ABSTRACT
Let us now move away from the cultures created by games and their players, and back into the substance of the games themselves.This chapter explores the importance of narrative in video games. Critics, scholars, and parents alike have found many reasons to dislike/criticize video games. One argument is that the medium cannot tell a story; much current theory centers on what many perceive as an incompatibility between gaming and storytelling. This stands in sharp contrast, however, to the avid nine-year-old fan of Zelda, who can offer a point-by-point 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?
