Game narratives still have “a long way to go,” says Wolfenstein dev

Start / News / Game narratives still have “a long way to go,” says Wolfenstein dev

May 21, 2014

According to Wolfenstein: The New Order producer Jerk Gustafsson, game narratives still have "a long way to go." In a post on the PlayStation Blog about his new game, Gustafsson said The New Order delivers the kind of tense combat you'd expect from a Wolfenstein game, while also focusing on story.

"It's a totally story-driven game experience that has a range of environments and characters and gameplay styles that you don't normally see in standard first-person shooters. Drama, humor, and even love are carefully layered into the experience," Gustafsson said.

"This is where we can break ground, where gaming still has a long way to go--the narrative--this is where I believe we shine, where I believe we will continue to shine," he added. "Great stories combined with exciting and truly fun combat experiences. This is what I believe is the future of gaming."

Storytelling in games has been a much-discussed topic of late. At GDC 2014 in March, Riot Games designer Tom Abernathy, who also worked on Halo: Reach, said "plot is highly overrated." Also at the industry event, BioShock creator Ken Levine gave an extended talk about how he approaches storytelling for interactive media.

Wolfenstein: The New Order launched yesterday for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. For more, check out GameSpot's review and what other critics are saying.

What was the last example of strong storytelling in games that you can think of? Let us know in the comments below!