"Gone Home" and the Video Game as Storyteller

Jay here. There has been a quiet revolution going on in the video game industry, and a lot of people aren't aware. Many of you may not play video games very much or give a lot of credence to the format as a vehicle for innovation. You may not think video games are even capable of attaining anything that could be described as art. Well, I'm here to tell you that there has been an explosion of creativity and originality in the gaming community over the last few years. And 2013 has seen this shift continue as the independent market grows and grows. 

Last week, I downloaded a title called Gone Home off of Steam. It's the first endeavor by a new group calling themselves The Fullbright Company. I had seen this game -- being named one of the best of the year -- pop up online on several sites so I was intrigued. The game places you in the year 1995, and in the role of Kaitlin Greenbrier, a 20-something-year-old returning home after a year abroad in Europe. Expecting a warm welcome by her parents and younger sister, Samantha, she (you, the player) is surprised to find her family's new house abandoned and locked with a cryptic note from Samantha that in no way explains where everyone has gone.

Your goal is to first get into the house and then discern what is going on, and what has happened to your loved ones. You accomplish this by traveling from room to room, exploring and picking up random items, notes, and scraps of information that begin to piece the mystery together. There are no bad guys to be found; no guns, knives or swords are needed. The game does nothing to show you where to get started or give you any kind of linear format to follow. You decide every move and only through a detailed examining of any and all clues will you find out what has happened.

As you progress, the narrative begins to take shape. What starts off as the possibility of foul play or maybe a haunting becomes something completely unexpected. Turning away from tried and true cliches within video games, Gone Home turns its attention towards the younger sister, and you are presented with a window into the soul of a young girl coming-of-age in the 1990s. I won't give away all of her secrets, but I will say that uncovering Samantha's story as I walked through the house, looked through her bedroom, and played the various mix tapes she leaves behind, I was moved by her story more than any other I've experienced this year. It's no surprise that the New York Times was compelled to call it "the greatest video game love story ever told."

There are subplots involving the parents as well, and the complexities of their marriage is laid bare in the various letters and miscellaneous items you discover as you progress. It's a portrait of family life that really comes alive as you comb through every nook and cranny of the house. Add to that the designers have gone through a lot of trouble to authentically hearken back to the glory days of the 1990s. VHS tapes line the shelves, Magic Eye posters are on display, and the music on the aforementioned mix tapes waxes nostalgic with loud riot grrrrl tracks. 

What makes experiencing this tale such a cathartic experience simply comes down to the fact that you are the one making these discoveries about this family. The interactivity of gaming adds a level of immersion that no movie or television show will ever be able to mimic. It's a trend in gaming that is starting to take off: games that focus more on story and character development.

It is no surprise that most of the best video games of the last few years have captured their audiences through well-crafted plots that engage a smarter and more savvy player. Mega-hits like the Mass Effect (Bioware), Bioshock (Irrational), and Uncharted (Naughty Dog) series have not only had significant financial success, but have garnered critical praise for their ability to get you invested in their stories. 

Are we witnessing the beginning of a new renaissance in the video game industry? More and more big name actors are making the transition to doing voice work. Hollywood writers are finding their stories translating better to this interactive medium. Suddenly, those who follow pop culture -- like myself -- are taking games more seriously since they offer an experience in immersive storytelling that is unique and wholly individual.

Take this year's Bioshock Infinite, widely considered to be the best game of 2013. It is a sequel to 2008's Bioshock, and it takes place in a floating city in the sky in the year 1912. The player assumes the role of Booker Dewitt, a private investigator who travels to the flying city of Columbia in order to find a young girl who, once obtained, will erase a debt he owes. The game is nothing short of a work of art as you navigate an expertly realized environment and engage in intense and exciting game play. Its creator, Ken Levine, has become a household name in gaming circles. He is the Steven Spielberg of video games, and soon he'll be making the transition to film, as Hollywood courts him to take on screenwriting duties for a remake of the 70's sci-fi classic Logan's Run. 

It is the story that most people were talking about after completing the game. Booker's quest to save Elizabeth -- the girl he is there to bring back -- and his slow discovery of who she is and what she is capable of, is more entertaining and moving than most movies. Add to that the game's surprising, mind-bending ending, and you have an experience like no other. 

Other recent titles, both indie and major studio released, that I recommend for fans of smart video games include Tomb Raider (the recent reboot is fantastic), The Stanley Parable, Kentucky Route Zero, The Last of Us and Deus Ex: Human Evolution.

We are living in an exciting time for video games. Writers and those with the knack to create and visualize unique worlds have more and more forms of media to present their vision. As the children who played Nintendo, Playstation, and Xbox reach adulthood, the industry will only grow. The independent gaming industry, in particular, is exciting as more developers splinter off from bigger companies to make their passion projects and create games like Gone Home, which are unique, fun, and, at the same time, capable of achieving greatness on par with some of the best movies, books or TV shows. I call this a good thing.