I am writing this in August 1, 2008. As of the writing of this post this page is completely and absolutely wrong in its game list and its description. The writer of this page is in fact completely oblivious as to what a narrator is. So I have written this post to serve as a guideline. It will be a long post and it will be a very complex post. If you do not wish to read it nor the article's description as to what an unreliable narrator is (after I edit it, right now it is colossally wrong), please refrain from adding a game. I will do my best to keep this article as simple as possible as someone without an education in literature may be able to grasp. I also tried to make this post as spoiler free as possible: most unreliable narrators you see here are quite obviously unreliable at the beginning of the movie or story.

Now to begin:

What is a narrator?

Narrators in Literature

Narrators in Movies

Narrators in Games

What is an unreliable Narrator?

U.N.s in Literature

U.N.s in Movies

U.N.s in Games

What are not unreliable Narrators

*SPOILERS*

Feel free to discuss what qualifies as an unreliable narrator here. I mean I do enjoy discussing games as art and I would like to see someone apply literary terms and analyze a game.

Here's my two cents on this matter, because I, like Jeff, feel this is an interesting concept and a valuable page.

In literature, a "narrator" is a character through which the events of the story are experienced. For example, Jack Ryan is a narrator in Hunt for Red October, as is Captain Ramius. They are telling you the story through their thoughts and experiences.

In film, a "narrator" is a voice outside the events of the story that provides additional insight (usually from a certain character's perspective) on what is being shown on the screen.

Note how these two definitions are radically different. We can see that what a narrator does is dependent upon the medium through which the story is being told. What a "narrator" is in a video game is necessarily different from either of the two above definitions.

In video games, a "narrator" is a source of information that the player must trust to gain understanding of the events or mechanics of the game. Obviously, the player needs to trust what he or she experiences through the player character unless informed otherwise (if the player character has been hypnotized, for instance, the player knows that what they are experiencing through the player character is untrustworthy, so should not really be included in this article, I feel), so the player character is one of the game's narrators. Also, any character that provides vital information to the player (usually by providing it to the player character) that the player must trust to advance in the game is a narrator.

In BioShock, for instance, both Atlas and (to a much lesser degree) Dr. Tennenbaum provide necessary information to the player character on the mechanics and the context of the game, they are both narrators.

In Portal, instruction on how to proceed through the game, and the context for everything the player experiences, is provided by GLaDOS. It (she?) too, is a narrator.

In Crackdown, the player receives context on the game world, instruction on game mechanics, and information on in-game missions from The Director. He is a narrator.

Before I wrote this post, I had a negative reaction to the idea of Al-Mualim as a narrator of Assassin's Creed, but on actually articulating this definition, I see that because he provides the game's objectives and is the main source of context for the story (at least for the 1191 portion), he does indeed fit it. Lucy and Vidic are also lesser narrators of the modern-day portion of the game.

In summary, a narrator in a video game is anyone who answers any of these three questions: How do I navigate/manipulate the game world? What objective do I need to fulfill to complete the game? What the hell is going on around here, anyway? The more questions a character answers, and the more often that character does so, the more of a narrator that character is.

The narrator isn't a narrator by textbook definition. It can be anyone who relays information to you on a regular basis throughout the game. This qualifies people like Atlas from Bioshock and Doyle from Far Cry.

"Unreliable Narrators are not unreliable characters nor characters whose personalities or identities are shown to be different in a plot twist."

I disagree. Again, you should not take the term "unreliable" at face value - it means anyone who is giving you information that is often incorrect, or hiding information, as the "plot twist" narrators such as the aforementioned have done.

There was a movie with Jim Carey in it that had an unreliable narrator. I have no idea what it was called...but yeah. There's one.

"There was a movie with Jim Carey in it that had an unreliable narrator. I have no idea what it was called...but yeah. There's one.
"

"Here's my two cents on this matter, because I, like Jeff, feel this is an interesting concept and a valuable page.

In literature, a "narrator" is a character through which the events of the story are experienced. For example, Jack Ryan is a narrator in Hunt for Red October, as is Captain Ramius. They are telling you the story through their thoughts and experiences.

In film, a "narrator" is a voice outside the events of the story that provides additional insight (usually from a certain character's perspective) on what is being shown on the screen.

Note how these two definitions are radically different. We can see that what a narrator does is dependent upon the medium through which the story is being told. What a "narrator" is in a video game is necessarily different from either of the two above definitions.

In video games, a "narrator" is a source of information that the player must trust to gain understanding of the events or mechanics of the game. Obviously, the player needs to trust what he or she experiences through the player character unless informed otherwise (if the player character has been hypnotized, for instance, the player knows that what they are experiencing through the player character is untrustworthy, so should not really be included in this article, I feel), so the player character is one of the game's narrators. Also, any character that provides vital information to the player (usually by providing it to the player character) that the player must trust to advance in the game is a narrator.

In BioShock, for instance, both Atlas and (to a much lesser degree) Dr. Tennenbaum provide necessary information to the player character on the mechanics and the context of the game, they are both narrators.

In Portal, instruction on how to proceed through the game, and the context for everything the player experiences, is provided by GLaDOS. It (she?) too, is a narrator.

In Crackdown, the player receives context on the game world, instruction on game mechanics, and information on in-game missions from The Director. He is a narrator.

Before I wrote this post, I had a negative reaction to the idea of Al-Mualim as a narrator of Assassin's Creed, but on actually articulating this definition, I see that because he provides the game's objectives and is the main source of context for the story (at least for the 1191 portion), he does indeed fit it. Lucy and Vidic are also lesser narrators of the modern-day portion of the game.

In summary, a narrator in a video game is anyone who answers any of these three questions: How do I navigate/manipulate the game world? What objective do I need to fulfill to complete the game? What the hell is going on around here, anyway? The more questions a character answers, and the more often that character does so, the more of a narrator that character is.
"

Key characteristic of a Narrator

Narrator = Morgan Freeman
/Thread

"Narrator = Morgan Freeman
/Thread
"

Excellent post and responses - interesting topic.

I think the definition of 'narrator' that many are suggesting here renders the word utterly meaningless. If any character who gives out information or instruction to the protagonist is a narrator, then you could make a case for most if not all in-game characters being narrators. This is neither true, or useful for this concept page.

I think the distinction that must be drawn is the same one that is drawn in literature or film - it seems well-established and totally consistent in my opinion. The narrator tells the story to the audience, and has a distinctly different role from the characters within the story. The narrator is the person who says 'Once Upon A Time...'. Atlas, in any sense of the description of a narrator that you could find anywhere, is NOT a narrator - he is an ally you find in Rapture who supplies you with practical directions. GlaDOS is not either - she is your boss, guiding you through a fictional training process. Neither are aware that their dialogue is being used to frame a fictional story - they are characters in a story, and in no sense narrators. They are no more narrators than an NPC who tells you where the Pokemon gym is.

It amazes me that GLaDOS is not on here yet.

While it might not fit in line with your specific definition of a narrator, taking the strictest definition of "narrator" as "someone who tells a story," she at least fits in with the spirit of the role.  She might not break the fourth wall in guiding you, the actual player, through the story of Portal, but she definitely does it through association through your character.  She is the only character in the game who has a speaking role, she verbally guides you through each of the levels whilst concocting a story that your character (and you, by association) are lead to believe as true, which ultimately ties into an eventual untold plot to murder your character at the end of the game.

She's the damn prototype of "Unreliable Narrator" if there ever was one.

It just seems like you guys are being stubborn for no true, substantial reason here.  I could've sworn she would be one of the first additions and mainstays to the page.  I find it ridiculous that she still isn't on there.

Consider this my vouch for her permanent inclusion.

"It amazes me that GLaDOS is not on here yet.

While it might not fit in line with your specific definition of a narrator, taking the strictest definition of "narrator" as "someone who tells a story," she at least fits in with the spirit of the role.  She might not break the fourth wall in guiding you, the actual player, through the story of Portal, but she definitely does it through association through your character.  She is the only character in the game who has a speaking role, she verbally guides you through each of the levels whilst concocting a story that your character (and you, by association) are lead to believe as true, which ultimately ties into an eventual untold plot to murder your character at the end of the game.

She's the damn prototype of "Unreliable Narrator" if there ever was one.

It just seems like you guys are being stubborn for no true, substantial reason here.  I could've sworn she would be one of the first additions and mainstays to the page.  I find it ridiculous that she still isn't on there.

Consider this my vouch for her permanent inclusion.
"

"Excellent post and responses - interesting topic.

I think the definition of 'narrator' that many are suggesting here renders the word utterly meaningless. If any character who gives out information or instruction to the protagonist is a narrator, then you could make a case for most if not all in-game characters being narrators. This is neither true, or useful for this concept page.

I think the distinction that must be drawn is the same one that is drawn in literature or film - it seems well-established and totally consistent in my opinion. The narrator tells the story to the audience, and has a distinctly different role from the characters within the story. The narrator is the person who says 'Once Upon A Time...'. Atlas, in any sense of the description of a narrator that you could find anywhere, is NOT a narrator - he is an ally you find in Rapture who supplies you with practical directions. GlaDOS is not either - she is your boss, guiding you through a fictional training process. Neither are aware that their dialogue is being used to frame a fictional story - they are characters in a story, and in no sense narrators. They are no more narrators than an NPC who tells you where the Pokemon gym is.
"

"Alex_V said:

"Excellent post and responses - interesting topic.

I think the definition of 'narrator' that many are suggesting here renders the word utterly meaningless. If any character who gives out information or instruction to the protagonist is a narrator, then you could make a case for most if not all in-game characters being narrators. This is neither true, or useful for this concept page.

I think the distinction that must be drawn is the same one that is drawn in literature or film - it seems well-established and totally consistent in my opinion. The narrator tells the story to the audience, and has a distinctly different role from the characters within the story. The narrator is the person who says 'Once Upon A Time...'. Atlas, in any sense of the description of a narrator that you could find anywhere, is NOT a narrator - he is an ally you find in Rapture who supplies you with practical directions. GlaDOS is not either - she is your boss, guiding you through a fictional training process. Neither are aware that their dialogue is being used to frame a fictional story - they are characters in a story, and in no sense narrators. They are no more narrators than an NPC who tells you where the Pokemon gym is.
"

This is absolutely correct.  On another note, is Jackie from The Darkness a technically a narrator?  In pre-level cut scenes, he relays information directly to the audience, but then takes part in the actual story as well."

"It amazes me that GLaDOS is not on here yet.

While it might not fit in line with your specific definition of a narrator, taking the strictest definition of "narrator" as "someone who tells a story," she at least fits in with the spirit of the role.  She might not break the fourth wall in guiding you, the actual player, through the story of Portal, but she definitely does it through association through your character.  She is the only character in the game who has a speaking role, she verbally guides you through each of the levels whilst concocting a story that your character (and you, by association) are lead to believe as true, which ultimately ties into an eventual untold plot to murder your character at the end of the game.

She's the damn prototype of "Unreliable Narrator" if there ever was one.

It just seems like you guys are being stubborn for no true, substantial reason here.  I could've sworn she would be one of the first additions and mainstays to the page.  I find it ridiculous that she still isn't on there.

Consider this my vouch for her permanent inclusion.
"

The problem obviously stems from the fact that unlike normal literature, games usually don't have a straight up narrator. In many games, the non-playable characters provide us with most the background stories and directions and lead us in our adventures. Most of the information received is from NPCs, thus in a sense, they are serving the purpose of a narrator inside the game. I think by this extension, they can be classified as unreliable narrators.

Just my half drunken/sleepy head induced 2 cents.

I think many people on here are being too pedantic about the meaning of narrator. 99.99% of games do not have a true narrator. But for the context of a video game, the definition should be stretched to include any character that reveals vital information about the story.

That said, GladOS is an unreliable narrator.

first off, Hunt for Red October was not narrated by Jack Ryan or Ramius. It was a third person narrative. second off, here is dictionary.com's definition of a narrator:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narrator

Even if we stretch those definitions, Glados is a guide and little else. Atlus is a guide also. Most of the narrative meat in Bioshock comes from the audio logs, those if anything are the real narrators in that game. They tell you a story, not tell tell you what you should be doing.  I do agree that game narrators need a different  criteria than literary and movie ones, but I don't think completely throwing out those criteria is the answer. especially when its becaase people just want to add a game to a page on GiantBomb.


I like this concept page, but I do think its gotten out of control

"first off, Hunt for Red October was not narrated by Jack Ryan or Ramius. It was a third person narrative. second off, here is dictionary.com's definition of a narrator:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narrator

Even if we stretch those definitions, Glados is a guide and little else. Atlus is a guide also. Most of the narrative meat in Bioshock comes from the audio logs, those if anything are the real narrators in that game. They tell you a story, not tell tell you what you should be doing.  I do agree that game narrators need a different  criteria than literary and movie ones, but I don't think completely throwing out those criteria is the answer. especially when its becaase people just want to add a game to a page on GiantBomb.


I like this concept page, but I do think its gotten out of control
"

If it makes you feel better, most pages are going out of control as people just spam games and images into them for points.

I have to respectfully disagree with some of the comments. The suggestion is that the concept of a narrator, established through storytelling over thousands of years, should somehow be changed for videogames? Firstly this simply shouldn't be allowed as there is no criteria for such a change, and secondly even if it was changed it would never be accepted by the world as a whole - you would just have this small corner of it working to a totally screwy agenda.

Killjoy rightly points out that games do work very differently to some other art forms, but I don't think that is a good reason for changing the criteria by which a narrator is identified. It may justify the invention of new terms to describe certain game-specific elements. But I don't think that even applies here - I don't think Atlas or GlaDOS are any revolutionary concepts in art, they are characters in a fictional world. It's as simple as that really.

xruntime says "Atlas has revealed much of the background of the world of Rapture - he is indeed telling a story." but that is 100% wrong. Atlas at no point believes that he is telling a story, and the background to rapture is built through other audio logs, signs and other visual stimuli, just as much as the audio messages Atlas provides. He is no more a narrator than one of the signs on the wall. A lot of exposition is carried through the audio messages he provides, but that is quite simply not narrating.

As Dulmonkey indicates, there is actually no real argument over what is or is not a narrator. It is not a difficult concept to grasp.

The question is only what to do with characters indicated in this concept that are in reality not narrators. Is there a concept that could include GlaDOS and Atlas without altering the English language to describe them? Unreliable Characters? Characters that betray you? Ambiguous characters? Plot twists in games? In classical storytelling terms of the likes identified by Joseph Campbell and others, GlaDOS and Atlas are a mixture of very well-established archetypes. They are tricksters, and have some functions of mentor figures. GlaDOS's ambiguous nature ties in very closely with the Shapeshifter archetype - in a way I think she/it is a close relative of the Femme Fatale in Film Noir - the mysterious character whose intentions are unknown.

Alex, I think you are wrong in the perception that we are trying to bend the definition of an unreliable narrator to fit our image.

This actually doesn't fit exactly with my last justification (probably because I was functioning with half a brain then) but the term "unreliable narrator" is described as a literary tool where the person conveying important information is untrustworthy. I want to sound harsh but you are taking the term too literally and missing the point. I'm not saying all unreliable characters are unreliable narrators, only the ones who you actually depend on for valuable information and the ones who dictate what you do next in the game.

EDIT: This is kind of funny/weird. This thread is the 5th result on google for the term "unreliable narrator".In a way, this page could actually be used as a reference for other people fighting over the internet about the same term.

This is why i think this needs to be a 'unreliable guide' page. these are people who you usually trust to guide us through games properly, not try to kill us half way through.  The concept is more or less sound, its just the narrator part that gets everyone riled up. Is it possible to create that new page and keep this one with an explanation of the difference.

"Alex, I think you are wrong in the perception that we are trying to bend the definition of an unreliable narrator to fit our image.

This actually doesn't fit exactly with my last justification (probably because I was functioning with half a brain then) but the term "unreliable narrator" is described as a literary tool where the person conveying important information is untrustworthy. I want to sound harsh but you are taking the term too literally and missing the point. I'm not saying all unreliable characters are unreliable narrators, only the ones who you actually depend on for valuable information and the ones who dictate what you do next in the game.

EDIT: This is kind of funny/weird. This thread is the 5th result on google for the term "unreliable narrator".In a way, this page could actually be used as a reference for other people fighting over the internet about the same term.
"

"Killjoy said:

"Alex, I think you are wrong in the perception that we are trying to bend the definition of an unreliable narrator to fit our image.

This actually doesn't fit exactly with my last justification (probably because I was functioning with half a brain then) but the term "unreliable narrator" is described as a literary tool where the person conveying important information is untrustworthy. I want to sound harsh but you are taking the term too literally and missing the point. I'm not saying all unreliable characters are unreliable narrators, only the ones who you actually depend on for valuable information and the ones who dictate what you do next in the game.

EDIT: This is kind of funny/weird. This thread is the 5th result on google for the term "unreliable narrator".In a way, this page could actually be used as a reference for other people fighting over the internet about the same term.
"

I don't really know where that definition of a narrator comes from - it is in conflict with any previous definition of the word that I can find. I think it is also unworkable and subjective - people will claim that Alyx (HL2 etc) is a narrator, or that the trade adviser in Civ is a narrator, or that your clan leader in a Counter-Strike match could be a narrator.

If we take the simplest definition of a narrator ('the teller of a story') then Alyx or the trade adviser or the clan leader are clearly not narrators - we are onto something then. Neither is GlaDOS - give me one line from Portal in which she is telling us 'the story' of the game. She may instruct us what the next test entails, but that is entirely in-keeping with her character as the controller of the tests.

I think the confusion here based on a few misconceptions. There is the misconception that an off-screen voice equals narration - it does not. Perhaps there is also a confusion between a 'narrator' and a 'narrative device' - two different concepts. GlaDOS and Atlas are clearly used as narrative devices but are not narrators. I think there is also a slight confusion between the idea of 'exposition' in dramatic terms, and narration - narration contains exposition, but most exposition is not narration. Characters that provide useful information are not necessarily narrators.

Is Gollum an unreliable narrator in The Lord Of The Rings? He provides information, and leads Frodo along a path, 'dictating' at least part of the story. But surely we agree that he is not a narrator. Now put Gollum in a video game, have him communicate with Frodo/us by radio rather than in person - now does he now magically become a narrator? He does not.

I agree with dulmonkey - if the intention here is to make a space for major characters / mentor figures in games who betray us, then unreliable guide sums up the phenomena perfectly. If the intention is for the concept to concern narrators specifically, then those game characters that are clearly not narrators should be removed. And with either of those changes enacted, the concept will be fine.

I favour changing the name of this concept to 'unreliable guide'. I would also support the idea of having a seperate concept of 'narrators in games' to cover the remarkably few games that actually have a voiced narrator. I think it would have to be made clear that the narrators listed are voice-only - if you start getting into text narration it's a whole different can of worms entirely.
"

"I agree with you but Gollum IS a narrator (but a reliable narrator), he narrates the beginning of the Return of the King. I will keep on taking out those characters and games which we all obviously agree are not unreliable anrators, someone keeps posting GladOs and Atlas
"

I added Atlas. And I will keep on doing so until an official definition of unreliable narrator is established and agreed upon.

Right now, as the wiki description states, both Atlas and GladOS qualify.

Check out Penny Arcade, that has a bona fide narrator and he's pretty unreliable!

"Check out Penny Arcade, that has a bona fide narrator and he's pretty unreliable!"

I'm personally gonna count any instructor or disembodied voice as a "narrator".

"I'm personally gonna count any instructor or disembodied voice as a "narrator"."

Aw fuck. Someone reverted the article to the way it previously was and not only that they deleted a part that some guy had added about a technically unreliable narrator which I actually thought to be very interesting and correct. nice one taking away people's work before discussing it here.

who the hell made chililili the current narrator expert? If giant bomb want GLaDoS as a freaking narrator then we can have it as a narrator,

this isn't Wikipedia, this is GB

AMIRITE?

yeah, that sucks. I don't understand why some people are being so obstinate on this issue. And it's not like they are making any sort of attempt to explain, it's all just 'I think Atlas is a narrator, and that's the end of it' comments. Help us out here guys. I'm up for redefining narrators in games, but there needs to be a good reason for it.

because if we go by the exact book definition of narrator, then every single character you control is a narrator because they are telling you their stories through their eyes. So Gordon Freeman would be a narrator, Master chief, so on and so forth...

"who the hell made chililili the current narrator expert? If giant bomb want GLaDoS as a freaking narrator then we can have it as a narrator,

this isn't Wikipedia, this is GB

AMIRITE?"

"because if we go by the exact book definition of narrator, then every single character you control is a narrator because they are telling you their stories through their eyes. So Gordon Freeman would be a narrator, Master chief, so on and so forth..."

"because if we go by the exact book definition of narrator, then every single character you control is a narrator because they are telling you their stories through their eyes. So Gordon Freeman would be a narrator, Master chief, so on and so forth..."

I don't think that the narrator from Fight Club is an unreliable narrator, for he is not aware that he's lying. He believes what he says, and therefore not unreliable, but incorrect.

"who the hell made chililili the current narrator expert? If giant bomb want GLaDoS as a freaking narrator then we can have it as a narrator,

this isn't Wikipedia, this is GB

AMIRITE?"

"Luchadeer said:

"who the hell made chililili the current narrator expert? If giant bomb want GLaDoS as a freaking narrator then we can have it as a narrator,

this isn't Wikipedia, this is GB

AMIRITE?"

Yeah, seriously. Chilli, I don't mean to be hostile - but you're talking as if your word is the law. And it's not. We're all equals here.

Seeing that the concept page's definition was originally broad, I think it should stay that way. Plus, it's not that much of a stretch to apply the unreliable narrator concept to these characters that you're so vehemently rejecting."

"I don't think that the narrator from Fight Club is an unreliable narrator, for he is not aware that he's lying. He believes what he says, and therefore not unreliable, but incorrect."

I'll put this up again:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narrator

I have submitted an unreliable guide page to the GB for approval, if that goes up you can put all the people on this page over there and we can all be happy.

"VilhelmNielsen said:

"I don't think that the narrator from Fight Club is an unreliable narrator, for he is not aware that he's lying. He believes what he says, and therefore not unreliable, but incorrect."

He is an unreliable narrator (he cannot distinguish well between fantasy and reality) Unreliable narrators do not have to be aware they are unreliable, nor aware they are lying. They can be mentally retarded, or have shoddy narration due to drug abuse. (Guy Pearce from Memento is extremely similar in this, but what makes him especially is the fact that he lies to himself) He is basically unreliable because he is not telling the story as it is happening exactly, he is not fully aware of reality and cannot be trusted. I have seen and discussed many narrators such as this, I think the first one I saw this concept (unreliable narrator) was in a short story called Macario (It is about a retarded peasant narrated in firstperson) if anyone wants to read it. You will most likely need to find a translation though. It is similar to Forrest Gump in its writing but Forrest Gump, (as far as I can recollect) does suffer major unreliabilty issues (as he narrates the novel and says so in the beginning he is aware of what is happening at all times and is in fact very knowledgeable, but he ahs a problem organizing his ideas and talking or putting htem on paper)."

you know what, I quit, ill go back to fixing spelling errors and such.... this is pointless

"chililili said:

"VilhelmNielsen said:

"I don't think that the narrator from Fight Club is an unreliable narrator, for he is not aware that he's lying. He believes what he says, and therefore not unreliable, but incorrect."

He is an unreliable narrator (he cannot distinguish well between fantasy and reality) Unreliable narrators do not have to be aware they are unreliable, nor aware they are lying. They can be mentally retarded, or have shoddy narration due to drug abuse. (Guy Pearce from Memento is extremely similar in this, but what makes him especially is the fact that he lies to himself) He is basically unreliable because he is not telling the story as it is happening exactly, he is not fully aware of reality and cannot be trusted. I have seen and discussed many narrators such as this, I think the first one I saw this concept (unreliable narrator) was in a short story called Macario (It is about a retarded peasant narrated in firstperson) if anyone wants to read it. You will most likely need to find a translation though. It is similar to Forrest Gump in its writing but Forrest Gump, (as far as I can recollect) does suffer major unreliabilty issues (as he narrates the novel and says so in the beginning he is aware of what is happening at all times and is in fact very knowledgeable, but he ahs a problem organizing his ideas and talking or putting htem on paper)."

Well couldn't any narrator then be unreliable? Everyone tells stories, the way they want them to be, but sometimes they get caught or reveal that they were lying."

Well I'm going to take exception to your disapproval of Atlas here, and hopefully provide a bit of evidence to back me up.

Altas does not narrate Bioshock. I agree with you on this. He does not tell the players story. However, he is narrating to Jack, the player. Atlas narrates his personal story, and the story of Rapture to you, over the radio by describing what has happened in Ryan's ruined metropolis. He is narrating a secondary story within the overarching story of the game. He is obviously deceptive about Rapture's history and his own history, which is obviously unreliable.

Here are some examples from the radio transmissions he sends during the game:
_______
12. Atlas - Overdoing plasmids

Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds. We
couldn't handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled
in cribs. The whole city went to hell.
______
That's an obvious example of Atlas acting as a narrator for the story of Rapture, although that snippet does happen to be reliable (probably).
______
01. Atlas - Andrew Ryan's company

Now you've had the pleasure of Andrew Ryan's company. He's the one who built
this place, and he's the one who run it into the ground. Nobody knows
exactly what happened. Maybe he went mad. Maybe the power got to him. Maybe
he decided he just didn't like people. Whichever way you slice it, good men
died.

Me family's in a submarine hidden in the foundation of Fontaine Fisheries.
I'll meet you there.
______
More of him narrating and being deceptive about his own past
______
Me wife, Moira -- she's a right pain in the neck. But she's a beauty and
she means the world to me. I can't help but feel God's punishing me for
bringing her and Patrick to this place. I thought this would be a better
life for us. Can you imagine a bigger fool than that?
______
More examples.

Props to the dudes over on the 2K forums for apparently archiving EVERY SINGLE RADIO TRANSCRIPT IN THE WHOLE GAME. That's some amazing work.

Anyways, I believe Atlas acts as a narrator to a story within a story: His tale and Rapture's tale within the overall structure of Bioshock. Atlas does not narrate the game, I agree. But he does act as a narrator, and the story he narrates is made up of LIES. That's why I think he should be linked. Feel free to provide a counter-argument.

In my opinion, you can boil it down to this:

1. Atlas is a character in a videogame
2. Atlas narrates a story within that videogame (His personal story, and some snippets of Rapture's story)
3. He narrates that story unreliably
4. He should be linked to this page.

"Well I'm going to take exception to your disapproval of Atlas here, and hopefully provide a bit of evidence to back me up.

Altas does not narrate Bioshock. I agree with you on this. He does not tell the players story. However, he is narrating to Jack, the player. Atlas narrates his personal story, and the story of Rapture to you, over the radio by describing what has happened in Ryan's ruined metropolis. He is narrating a secondary story within the overarching story of the game. He is obviously deceptive about Rapture's history and his own history, which is obviously unreliable.

Here are some examples from the radio transmissions he sends during the game:
_______
12. Atlas - Overdoing plasmids

Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds. We
couldn't handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled
in cribs. The whole city went to hell.
______
That's an obvious example of Atlas acting as a narrator for the story of Rapture, although that snippet does happen to be reliable (probably).
______
01. Atlas - Andrew Ryan's company

Now you've had the pleasure of Andrew Ryan's company. He's the one who built
this place, and he's the one who run it into the ground. Nobody knows
exactly what happened. Maybe he went mad. Maybe the power got to him. Maybe
he decided he just didn't like people. Whichever way you slice it, good men
died.

Me family's in a submarine hidden in the foundation of Fontaine Fisheries.
I'll meet you there.
______
More of him narrating and being deceptive about his own past
______
Me wife, Moira -- she's a right pain in the neck. But she's a beauty and
she means the world to me. I can't help but feel God's punishing me for
bringing her and Patrick to this place. I thought this would be a better
life for us. Can you imagine a bigger fool than that?
______
More examples.

Props to the dudes over on the 2K forums for apparently archiving EVERY SINGLE RADIO TRANSCRIPT IN THE WHOLE GAME. That's some amazing work.

Anyways, I believe Atlas acts as a narrator to a story within a story: His tale and Rapture's tale within the overall structure of Bioshock. Atlas does not narrate the game, I agree. But he does act as a narrator, and the story he narrates is made up of LIES. That's why I think he should be linked. Feel free to provide a counter-argument.

In my opinion, you can boil it down to this:

1. Atlas is a character in a videogame
2. Atlas narrates a story within that videogame (His personal story, and some snippets of Rapture's story)
3. He narrates that story unreliably
4. He should be linked to this page.

Discuss."

"Lies said:

In my opinion, you can boil it down to this:

1. Atlas is a character in a videogame
2. Atlas narrates a story within that videogame (His personal story, and some snippets of Rapture's story)
3. He narrates that story unreliably
4. He should be linked to this page.

Discuss."

Now obviously this story within a story is much better when seen in movies or written by someone else, it in fact gets pretty damn confusing when you get these sort of digressions in long novels or stories that have many layers. Now this short story has three layers: The main story, the story of Joe, and the story of the elephant. The story of the elephant exists inside the story of Joe and the story of Joe exists inside the main story. Neither Joe nor the elephant are narrators, the story is quite clearly beng narrated by a third person narrator, and the story of Joe and the elephant are taken from dialogue in between characters and is not narration for the reader. This is the way it appears in the games that you mentioned and that is why he is not a narrator, for you see they are discussing it within characters. In fact if you've ever read Dracula, it is a novel with a narrator that only appears in the first lines, the entire novel is a conpendium of letters written in between the characters, and personal diaries and such. There is in fact a term for this but it currently escapes me and even if I remembered it I probably could not trasnlate it to english. Frankenstein is also like this there are a couple of layers to Frankenstein it starts with a third person narrator, then moves to a captain's log, then he finds Frankenstein and writes the story which you read, then when Frankenstein meets his monster in the mountains, the monster tells Frankenstein for like 100 pages what he did when he was alone, then it returns to the story of the doctor, and then finally back to the captain's log. Frankenstein, the captain, and the monster are not narrators in these novel even thoguh they speak and tell their story for quite a few pages (I think the narrator is almost completely absent from the book), they are characters.

"

Explain to me how Atlas does not fit that bill."

"Wall-o-text so I cut it down to the important part.

But the things is, Frankenstein and the monster are narrators. Perhaps not the ULTIMATE narrator of the story (Of which, there really is not one, since the first "Russian doll" is actually a letter), but they are still narrators nonetheless. They narrate their personal stories, same as Atlas. By definition of the word, narrator is: "someone who tells a story". Atlas, Frankenstein, and his monster all fit that criteria. The definition of narrator does not mean that the person must be the biggest "Russian doll" to use our phrase. It allows for anyone in that hierarchy who tells a story to be a narrator, just like Atlas or Frankenstein.

Just for reference, here's the entry for narrator at Meriam Webster:

: to tell (as a story) in detail; also: to provide spoken commentary for (as a movie or television show)

Explain to me how Atlas does not fit that bill."