Have you ever wondered why some stories seem unintelligible or full of holes when read in a literal way?
One of my favourite examples of this is Five Nights at Freddy’s Sister Location. As a game, the story is full of strange and bizarre moments and seemingly random narrative beats. There is barely a plot in a traditional sense and it features the animatronics in a sporadic way. For most who played/watched, they came out of the experience scratching their head, wondering what Scott Cawthorn was aiming to ‘say’.
I believe the reason for this is that not every story is designed to be read in the traditional way. Some stories are instead designed to be read through different lenses, necessitating different forms of analysis to truly brace their meaning. This is especially so for video games, where good storytelling is still being perfected without relying on in-world notes.
This is a growing trend in game storytelling due to lack of ability to insert traditional storytelling (think the notes or audio tapes in Bioshock) or character development. This may include use of symbolism or allegory to explore themes or ideas.
Here are some lesser-known techniques I have picked up on in games and beyond.
Intertextuality -
This is where a creative work references another creative work within the body of the narrative. By doing this, the referenced work enhances the main narrative of a creative work by giving additional thematic or plot details. This is different to simple references designed to titillate or amuse - with the reference ‘telling you’ something meaningful through their inclusion. For example, a story about a survivor on an alien planet may reference something from the film The Martian (where a man is left alone to survive on Mars) or Red Dwarf (where the last human travels with a band of misfits). Likewise, a work may reference ‘the cake is a lie’ saying from Portal in their lore for cake in the newer story. Not knowing the reference does not damage understanding of the core narrative but knowing said reference greatly enhances it.
I believe this is a blossoming form of storytelling and one that Five Nights at Freddy’s has always embraced. Another more obvious example is my own work Into the Rabbitverse where intertextuality is key to getting the most out of the story.
Metaphorically -
Rather than literal, some stories are designed to be perceived through a lense of metaphor. This uses symbols and concepts to tell a story - such as those in the Universal Metaverse - as opposed to facts, dates and character development in a traditional sense.
This is something Security Breach and Ruin does in spades.
Environmental/character design storytelling -
In a primarily visual medium like video games, it is actually what you can see and hear that often ‘tells’ the biggest story. This is something games like Poppy Playtime and Bioshock has nailed, creating immersive environments and character designs with small details that create a narrative without uttering a single word. One key area often used for this is in the character designs themselves, where colour and symbolism is often combined to create associations and ideas that enhance a story.
Game design -
Similar to environmental storytelling, the way a game ‘plays’ can also be used to tell a story without explicit narratives. This can be in any way from the energy management and save system to game mechanics and plot approach. A great example of this is The Stanley Parable which cleverly has the player start in the same place and varies the game and plot style depending on the choices you make. Similarly, Bendy and the Ink Machine shows our player character finishing the final task and looping back to the beginning of the game. Players might think there is no new content to be found but the inclusion of a tool to help you see hidden messages reveals further lore, helping you to perceive the story differently on the second playthrough.
Meta storytelling -
This is a lesser-used technique but it is still relevant to game storytelling. Meta works break the fourth wall - creating a work that is self aware and plays with player expectations. This may include involving the player (either as a real life entity or as a concept) as a key figure in some way - something The Stanley Parable employs beautifully. This can overlap with intertextual or Stand-in techniques, requiring the player to hold particular knowledge to ‘decode’ the story.
Stand-in/Story parallel method -
Now this is an approach that uniquely embodies elements of all the techniques above while introducing an additional layer: the narrative mirrors a real life story or scenario in a fictionalised way. For example, the simplest and most explicit way of doing this is by having characters represent real life people. The level of fictionalisation may vary but in some way, these characters then reflect and mirror character dynamics, events and themes in a way that someone with knowledge of the real scenario may be able to identify. However, these stories often combine this with metaphor, meaning the final plot may only hold a very passing resemblance to the original scenario or story. For example, a real world story about a friend group may transform into a romantic supernatural saga or a comedy featuring zany cartoon characters.
Using these techniques, games and other media can essentially tell multiple stories depending on the ‘lense’ it is read through. For example, there may be a literal reading, a metaphorical/allegorical reading and a stand-in reading providing very different plots for analysis. However, going even further, a very cleverly designed game may storytell in such a precise way that the meaning is different depending on the knowledge and experiences of each player/viewer, transforming an ‘unintelligible’ plot into a clearly readable one. This is something the FNAF movie does in spades, working on totally different levels for a new, casual, hardcore and an influencer fan.
I hope this list of alternative non-linear storytelling techniques help others to get the most out of media. Once you see it you can’t unsee it. Happy exploring!
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