(Promotional Image courtesy of TellTale Games)
It used to be that I couldn’t see the actual “game” in titles like Heavy Rain, Jurassic Park: The Game, or The Walking Dead. Each game is more or less a linear story with conversation options and the occasional quick-time event to shake the player up every so often. There just didn’t seem to be any value in playing them. After all, if the player is going to be relegated to the role of an observer most of the time, then why not just make it a movie instead? It’s essentially going to be the same experience right? Well actually no It’s not the same at all. After playing several of these digital stories, I’ve come to a new conclusion. These digital experiences might as well be movies, but are actually better thanks to the gaming conventions they employ.
