THE WORLDS OF VIDEO GAMES

July 2021

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One of the most important aspects of any piece of media is the setting. The setting is important for establishing mood, guiding the dialogue and behaviour of the characters, giving context for or moving forward the plot, and hinting at or amplifying themes within the story. This is true for all works of fiction (and to some extent nonfiction as well), but I’ve found that setting feels particularly important and impactful in video games. Why?

Like any other genre of fiction, video game settings are extremely important for establishing the mood of the story they are telling. For example, Watch Dogs: Legion takes place in London in the late 2020s, and is characterized by the obvious technological advancements and rampant poverty and civil unrest. The setting helps to create a discrepancy between the upper class and people in positions of power and the general public. It builds up feelings of rebellion and a need for justice in both the player and the world itself. Another good example of this is The Wolf Among Us, which takes place in a seedy New York neighbourhood populated by fairy tale characters. Immediately, the player Is aware of what the tone of the story is going to be because, despite fantastical elements, the story is grounded with painfully realistic elements of poverty and violence. 

Video game settings are also crucial for developing characters and establishing what the expected dialogue and behaviour of those characters is. For example, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag takes place during the Golden Age of Piracy in the 18th century Caribbean. Therefore, it makes sense that the main characters are pirates and are in conflict with the navy and government officials. It also implicitly explains to the player that certain behaviours (eg. theft, duelling, naval combat) are allowed and encouraged. Even fantastical stories can accomplish this, as seen in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which manages to introduce players to societal norms and expectations surrounding behaviour and dialogue simply by following common fantasy tropes and referencing elements of medieval Europe. By including rustic villages and opulent castles, it doesn’t surprise the player when haughty kings recruit them for impossible tasks or bandits attack them on travelling roads. 

Settings often have a direct impact on the plot of a video game or the way certain plot elements are revealed. For instance, What Remains of Edith Finch is set exclusively within the now-abandoned Finch household, which is teeming with family secrets and stories. In order to progress within the story, the player must simply progress throughout the house; the story is slowly revealed to them as they navigate various rooms, and details about the characters and previous events are communicated through the design and layout of the house. Control relies on this too; the entire game exists within the Oldest House, a building with unpredictable architecture and a paranormal entity that has possessed most of the staff within. The various sectors are only gradually revealed to the player, limiting the amount of information the player has until they progress throughout the building. 

Finally, settings can effectively hint at or amplify certain themes within a story. Celeste is a great example of this; Madeline’s journey up the mountain mirrors the personal journey she must navigate. It’s a game about growth and changing perspectives. Having those themes reflected in the setting and the gameplay makes the delivery of the narrative more effective. Firewatch does this same thing; the player explores the beautiful wilderness of Wyoming as a fire lookout who is completely cut off from the world except for his supervisor, with whom he communicates via a radio. This setting strengthens the themes of isolation, empathy, and paranoia that exist within the narrative. 

But as I mentioned, all of these elements are typically true for any other genre of fiction. So why do video game settings feel so much different?

At first, I wondered if it was simply a sense of wonder or whimsy. The feeling of awe you get when you’re perched on a vantage point overlooking an ancient Greek city in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, or the thrill of discovering new, brightly-coloured plants and animals on Source in Haven. But many films and television shows can accomplish this as well. Plus, many games take place in a relatively mundane setting. 

But by analyzing some of my favourite video game settings, I realized that it’s not just that they effectively establish mood or reflect themes; it’s also the fact that the player is completely immersed in them and is able to interact with them. So yes, part of the reason the setting of Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V is so successful is that it’s part of the satirical commentary on Hollywood and modern Western society, but also because I get to explore it as a player. It feels more robust than a movie or a TV series, and more concrete and immersive than a book. The Outer Worlds was successful for this reason as well. I was a stranger in a new world, slowly uncovering the mysteries of each of the planets in the Halcyon System. Not having the mysteries revealed to me, but uncovering them myself and deciding for myself how to feel and what to do next.

The settings of video games are particularly impactful because they do everything that a setting in another genre can do, but they take the extra step up prioritizing player immersion and considering what the player’s relationship with the setting should be, strengthening the setting’s overall role in the gameplay and narrative of a video game.