolescence even if they escape the stereotypical dude-bro’s basement”. I feel that Bogost is very wrong in this statement on many different levels, such as assuming that young adult fiction is simplistic and does not offer much in the way of artistic value. Young adult fiction may have been formed as a way to transition readers from children’s books into adult literature, many of these novels feature difficult topics that people are meant to relate to. These books are very empathetic/sympathetic in nature, as they are used as tools to give children critical thinking skills, a sort of introduction to real world life and experiences that might not be ones’ own. As a second point, narratives in games should be seen as a positive experience because of that. If young adult fiction is meant to place the consumer into a state of empathy and/or sympathy, isn’t that the main goal of playing as a character in a video game? If a game aims to place you in an alternate world, then wouldn’t the ultimate goal be the empathy displayed in young adult narrative?

One game narrative that I find most compelling is Night in the Woods (Finji,2017). In the game you play as a 20-year-old cat girl named Mae Borowski as she uncovers the dark secrets behind the small town that she lives in. I find it compelling because so much of the narrative is something that I have experienced before myself. Night in the Woods is a very melancholic, depressing, and yet hopeful vision of small town America from the viewpoint of the younger generations. It borders on the edge of a coming of age story, but isn’t quite that, and it’s drenched in the feeling that living in a rural area gives you. Mae comes back to town after dropping out of college, only to find out that some of her favorite places are closed and the town has changed in small ways. Her friends have gotten jobs and moved on in life, and she has to come back to everyone’s disappointment after they find out that she dropped out. The town in general feels very cut off from the rest of the world, being separated by a bridge in and out of town. The town council consisting of the older generation goes around town every day to brainstorm ideas to make the town bigger, and to make the younger generation want to stay. The narrative of Night in the Woods is that of a small community that is slowly falling apart, but no one really wanting to admit it. And to me, as someone who has lived in such a community, I really empathize with this narrative. The experience of playing this game felt more real to me than most games simply because I could identify with the narrative. Night in the Woods is greater than just a simple sidescroller adventure game because of the narrative, and the immersion I achieved from that and the empathy that I had received, embedded in the characters and in the town, is something that deserves praise.

Works Cited

Bogost, Ian. “Video Games Are Better Without Stories.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 25 Apr. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/video-games-stories/524148/.

Night in the Woods, Finji, 2017.