Storytelling and Gaming 6 - Uncharted research

The Uncharted franchise is a series of video games inspired by the early adventures of Lara Croft, so it is fitting that I research these games as well as Tomb Raider.

I will be focusing mainly on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, for a few reasons. Mostly, it is my favourite entry in the series and a game I love returning to, but also because it has probably the most simple plot out of any of the Uncharted games (minus the PS Vita exclusive adventure). The game was supposed to be a DLC for Uncharted 4 but eventually grew larger in scope. Whilst it is not the length of a traditional Uncharted campaign (TLL is about 10 hours as apposed to 16 for Uncharted 4), it is still a great story that I love returning to. 

It follows the traditional format of many other stories, but we will use Freytag's pyramid to explain this. Potential spoilers for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy:

Exposition: Chloe is the main character of this story, set in India. We learn a bit of mythology around Ganesh and the main theme the story will follow.

Initial incident: We are introduced to the main villain, Asav, as well as Chloe's new partner on this adventure, Nadine. Nadine and Chloe don't get off on the right foot which creates the initial conflict.

Rising action: We learn that Chloe and Nadine are searching for the Tusk of Ganesh, and want to find it before Asav. This leads them to solving many puzzles and fighting bad guys. 

Climax: Asav gets the Tusk, and Chloe and Nadine are almost killed. 

Falling action: Chloe, Nadine and a third character team up once again to chase after Asav.

Resolution: Chloe and Nadine defeat Asav and get the Tusk back.

Denouement: Chloe and Nadine become travelling partners and are now good friends.

I hadn't actually appreciated how simple the narrative for this game is, but it does indeed follow the traditional approach to narrative (with a few added twists and turns). Therefore, since this game is a very popular and well received adventure game, I will consider this methodology when writing my own game's narrative. 

FRAYTAG. G (2017) Freytag's Pyramid. 1st ed. [EBOOK] L.Kip Wheeler, p.1. Available at: https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Freytag.pdf [Accessed 10th May 2020]

NAUGHTY DOG (2017) Uncharted: The Lost Legacy [DISC] PlayStation4. Santa Monica, California: Sony Interactive Entertainment