ABSTRACT
Let us move away from the cultures created by games and their players, and back to the substance of the games themselves. Th is chapter explores the importance of narrative in video games. Critics, scholars, and parents alike have found many reasons to dislike and criticize video games. One argument is that the medium cannot tell a story, let alone a good story. Much prominent video game theory centers on what many perceive as an incompatibility between gaming and storytelling. Th is stands in sharp contrast, however, to the avid nine-year-old fan of Zelda , who can off er a step-by-step recitation of the adventures of Link as he travels through the land of Hyrule. So we are left with a basic question: Are video games stories?
