Guild Wars 2 plays with both violence and narrative, entwining them together as many video games do.  However, I don’t think it’s a good pick for Anne Burdick’s quote, as the narrative of Guild Wars 2 is largely about perpetuating violence.

I think video game narratives are an amazing and accessible way of storytelling. Free games, like Guild Wars, allow people to experience an engaging story without limitations. Many games also offer their stories with voice dubs in different languages, which makes them more accessible to so many groups of people. Gamers don’t have to be limited to their class or ability to enjoy the storylines that come with so many free games.

Personally, I appreciate games with a riveting storyline that makes use of its fully fleshed out characters. Wind Waker in The Legend of Zelda series comes to mind – A young boy on a quest to save his sister, accompanied by a badass pirate-turned-princess and a talking boat that used to be the ruler of the kingdom.

In Guild Wars 2, I sadly have found myself more detached from the storyline. The narrative feels forced and unfocused. There’s simply too much going on for me to keep up or get invested in it. I think the lack of introduction or backstory to the many characters makes everything seem flat, which caused my attention to move elsewhere – onto the gameplay itself.

However that’s the thing with MMORPGs: the game narrative comes second to the gameplay. So even though I’m used to single player adventures, I can’t compare the two. The two genres are simply too different in their content and delivery. Perhaps my experience with GW2 will be the final nail in the coffin of my MMORPG experiences; I will most likely stick to my single player games after this. 

In summary, I think free to play games like Guild Wars 2 does an exceptional job in providing accessible entertainment, but the storytelling falls short compared to single player games. There’s a heavier focus on gameplay and propelling the linear narrative forward, and the flat characters don’t do the storyline any favours.