In class today, we discussed the differences between what stories tend to tell and what games tend to tell in their narrative. As Lizzie Ehrreic posted in her post about Gonzalo’s article, he fails to truly see that games are able to tell narrative stories just as well as any written work. Her use of the Pokémon games and their comparison to simple children’s books is one great example of how Gonzalo seems to overlook the abilities of videogames.

Another major flaw that I believe Gonzalo fails to see is the rise of the “Epic Game”, which is the videogame version of the Epic Poem. With the rise of the great trilogy game series of the past few years—Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Gears of War , Mass Effect, and the soon to be completed Assassin’s Creed—a new type narrative ability has begun to appear in the videogame world. These games tell the story of one character or a group of characters as they face challenges and face complex problems, some of which mirror modern social and political problems and issues. These games using the same formula of the Epic Poems—throwing the reader/player into the “middle” of the story with flashbacks showing you what happened before, and then coming to a climatic ending that brings resolution to the journey with an overarching message of some type—give the players the chance to experience the tales of old epic poems in a new and fresh way.

I personally see this new form of the epic poem, in “epic games,” a great way to teach and involve people in a story that tries to tackle the political and social issues that we face today. I don’t think it is coincidental that these games have been the games that have dominated the gaming awards and ratings industry for every year that they have come out. Could these games be the future of storytelling? What better way for stories to be told than to live them yourself, to breath and walk in the very steps that the character or characters you are learning about are. Storytelling has evolved over the past centuries for oral, to written, and now virtual. While written stories are still the main medium in which we express our moral lessons and narratives, I believe that it will only be a matter of time before videogames become the main means in which we pass down the stories that summarize the times and tribulations we have in our world.