Environmental Storytelling as a Primary Narrative Technique

Environmental storytelling is the art of using the physical space the player character (PC) inhabits as an active part of the game’s narrative.  It is the direct application of the golden rule of writing: show; don’t tell.

This thesis project explores different ways of using environmental storytelling.  It also aims to find under what conditions the technique is most effective.  For instance, Hollywood's "car chase" rule states that action scenes stop the storyline.  Game design's version of this rule states that story stops action.  How much of the environment do players analyze and remember during action sequences?  Is it possible to embed non-critical story elements in these areas?  The two main topics this thesis tests are: telling a narrative through environmental clues and establishing characters through their environments.