Metanarrative

Levels & Metanarrative

• Types of Narrative Recap

• Previous types:

  • Explicit
  • Implicit
  • Emergent

• Metanarrative Defined

• “Story made by playing a game”

  • Requires:

    Game-player encounter Person playing

• Examples:

  • Stories told to friends about:

    Overcoming doom Real-life interruptions

  • First playthrough memories

• Key Characteristics

• Each playthrough = unique metanarrative

  • Same player/game can create different stories

• Visible in streaming

  • Not just game watching
  • “Player-game combination creates charm”

    Same game, different streamers

    • One entertaining
    • One boring

• Legendary Status

• Some transcend normal stories

  • Example: Leeroy Jenkins

• “Golden fleece” of design

  • Creates compelling stories
  • Regardless of player

Metanarrative represents the personal stories and memories created through gameplay experiences. Successful level design generates compelling metanarratives consistently across different players.