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    Unreliable Narrator

    Concept »

    Don't believe anyone. There's more going on here than is immediately apparent.

    A new kind of narrator

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    dulmonkey

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    #1  Edited By dulmonkey

    People seem to think that narrators in games need to be exactly the same as those found in literature. Narrator differ in each form of media there found(for the most part). TV narrators don't tell you what charactors may be thinking, unlike literature. Video game narrators are used to tell the player what they should be doing. Glados in portal tells you the nature of the tests you are performing and why (for cake). I'm just throwing this out there for discussion purpses, let me know what you guys think.

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    chililili

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    #2  Edited By chililili

    Yes they are a new kind of narrator. They are radically different and must be properly defined. However since there are currently not a large group of art people going games are art and lets analytically discuss them, we're left sort of in the dark as to what a narrator entails. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time an actual discussion was being held as to what amounts to a narrator or an unreliable narrator inside a game. In other words for the moment it can be defined as we as a community decide to, but first long boring discussions must take place.

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    dulmonkey

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    #3  Edited By dulmonkey

    I think you're right about we, the community, defining what the rules of are hobby are. That's why I love the potential this site has. I don't think a discussion on what a game narrator should be defined as should be boring.  Of course, i do enjoy those types of conversations. Either way  I love to hear what you think the musts of a narrator are. I think they are a means of moving the player forward through the story. Things like the audio logs in bio and system shock are part of the narrative, but I wouldn't call them narrators per se. I would love to get a community consensus on this and then we can define this page right.


    EDIT: I agree that some of the games on the list need to be pulled. I think some people just want to contribute so badly that they stretch the concepts a little thin.

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    Oni

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    #4  Edited By Oni

    For starters, a character that is talking to the player's *character* is not necessarily a narrator. I think there has to be at least some fourth wall breakage going on.

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    chililili

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    #5  Edited By chililili
    Oni said:
    "For starters, a character that is talking to the player's *character* is not necessarily a narrator. I think there has to be at least some fourth wall breakage going on.
    "
    Yes definiteley something like another example Sarah Connor's narrations in the Terminator movies
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    dulmonkey

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    #6  Edited By dulmonkey

    Yeah, I think you guys are right. perhaps an 'unreliable guide' page would be better. That's what most of the games on this list are probably best suited in.  Take Gaz from CoD4, He tell you the player how use fire your weapon and use you're knife. It's a tutorial intended for the player, not for the charactor who is a highly trained soldier good enough to get into the SAS. I know he isn't unrealiable, but he is a guide and is addressing the player as much as the player's charactor.
    I would argue that Prince from the PoP games is a narrator though. It's not clear until the end of the game that he is speaking to someone other than you. And even if he is addressing someone else in the game, the narrative is really intended for the player.

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    chililili

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    #7  Edited By chililili
    dulmonkey said:
    "Yeah, I think you guys are right. perhaps an 'unreliable guide' page would be better. That's what most of the games on this list are probably best suited in.  Take Gaz from CoD4, He tell you the player how use fire your weapon and use you're knife. It's a tutorial intended for the player, not for the charactor who is a highly trained soldier good enough to get into the SAS. I know he isn't unrealiable, but he is a guide and is addressing the player as much as the player's charactor.
    I would argue that Prince from the PoP games is a narrator though. It's not clear until the end of the game that he is speaking to someone other than you. And even if he is addressing someone else in the game, the narrative is really intended for the player.
    "
    In many books or movies information that is discussed betweent he characters serves the audience so that they make a context and learn about the story, this is not narration.

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