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Ohm Desai

Professor Campbell

WRDS 1104

30 April 2023

REVISED NARRATIVE INTRO: Environmental Storytelling in Video Games

ORIGINAL

Imagine walking down a dimly-lit alley on a rainy night. There are two tall, brick

buildings on either side of you, both worn down and covered in graffiti. Broken glass, trash, and

burned out cigarettes are scattered all over the ground, while rats run back and forth in search of

food. An old man lies to your left, wrapped up in a torn blanket and shivering under a hastily

constructed tent of rusty scrap metal and broken wood planks. This is an example of what game

designers call “environmental storytelling”.

REVISED NARRATIVE INTRODUCTION

As the sun sets over the rugged hills, a solitary figure emerges from the thick forest.

Every step they take sends the crisp crunch of leaves echoing through the silence. A thick,

oppressive fog settles on the ground, obscuring the surroundings in a veil of gray. The distant

howls of wolves only add to the eerie atmosphere.

As the figure approaches a clearing, a sense of unease settles in their stomach. The trees

in the clearing have been stripped bare of their leaves, their twisted and gnarled branches

reaching upwards like skeletal fingers. Hanging from these branches are dozens of clay dolls,
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their painted faces twisted into cruel smiles. The dolls sway back and forth, creaking as the wind

catches them.

A rusted car lies on its side, half-buried in the dirt. Its windows have long since been

shattered, and the metal frame creaks ominously in the wind. Nearby, an old log cabin stands in

the middle of the clearing. Its roof sags, the windows are boarded up, and the front door hangs

loosely on one hinge. It seems like it hasn't been touched in years.

To the right of the cabin, a small well lies buried in the ground. Its cobblestone sides are

slick with moss, and the water inside is a deep, inky black. The smell of iron hangs heavy in the

air, mingling with the damp earth. This is an example of what game designers call

“environmental storytelling”.