Digital Illusionists: Narrative Design in the Spanish Video Game

Abstract

In keeping with the theme of this issue, the (Dis)Agreements section explores a series of key questions in an effort to understand the different dimensions of the narrative design of video games, focusing on the Spanish industry, in the form of a dialogue between professionals from different areas: Tatiana Delgado, Josué Monchán, Clara Pellejer and Adrián Castro, with the academics Víctor Navarro Remesal, and Marta Martín Núñez. The dialogue begins with a discussion of contextual issues like the shift of sensibility in the industry towards an awareness of the importance of narrative depth in video games, the role of regulated training in video game design and development, and the importance of cultivating connections with other cultural forms like cinema, but also with less obvious forms like conceptual art or theatre. The conversation then moves onto aspects of video game creation, such as the relationship between game design and narrative, player freedom and agency, environmental storytelling and the particularities of narrative in virtual reality, and the integration of features of narrative complexity.