I think stories are one of the most compelling and influential aspects of games. A story keep you engaged and alert; it allows you to step into another dimension and experience a world, a life, a being outside yourself. It’s through such stories within games that cause people to continuously work towards the next level and achieve higher statuses. Theses narratives not only give individuals more information, but they also provide an avenue to engage with one’s character. Such usage within online games is also crucial as it creates real meaningful online relationships between players. Not only is the story engaging a player to its plot but it also opens up opportunities for gamers to create a sense of community where they can discuss and express themselves within such a context.

During Guild Wars 2, I was specially fascinated with my avatars story (Sylvari) and realized that, for the most part, games begin with a dilemma which almost always acts like a cry for help. Something bad has happened, a wrong needs to be righted, someone needs saving – they all lead to the ultimate goal of the ‘happily ever after.’ I found myself reading into the script of the story; any chance I got to speak to the other avatars during a mission, I would do so. The one-to-one conversations were particularly interesting as they kept me updated and in-tuned to the plot. I felt this to be a  motivating factor to successfully complete the missions while attaining the drive to learn about the other possibilities and of a potential happy ending. As each level progressively developed, I was being fed more and more information on the condition of my surroundings and what I needed to do to help and save my people. 

Through such stories, I learned to be a better participant. Often times I would get lost or stray away but found that the stories would continue to get repeated. Some would say that’s annoying but I felt that it kept me engaged and on track to successfully achieve the next level.

While wandering around looking for new tasks to complete, I found myself to be very calm due to the soothing music that was playing in the background. As soon as a mission was nearby I found the music intensified which automatically made me excited. The graphics portrayed a very fantasy and fairytale land yet some elements like the trees or the details on the rocks were much more vivid and more representative of real life objects. I felt it had a very The Lord of the Rings vibe with its overall mythical setting.

As a gamer  from the world of console games, where all characters essentially look the same, I appreciated the differences in attire along with the unique avatars roaming around the area. The bright color’s kept me entertained!  I also found it interesting how the visuals changed based on a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ area. Throughout all forms of media from movies, games, music videos and so forth, the portrayal of a ‘bad’ has almost always been associated with dark and gloomy. If it’s a particular ‘bad’ area, then there is little to no room for wandering around. Often it is accompanied by odd objects or shadows that are meant to somewhat instil fear or discomfort to its audience. On the contrary, places associated with ‘goodness’ where hope is reinforced tend to be more bright and spacious.  the saying “the light at the end of the tunnel” encompasses this visual representation of good and bad where often people’s hopes are reinforced with the notion that after the dark times there will be light; representative of good times to come.

The ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ characters were also portrayed in dark attire with minimal facial recognition. At one point when I had to be disguised to enter another area to save captives, I wore an armoured suit which was dark and covered head to toe. I actually really liked the armour as I felt it didn’t sexualize the female Sylvari body by appropriating and objectifying my avatars assets.

Roaming around this ‘different’ environment, I found even the voices of the ‘bad’ people to be vile and almost demonic sounding. One could easily sense the diabolical tone and associate it to ‘bad.’ Whereas on my normal adventures, the encounters I had were much more pleasant and the voices were often high pitched. It’s not surprising that games follow popular culture’s definition of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Essentially, every plot consists of the good and bad guy and a heroic attempt to salvage remnants of society from such bad whether its from a bully or a dark lord trying to destroy one’s world.