Environmental Storytelling
- Dylan Fair
- Feb 5, 2023
- 15 min read
SPOILER ALERT: Fable and Persona 5 Royal
Good Environmental Storytelling: Fable Anniversary
Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpF4n02QJhw
Introduction
Fable is a game about the player and their choices. There is an overarching narrative that shows the player character’s family and their lives, but the player gets to make decisions on who their character is as a person and how they affect the lives around them. From deciding whether or not to rat out a cheating husband to deciding between destroying or inheriting a great, evil power, Fable is full of player choice and agency, which is tied into the explicit narrative of the game.
The environmental storytelling I want to discuss is the storytelling done with Oakfield. Oakfield is the level the player starts the game in, and a familiar level the player returns to when their character’s story starts to ramp up in excitement. The player explores Oakfield as a child and does chores for its citizens as a placeholder for quests, which I will briefly mention. The storytelling for Oakfield’s environment is improved by the mission that leads to Oakfield, Trader Escort, and the mission that follows the player’s return to Oakfield, Find the Bandit Seeress.
Props: How and why important props are placed; Important meaning, intent, and symbolism
Fable creates a world that exists around the player, which they can interact with and become a part of. Side stories exist so the player can have an impact on characters’ lives, and side stories the player can’t partake in are told through books and scrolls. The childhood section uses two key elements to introduce the player to this concept: Rosie’s owner and the building hiding a man cheating on his wife.
Other buildings are nearby, but this building has a path that leads behind it, lit by a bright lantern to draw the player’s attention. These elements teach the player that this is theirstory. The player gets to decide what happens to all these characters and their actions directly change the narrative of the world around them.
The massive oak tree in the center of the three shops helps define Oakfield during the childhood portion. When the player returns to Oakfield as an adult, they walk past the same tree with the camera pointing towards the tree and the position that the player originally sees the tree from as a child. These props help orient the player; the massive tree, familiar storefronts, and first quest giver now grown up work together to remind the player that this is where their story began
The cutscene that plays when the player reunites with Rosie’s owner shows the PC having flashbacks of the bandit raid, fire filling the town and Rosie’s owner appearing as a child once again. These props show the player that as easily the town rebuilt and the people of Oakfield moved on, the hero never did. Though the Oak tree stands tall and unwavering, the PC feels just as small and fragile as they did as a child standing next to it.
Lighting: How it’s used to enhance the story, reveal important elements, and its symbolism.
Standard lighting is used when the player returns to Oakfield as an adult, but more unique lighting is used in the quest that leads to Oakfield and during the first cutscene in Oakfield. During Trader Escort, very dark lighting is used to create a sense of fear and suspense throughout the mission. Throughout Trader Escort, the player protects a group of traders through dark woods filled with werewolves and other terrifying creatures.
Toward the end of the mission, one of the traders is revealed to have been scratched and will inevitably turn into a monster; when the trader turns, the lighting is dark with dark red filling the area around the trader. This lighting effect not only enhances the story of the Trader Escort mission but also foreshadows a similar lighting effect used when the PC experiences PTSD while reuniting with Rosie’s owner. This lighting effect also enhances the player’s story; if the player has been a morally good character, this creates a sense of fear of evil, and could further motivate their good deeds; if they have been morally evil, this could make the player feel afraid of the person they’re becoming.
The dark and dreary lighting used throughout the environment of Trader Escort also helps the standard lighting used in Oakfield feel more vibrant by comparison. Returning to Oakfield initially feels like a nice trip down memory lane, and the sense of familiarity and safety is improved by comparing it to the darkness of the entire mission that preceded Oakfield. This lighting is used like an engagement curve, dipping down into the darkness to make standard lighting feel brighter and homier, all before dipping back down into the darkness to remind the player of what the PC has gone through.
During the childhood portion of Oakfield, the colors are more vibrant and the lighting is much brighter than they are when the player returns to Oakfield as an adult. This is very symbolic of the nostalgic feeling of childhood memories; as a kid, everything seemed much brighter and more colorful, but as we grow into adults and experience life, the brightness dims and colors lose their vibrancy. The standard lighting in Oakfield contrasts with the childhood lighting to replicate this feeling, and props are used to remind the player where they are so this lighting has a stronger effect.
Spatial Layout: constraining player agency, highlighting important landmarks, and its symbolism.
Oakfield is used during the PC’s childhood as an introduction to the various kinds of quests and decisions they’ll be expected to make. During the childhood portion, a fence prevents access to Oakfield’s beach, but when the player returns to Oakfield, the fence is open so the player can see a pier has been built on the beach and find the cave the bandits hid out in during the raid on Oakfield.
As an adult, the PC explores this cave during the quest, Find the Bandit Seeress. Constraining the player agency at the beginning of the game helps create a sense of mystery in the player (why can’t I go there?), and could help guide the player to the location of the quest as an adult (ooh, I wonder if I can get to the beach now?).
During childhood, the player character is given two missions they can accept to earn a gold coin for their sister’s present, each of which leads to narrative choices the player can make. The cheating husband lets the player choose their morality and how they interact with NPCs.
On the way to find Rosie, however, the player notices a fork in the road, highlighted by a lantern. This symbolizes Fable’s expectation for the player to follow the beaten path, but occasionally leave it to find new people to interact with and new things to do.
In the quest, Find the Bandit Seeress, the player makes their way through a bandit camp to find Twinblade, who conducted the raid on Oakfield when they were a child, and his seeress, who the PC was told may have information on their sister. Once the player progresses far enough into the bandit camp, large doors barre the way into Twinblade’s living quarters.
These doors are placed at the top of a hill, higher than the rest of the camp. This symbolizes Twinblade’s authority over the other bandits, and it symbolizes the rise in the player’s story because opening these doors leads the PC to find their sister, who they previously thought was dead. After this quest, the PC’s story begins to ramp up in excitement, like the incline that led to the boss fight with Twinblade.
Guidance: How the environment guides the player and symbolism.
The player starts the game and is immediately guided toward their first quest giver, Rosie’s owner. A walkway looks like a desire path that leads directly toward Rosie’s owner. The homes that fill Oakfield are also used as walls that prevent the player from seeing the center of Oakfield or the ocean to prevent the player from feeling like they have too many options. Rosie’s owner is also spotlighted by a lantern, which is also used to guide the player toward the subplot with the cheating husband.
Most of the guidance throughout Fable’s environment is provided through leading lines and framing, like stone paths and buildings framing a quest giver. Other than these, most other guidance is through explicit dialogue. However, the narrative and environmental storytelling come together in the mission, Find the Bandit Seeress. The PC’s main motivation for becoming a hero is because of a bandit attack on Oakfield, their hometown, when they were a child.
Though the player can befriend some bandits further into the camp, bandits are often used as generic enemies throughout the game, and this quest specifically scatters bandits that are ripe for killing; both the PC and the player share an interest in killing bandits, the PC for revenge from the raid and the player for the experience and loot they provide, so scattered bandits that act as lookout guards for the camp breadcrumb the player through this mission.
Narrative Flow: How scenes advance narrative; notable foreshadowing; notable callbacks.
Oakfield acts as a narrative introduction twice in Fable. The first time is during the PC’s childhood, where Oakfield introduces the player to the mechanics and the PC’s reason for becoming a hero. Oakfield introduces the PC and Rosie’s owner, who acts as the game’s first quest-giver. At the time, this seems like a basic quest meant for a child before their adventuring days: rescue a teddy bear from some bully, but Rosie’s owner will eventually be used to connect the PC’s childhood to the PC’s developing story.
The second time Oakfield acts as a narrative introduction is when it bridges the gap between the Trader Escort and Find the Bandit Seeress missions. This time, Rosie’s owner acts as an important callback to remind the player of Oakfield’s importance; while Rosie’s owner reflects on the events, the PC experiences flashbacks from the bandit raid, which foreshadows the quest that the player is about to receive. Rosie’s owner being the first NPC the player walks up to in both visits to Oakfield help bridge the mental gap between the two points in time and helps the player feel a closer connection to the events that happen to the PC.
During the childhood mission, the PC’s father tells them to find their sister and get her a birthday gift. The player then does deeds around Oakfield to earn gold for her, which eventually leads the player to the PC’s sister. After meeting the sister, they are separated due to the bandit raid, and the PC ends this story beat with losing their father and nearly their own life. Before getting killed by a bandit, the PC is saved by Maze, who takes them in and acts as a father figure throughout their time at the guild.
When the player returns to Oakfield, Rosie not only acts as an important callback to the PC’s childhood, but she also foreshadows how Find the Bandit Seeress will go. The childhood mission starts with meeting Rosie’s owner and ends with losing a father. Find the Bandit Seeress starts with reuniting with Rosie’s owner and ends with reuniting with your long-lost sister. Both missions revolve around Oakfield, and both are prefaced with the seemingly innocent girl-with-a-teddy-bear.
Maze himself gives the quest to the player, which is another notable callback to Maze being the one who saves the PC’s life and gave them a chance at the guild. Many quests just appear at the guild, but Maze specifically gives this quest to the player to show their relationship. Maze’s connection with both of these events also foreshadows his eventual betrayal: a narrative twist on the PC losing their second father figure.
Poor Environmental Storytelling: Persona 5 Royal
Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXZ6EBl12j8 (dungeon doesn’t start until 4:00:00)
Introduction
In Persona 5, the player’s party travels through dungeons that are reflections of the antagonists’ “distorted view of the world.” They do this to change the hearts of the antagonists and make them confess and convert from their evil ways. Okumura’s Palace is the level I’ll be discussing as an example of poor environmental storytelling.
Narratively, two party members go through some major character development: Morgana and Haru; Morgana’s character development is lackluster at best, but Haru is Okumura’s daughter, and her development is directly related to the events throughout this dungeon, which has potential for some very interesting level design.
Okumura’s Palace is portrayed as a spaceship (very much a JRPG parody of a Star Wars villain’s ship, complete with a Darth Vader knockoff). Narratively, this is used to support the idea that Okumura (Jeff Bezos but with McDonald’s) sees his many employees merely as slaves to further his agenda.
In this dungeon, the “shadows” of the people that work for him take the image of robots, which is narratively appropriate. This dungeon taking place in a spaceship makes a decent amount of sense to support the robot imagery, but that’s nearly the only connection this dungeon has to the plot that’s going on outside of the dungeon.
Props: How and why important props are placed; Important meaning, intent, and symbolism
Props are used throughout this dungeon to help support the theme of space, which I’ll talk about in the next paragraph, but too much attention and detail is given to environmental props and too little is given to interactive props.
In other dungeons, environmental props help provide background information about the dungeon itself while supporting interactive props; Madarame’s Palace features statues of his other art students, but those artists’ paintings are used to traverse the level, letting the player create an implicit connection between the two props, for example. In Okumura’s palace, however, interactive props are sleek, compact, and boring. This visually makes sense, but it makes the level overall feel boring and tedious.
Most environmental props can also be used to hide from enemies, providing a slight stealth mechanic to the game; most of the time, these props are similar to the props used in other dungeons (vases of flowers, corners of walls, etc.) and simple, to allow the player to easily scan their surroundings. But many of these props used in Okumura’s palace are overly fancified, futuristic…things? The futuristic things are not only very distracting and bothersome while trying to sneak around, but they also take the attention away from the simplified props that are used for level progression.
The first major prop that gets seen in this dungeon is the hologram of a spaceship that the party says reminds them of a hamburger bun. This is symbolic of the fact that the bad guy runs a fast-food company…and that’s it. Other important props include bland elevators, square control stations, robotic factory arms (which are the most interesting because these actually turn into part of the level, but still serve no narrative purpose), hydraulic presses (which act similar to the cranes – neat but not symbolic in any way).
Many rooms don’t use props to guide the player or create interesting spaces. The physical architecture of the level does a decent job of guiding the player and drawing focus to important elements of the room, especially when paired with enemy placement and dialogue from the party, but many of these rooms are empty and just plain boring.
These plain props and less than symbolic environment wouldn’t be much of an issue if the rest of the game wasn’t so good at environmental storytelling. The very first dungeon of the game is a castle, which is a representation of the school the PC attends, and the dungeon’s boss is an abusive school coach; this coach sees himself as the “king” of this castle because the sports team provides a large source of the school’s funding, and the dungeon tells an implicit story of the school’s dependency on that antagonist. But this dungeon has the players going through a factory, which is a metaphor for the antagonist’s factory.
Lighting: How it’s used to enhance the story, reveal important elements, and its symbolism.
The lighting in Okumura’s Palace…exists. The lighting is a bit darker in this dungeon than it is in the regular world, but that’s a recurring use of lighting in Persona 5. Lighting isn’t used very much to help tell the story of the dungeon (or the story of the real world, for that matter) outside of the game’s standard lighting techniques, which feels very underwhelming since this dungeon occurs at the peak of the game’s plot.
Lighting is, however, decently used to help guide the player where they have to go and what they have to interact with. Bright lights on futuristic consoles help players mentally connect them to the bright lights on futuristic switches and keys. Like the use of props throughout the level, this is an excellent way to keep a sensible connection between elements within the dungeon, but there still isn’t much of a story going on here. Enemies hold the keys to these doors, and those enemies have ranks, but all of that dungeon-contained story is explicitly told through cutscenes and dialogue, not the environment (I return to my point of enemies being placed in large, empty rooms).
Spatial Layout: constraining player agency, highlighting important landmarks, and its symbolism.
Persona 5 doesn’t offer much player agency in its dungeons, instead opting to have players choose a hallway to explore and solve the puzzle at the end of that hallway to unlock a door in the other hallway. Persona 5 Royal offers some new agency by adding more treasures, difficult enemies, and combat/exploration challenges that reward Will Seeds. These techniques, like the lighting effects, are used as a standard throughout Persona 5’s dungeons, so the only uniqueness that dungeons offer for these elements is where they are.
I do think Okumura’s Palace does an excellent job at making these hallways fun and interesting to traverse, however! Rather than a straight hallway with locked doors, the player has to climb floating platforms that connect massive space stations, fly through between airlocks, and break factory cranes to use as bridges. These variations on the “hallways” help the player feel like their actions within the dungeon are having an impact on it.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an analysis of making repetitive mechanics feel good using a level’s space, it’s on using a level’s space to tell a story, which Okumura’s Palace does not do in the slightest. Enemies are in empty rooms, the cranes are destroyed with a button that’s right next to them, and the varied height of the platforms connecting the space stations don’t feature any statues of Okumura, enemies with higher ranks, or even the player.
The level design doesn’t feel as repetitive as other dungeons, but there isn’t a story. Nothing stands out in this space station, nothing is important, and nothing has any reason to be part of a space station instead of part of a normal factory.
Guidance: How the environment guides the player and symbolism.
As mentioned with spatial layout, most of the level design in Persona 5 is “Pick a hallway. Nope, the door at the end of this hallway is locked, pick the other hallway. Now there’s a puzzle or combat, do it. Okay now that door is unlocked, go back over there.”
Because of this, very little guidance is needed for Persona 5’s levels. In fact, there isn’t much guidance outside of explicit dialogue from party members. The level doesn’t need a trail of particle effects to guide the player where to go because Navi- or, Morgana, constantly tells the player to unlock the door right in front of them.
Not all of the dialogue from the party is ham-fisted, however, and a lot of the dialogue helps make party members feel more present throughout the dungeon as they provide their thoughts on the enemy they just fought.
Haru, the newest party member, consistently connects the Metaverse distortions to their real-world equivalents and comments on her disappointment with how her father treats people. Dialogue from the party has a clear intent of helping showcase the characters and the overarching story, which is the focal point of the game as a whole.
Narrative Flow: How scenes fail to advance narrative; notable foreshadowing; notable callbacks.
Prefacing this dungeon, the party is abandoned by Morgana because he begins to feel useless as the party gains new, useful members. During his time apart, Morgana teams up with Haru, who eventually joins the party, followed by a reluctant Morgana.
Haru’s story is well done throughout this level. She slowly learns about how terrible of a person her father is and hesitates to help the party force a change of heart on her father; Okumura even tricks her by begging for sympathy then trapping the party, which cements her decision to change his heart and join the party. Also, Morgana’s there.
Morgana’s inclusion into these scenes doesn’t prevent the overall narrative progression, but it feels very forced and doesn’t stand well enough on its own to support Haru’s story. Okumura offers his daughter a place along his side, which provides an interesting dilemma for Haru to be accepted by her father or side with her newfound friends, but before she can say anything, Okumura makes the same offer to the party’s cat.
Morgana being offered to betray the party is an interesting concept that acts as a callback to the events leading into this dungeon, but instead of being a strong, supporting element of the overall narrative, Morgana causes it to become confusing and disappointing.
Here's some extra space in case you're weird like me and like scrolling down to put what you're reading at the top of your screen!
Comentarios