Half Life 2 (HL2), unlike a movie or a book, possesses a non-linear narrative. Movies or books (with the exception of those neat "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories), have linear narratives, that is, the story will play out in a specified way. The nature of HL2 is that of an interactive media; the game is capable of accepting my input, and allowing me to influence the narrative in a way that reflects my actions.
Comments (1)
You raise some interesting points, but did you mean ".....possesses an interactive narrative."? I do not believe that HL2 responds to my actions in a way that will change the global story, although they will affect what happens on a local level. There are many examples of books and movies that are more non-linear than video games, e.g. Italo Calvino's On a winter's night a traveler, the I Ching, Nabokov's Pale Fire, the movie Memento, et. Perhaps the video game with the most non-linear narrative is the Indigo Prohpecy.
Posted by Andy Cox | February 4, 2008 10:09 PM
Posted on February 4, 2008 22:09