Narrative in video games goes far beyond a "simple" storyline (some stories carry remarkable complexity).
It's a unique art form where the story is built as much through dialogue and cutscenes as through the player's own actions. Lore, worldbuilding, NPCs, side quests… This glossary breaks down the narrative mechanisms that give the greatest games their soul.
Dialogue Tree
A conversation system where the player chooses from several responses, each choice shaping the direction of the exchange. A cornerstone of the Western narrative RPG.
Examples: Mass Effect, The Witcher 3, Disco Elysium.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
A moment where a character or the game itself addresses the player directly, shattering the fictional illusion. A rare narrative technique, and often a memorable one.
Examples: Metal Gear Solid (Psycho Mantis), Undertale, Deadpool.
Moral Choice
A decision presented to the player that carries ethical consequences, often with no clear right answer. Creates a strong emotional investment in the story.
Examples: Mass Effect, Telltale's The Walking Dead, Fallout.
Cutscene
A non-interactive video sequence used to advance the story, introduce a character, or create a dramatic effect. Can be pre-rendered or generated in real time.
Examples: Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, The Last of Us.
Codec
A narrative communication system unique to the Metal Gear Solid saga: radio calls between characters that deliver information about the story, the world, and the mechanics. Has become an iconic element of narrative game design.
Examples: Metal Gear Solid.
Codex
An in-game journal or encyclopedia that catalogues information about the lore, characters, and world. Allows players to go deeper into the universe without weighing down the main narrative.
Exemples : Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Assassin’s Creed.
Interactive Dialogue
An exchange between the player and a character where the chosen responses influence the relationship, the mission, or the story. Distinct from simple informational dialogue.
Examples: Disco Elysium, Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077.
Easter Egg
A secret deliberately hidden by the developers: a cultural reference, a humorous message, a hidden area. Rewards curious players and builds a shared community culture around the game.
Examples: GTA V, Skyrim, Fortnite.
Exposition
A narrative technique for delivering information about the world or story to the player. Can be direct (explanatory dialogue) or environmental (objects, scenery). Good exposition is invisible.
Examples: the prologue of The Last of Us, the notes in Dark Souls.
Multiple Endings
A narrative structure where the player's choices lead to different conclusions. Encourages replayability and gives weight to the decisions made along the way.
Examples: Mass Effect 3, Nier: Automata, Undertale.
Foreshadowing
A narrative technique that plants clues about future events, often subtly. Creates a sense of coherence and rewards attentive players.
Examples: Bioshock Infinite, Nier: Automata, Red Dead Redemption 2.
Lore
The body of historical, mythological, and cultural information that gives depth to a game's universe. Lore can be explicit or discovered gradually.
Examples: Dark Souls, Halo, The Elder Scrolls.
Ludonarrative
The relationship between a game's mechanics and its story. Ludonarrative dissonance occurs when the two contradict each other (for example, a hero who kills hundreds of enemies but is portrayed as a pacifist in cutscenes).
Examples: debates around Uncharted, The Last of Us.
Narrator
A voice or presence that comments on the player's actions or tells the story. Can be omniscient, embedded in the action, or even manipulative.
Examples: the narrator in Bastion, Stanley Parable, Hades.
NPC (Non-Player Character)
A character controlled by the computer rather than the player. Can be a merchant, an ally, an enemy, or simply an inhabitant of the world. The quality of NPCs contributes strongly to immersion.
Examples: the residents of Novigrad in The Witcher 3, the villagers in Animal Crossing.
Environmental Storytelling
A technique that tells a story through the environment itself: abandoned objects, signs of combat, posters, architecture. The player reconstructs the narrative through observation.
Examples: Dark Souls, Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch.
Main Quest
The central narrative thread of the game — the one that drives the main story forward. Following only the main quest is typically the shortest path to the end of the game.
Examples: Geralt's quest in The Witcher 3, the Halo campaign.
Side Quest
An optional mission that enriches the world and the lore without being necessary to finish the game. The best side quests have their own complete narrative arc.
Examples: The Witcher 3's side quests, the contracts in Cyberpunk 2077.
Non-Linear Narrative
A narrative structure where the story is not told in chronological order, or where the player can approach it in any order they choose.
Examples: Nier: Automata, Disco Elysium, 13 Sentinels.
Procedural Narrative
A story dynamically generated by the game's systems rather than written in advance. Each playthrough tells a different story.
Examples: Dwarf Fortress, RimWorld, Crusader Kings III.
Narrative Twist
An unexpected plot reversal that challenges everything the player thought they understood about the story.
Examples: Bioshock ("Would you kindly"), Nier: Automata, The Last of Us Part II.
Worldbuilding
The process of constructing a coherent fictional universe: geography, history, cultures, languages, rules of the world. Solid worldbuilding makes a universe feel credible and immersive.
Examples: The Elder Scrolls, Halo, Final Fantasy XIV.
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