14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, we talked about a study according to which no less than 8.5% of gamers are addicted to the videogames that they play. We'll show you how science can support our old habit by pointing out to a study performed by a Doctor named Souvik Mukherjee, who is a researcher and computer game narrative expert hailing from the School of Arts & Humanities at Nottingham Trent University. He has found that, when it comes to narrative experience, videogames and books are very much alike, providing roughly the same quality.
For his PhD thesis, the good Doctor is said to have analyzed quite a few videogames, from the first Wolfenstein to the more recent Fallout 3, watching how each of them told a story to the player. He says that the mechanism used by videogames, like the complex choices that can appear, the concept of multiple endings and the creative use of audio, video and interaction can lead to experiences that are deeper and more interesting than those offered by books and movies. This does not mean that the storytelling in videogames is always better than the narrative in other mediums, it just means that it should not be dismissed out of hand.
Dr. Mukherjee stated that “Video games have outpaced all other media in growth charts in the last three years and the industry is one of the few that hasn't taken much of a tumble in the recent credit-crunch. I believe a major reason for their popularity is their storytelling experience, as players of game 'blockbusters' like Half Life 2, Assassin's Creed and Bioshock will tell you.”
He added that “Though often unfairly dismissed as toys for children, computer games are far more complex than that. Most gamers, adults and children alike, play these games because of the stories they tell.” Some of their success is due to the way videogames manage to incorporate elements from other media, like comics, graphics novels and audio books.