Have you ever been lost, enthralled, or maybe immersed in a video game? You know when the flow-state kicks in and the boundary between reality and the digital world bends. If you have then you can testify firsthand to the unique sensation at the heart of this interactive medium. If you want to make an immersive experience, you need great video game world building. Some say that a good world is the foundation of player immersion in video games. This article aims to demonstrate that the diverse forms of language within games, referred to as ‘textuality,’ serve as the infrastructure on which world building occurs.
This article will introduce readers to the concepts of assemblage as defined in Video Games and Storytelling: Reading Games and Playing Books by Souvik Mukherjee. It will also present and explore potential components and qualities of textuality and the impact they have on world-building through real-world examples.
The Assemblage
In his book, Mukherjee establishes that “[…] Video games exist as an assemblage of aspects.” Then further quoted John Phillips who described an assemblage as an arrangement of parts that would be ‘fixed’ together. That is paradoxical language because it is also true to say that an assemblage is not a set of predetermined or fixed pieces (Mukherjee 15-16). A better description might be a dynamic puzzle where the pieces can stretch, move and connect to another piece it wouldn’t otherwise in a traditional puzzle. Textuality is a major one of those pieces – maneuvering, and shapeshifting as the largest contributor to the assemblage.
The Nature of Language in Video Games
Language is everywhere in reality and so is it in video games. You interact with it through the dialogue’s script, backstory, lore, in-game graphics, item descriptions with their respective stats, and more. These texts encode the DNA of your gaming experience. They convey history, designate your objective, and move the action forward. Games that aspire to have top-tier textuality will have the player capitalizing on the impressive depth and endless immersion.
A brave knight stands amidst a castle battling Artorias of the Abyss in Dark Souls.
FromSoftware’s 2011 masterpiece Dark Souls showcases a shining example by tailoring the world’s lore through the descriptions of items such as weapons, armor, rings, and consumables. This indirect approach added to the game’s mystery and served as a meta-game where the player could puzzle together the story if they wished and at their own pace. Additional evidence of the assemblage can be extracted from here as each player experiences the story differently as they might acquire the same item and the attached story lore at different times.
Qualities of Game Textuality
Below we will explore some characteristics of texts from popular games and how it affects video game world building.
Style
This is the theme or accent the text is written in. Take 2K’s Bioshock for instance. Set in the underwater city of Rapture in 1960, every piece of text is used to convey the game’s themes like Objectivism, free will, utopian ideals, and more. The dialogue style lays bare the dual nature of Rapture’s inhabitants: refined, sophisticated yet slightly unhinged—a masterclass in style and textuality.
Font
Often seen and also overlooked, typography plays a vital role in textual video game world building because it is frequently the first engagement a player has with the language of a game. Think about what is in the first trailer for a game; it’s not always gameplay but the name of the game in their specific font will always be present. And with the hyper-rapid release of new trailers, it’s no surprise that we start interacting with the language of a game before anything else.
This is the final frame of the 5-year-old announcement trailer for Bethesda’s Starfield.
Complexity
Balancing the amount of text is critical to maintaining effective textuality. Provide too much, and the player might stagnate and lose interest; give too little, and the world appears empty, damaging its credibility. This is especially important if obtaining or understanding the text requires extra effort from the player.
Interactivity
This quality separates video games from other mediums and awards it the capability to truly immerse its consumers. So in this context, interaction leads to immersion. The higher the player’s freedom to interact with a world, the more entranced they become. Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is a great example of this. You encounter several alien languages that are incomprehensible at first and through exploration and conversations with NPCs you gradually reveal the languages. Each deciphered word brings the thrill of victory to otherwise mundane gameplay. This is interactive textuality at peak capacity.
This is a screenshot of Vykeen language records in the Catalogue and Guide submenu in Hello Game’s No Man’s Sky.
On the flip side, not all games manage to effectively utilize textuality. For example, the 2014 defunct Silicon Knights’ Too Human struggled in this aspect. The game, which operates within the rich web of Norse mythology, needed a stronger dedication to text. The dialogue (which some call ‘laughable’) and text fail to convey the deep lore the game intended to portray. This left many players feeling disconnected from the world and its characters. This illustrates the importance and impact language can have on player experience.
Having introduced the concepts, you’ve started to understand how text forms the core of our treasured escapades. Now, follow me. Come on, there will be cake.
Case Study: Portal
In our analysis of textuality in video games, there’s a standout. Few games can compete with Valve’s Portal and Portal 2 as these games truly embrace the concept. The puzzle platformer stands tall among the very best by effortlessly conveying complex narratives and creating an immersive universe almost exclusively using one-sided dialogue and environmental text.
This is a screenshot of the first Rattman easter egg in Portal, which demonstrates Valve’s skill at integrating environmental text to help build worlds.
The near-liminal dilapidated world debuted alongside a personality to match. GLaDOS, with her onslaught of icy humor, champions the textual world-building of the first game. Line after line, jab after jab, the vengeful AI’s hints begin to reveal what may have happened to the Aperture Science Labs. Environmental texts such as secret messages and murals introduce the enigmatic Rattmann, one of the only survivors of the disaster, and thus the world expands.
The second game adds two more sources of scripted dialogue to the mix. Stephen Merchant of Office (U.K.) fame voices Wheatley, a nervous yet trusting AI. Meanwhile, the presumed-dead founder of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson, is the talented voice of J.K. Simmons. Wheatley’s character accents the world that players experienced in the first game. On the other hand, Cave Johnson’s audio recordings balloon the scale of the game’s universe, unveiling backstories, history, and character arcs you had no idea existed.
Portal’s Mastery of Textual World Building
Valve’s commitment to textuality paid off since it contributes massively to the overall assemblage as it influences other elements of game development like gameplay and design. The whole game has an air of intelligence around it (you are in a science lab designed to push progress to the limits), this is echoed by the puzzle-solving nature of the game. Each test you complete makes you feel a little smarter. GLaDOS’ manipulative wit is captivating. Wheatley’s companionship boosts your morale. The humanity in Cave Johnson stirs your empathy. Together, these elements engage and evolve your ego. This growth propels you to push forward in the game. Then, in the end, a triumphant satisfaction washes over you. And then you’ll definitely get a tasty reward.
Conclusion
Video games are swollen with language, so it is time we recognize their crucial role in video game world building. In particular, the innovative use of language serves as a robust tool to stir emotions and craft memorable gaming experiences. Games such as Portal, Bioshock, No Man’s Sky, or Dark Souls enhance our engagement with their textual threads. By harnessing the linguistic power of textuality, developers have the power to construct compelling narrative experiences. Furthermore, it grants us the opportunity to elevate how we perceive the medium of video games entirely. Next time you dive into a game, take a moment to appreciate the words that build the worlds you explore.
