ABSTRACT
The games that we examined in Chapter 10 used lm-style cutscenes for communicating exposition and subtext which are difcult to convey during gameplay-when players are preoccupied with their own experiences. The case studies in the following sections include transitions from games like Journey, Minecraft, and the Grand Theft Auto series to demonstrate how emotionally rich story experiences can be orchestrated without cutscenes using the dynamic composition framework, so that interactivity remains active throughout the transition.
Case Study: Journey The story in Journey is communicated through a wordless sequence of impressions that invite players to form their own conclusions about the narrative. Suggestion is a considerably more effective method for storytelling than explicit disclosure of narrative because it engages the player-audience’s imagination and offers multiple interpretations unique to each person. The following transition from part 4 of Journey-commonly referred to as “The Descent”—demonstrates how the dynamic composition framework can be adapted to pure gameplay without resorting to cutscenes for story exposition.
