In order to help me figure out how to write the plot for our game project, I've been searching steam for games under the tags 'interactive narrative,' 'adventure,' 'story-rich,' 'visual novel,' 'RPG,' 'Open World,' 'Emotional,' etc. to learn how storytelling has been done in existing video games.
The first one I played was an indie sidescroller game called A Taste of the Past.
Since it only took 30 minutes to playthrough, I suppose there wasn't too much to expect from the story. The shortness made it hard to develop much of a connection to the characters or establish much background to the conflict, lacking nuance and making the protagonist's own emotional conflict feel shallow and somewhat forced. As a result, the final reunion the whole game lead up to didn't feel all that cathartic to me, but it may just be my lack of personal relatability. That being said, it was still a heartfelt, poetic, and overall beautiful game with a message that I can definitely see why it resonates with so many people who have experienced grief and loss. Although, I did start to feel emotional during the beginning dialogue so I think perhaps the absence of the subject of conversation was a more effective way to present the theme. After all, I feel like the feeling of loss is largely about the things you'll never get to say and do, so giving her a chance to seems to defeat the purpose.
In terms of gameplay, the visual novel aspect of the game means that the story is told through the main character, Mei's conversations with other characters-- her ancestors she meets as she passes through the train cars. The interactivity is limited to minor dialogue options and short cooking minigames. I may just be stupid but the controls didn't seem very clear and I probably wouldn't have known how to simply move around (or that I had to) if I didn't have previous knowledge of computer gaming.
Resonance of the Ocean was a similarly short puzzle game where you play to match sounds playing across the ocean by making instruments out of items washed ashore. Although the storyline seemed intriguing -- communicating with the mysterious source of the sound and finding cryptic journal entries in an abandoned broken down hut in the final level -- it ends right as it gets interesting. There is never any answer to the suddenly introduced aspects of the mystery of the sound or the hut or the island nor much evidence to speculate about what they could've been hinting happened there. For this reason, I found it very unsatisfying. However, the simple gameplay mechanics of making instruments and matching pitch was fun enough in the short time it took.
Overall, I don't think these games gave me much to work with in terms of inspiration but it was very useful in figuring out how to record and edit future video game playthrough videos for longer games. Starting with free indie games was a good experience that made me excited to try more.
Other than the fact that the cost will definitely add up :,)
Similar games on my Steam wishlist (in order of game length):
Behind the Frame || 1-2 hours
Love Choice || 1-2 hours
Life is Strange Episode 1 || 2-3 hours
To The Moon || 4-5 hours
Lake || 6-8 hours
SEASON: A letter to the future || 6-10 hours
Total: 20-30 hours
Steam wishlist (in order of price):
Love Choice £1.69
To The Moon £8.50
Behind the Frame £10.99
Lake £15.99
Life is Strange (Episodes 1-5 Complete Season) £15.99
SEASON: A letter to the future £20.99
Total: £74.15
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