REACTIVE GAMES AS AN EXAMPLE OF EXTENSIVE USE OF EVOCATIVE NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN DIGITAL GAMES: THE CASES OF DWARF FORTRESS AND RIMWORLD

Abstract

There are many types of digital games – some focus more on new gameplay mechanics while others focus more on new ways to tell and deliver their stories. Some games, in their goal of creating more engaging narratives, push the environmental storytelling and evocative narrative elements to their limits, allowing for a unique emergent narrative experience for players. Consequently, players now recognize a specific type of game, calling them, “reactive games”, in which the events and story of the gameworld occur without the need for the input of the player, who instead must react to the events and problems the game sends their way. This article presents two examples of reactive games which create a unique gameplay experience by exploiting the limits of environmental storytelling, evocative narrative elements, and emergent narrative: Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld

Keywords

• environmental storytelling
• evocative narrative elements
• emergent narrative
• reactive games
• gameworld