Introduction

As noted in How Video Games Can Serve as an Engagement Experience, video games, particularly RPGs, are widely popular and engaging with exceptional character and plot structure. In fact, it is because they follow the core form of Aristotle’s model of dramatic structure.

Aristotle’s Dramatic Tragedy

According to Aristotle, a Tragedy is described as such: “For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality.”  In order to successfully imitate action and life, Tragedies require the keen development and pristine execution of six key hierarchical elements.  These are, in order: Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, and Song.  Expressly, contextualization of the setting and the story within that setting must not only be believable, but impenetrable.  Characters then accentuate this plot by giving it a moral purpose through thought, and reacting to the action of the plot in its contextualized circumstances in the form of diction.  These working parts make up the spectacle, which must be correctly executed through the work of those who construct the setting and physical environment to supplement the plot.  This is then supported by song, which further contextualizes the setting and garners emotional attachment to the action.  Video games are essentially a theatrical Tragedy, requiring the same level of care in writing and execution.  Each of these elements are present and clearly executed in two RPGs considered to be the best of the genre –The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – which exemplifies their successes.

RPGs: 2 Case Studies

Both of these video games are Medieval Fantasy-based RPGs.  They are set in expansive worlds with magic, monsters, mysteries to be discovered, stories to be told, and dark evils to be thwarted.  In Skyrim, the player is given autonomy to create their own character – their race, cosmetics, name, character build, and their reputation throughout Tamriel on the planet Nirn.  However, they are blessed (or cursed) with being the Dragonborn, essentially a person with the soul of a dragon, and thus must try and fulfill a heroic destiny while surviving a bloody civil war.  The Witcher slightly differs, as the player takes on the character of a specific witcher (monster hunter), Geralt of Rivia, who is unfortunately tasked with stopping the world’s end.  Geralt’s actions and reputation throughout the world, its kingdoms, and its empires are determined by the player’s choices – however, the world knows him as the “Kingslayer” before the player steps into his shoes.  Although there are slight differences in gameplay, plot intention, and characterization approach, both games perfectly execute the traditional Tragedy in a non-traditional way.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is viewed as one of the most influential video games of the decade. It still holds the standard for RPG expectations and is considered the game that changed RPGs forever. Released in 2011, it was the first open-world video game that gave NPCs attributes and a purpose, even when the player was not interacting with them. In addition, these NPCs have personalities, lives, histories, stories to be told, and secrets to be discovered. The player cannot always assess this through dialogue, so game developers wrote and placed 307 individual books into Skyrim that serve as personal journals, field journals, guides, religious texts, short stories, recipes, and more. Not every story is given a hard end, allowing the player to use their imagination. This creates realistic-feeling lore to the origin story of this gaming world. This depth of detail contextualizes the main plot and objective while asserting an emotional connection between the player and the world in which they are immersed. Additionally, it lays the foundation for character development, and solidifies the use of clear thought and diction within the game’s plots and subplots. This emotional connection to the setting of each character is strengthened through song. It is executed through the ambience created by the ever-present sounds of the natural world, as well as an incredibly-crafted score that sets the mood whether rain or shine; during tranquil exploration or heated battle. This spectacle would not be possible without every aspect of the game being carefully crafted, coded, and placed. Skyrim game developers employed intelligent, user-friendly quest design that encourages players to explore the vast world, while allowing multiple plots to advance directly and indirectly simultaneously. More technically, developers coded gameplay so that it could be easily adjustable in both difficulty and play style for all players depending on how challenging the desired experience is. With each of these aspects working in tandem, as advised by Aristotle, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the best modern Tragedies. The success of synthesizing these six theatrical elements explains why it is still one of the most played RPGs after almost a decade since its release. Skyrim paved the way for the modern RPG in all aspects, allowing for the development of arguably the best game ever by many.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, released in 2015 and based on a series of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, presents a perfect Tragedy.  Some assert this game the best of all time due to the seamless execution of all of its parts.  Taking inspiration from the groundbreaking game enhancements of Skyrim, the player, as Geralt of Rivia, is lurched into a world of NPCs independently conducting their day-to-day lives, whether it be busily running errands or stumbling drunk outside of a pub.  This contextualizes the world in which Geralt lives, making sense of his story and its intention. Because of the nature of this RPG, The Witcher, while providing character choice and autonomy that fully influences plot development and the surrounding world, is a game based on an already-established character with a base personality, history, and reputation. This allows developers to implement cutscenes that help advance the plot and inform players on main and supporting character motivations, relationships, and backgrounds.  Each character of importance – there are dozens – are also given a special place in an always-accessible journal that describes who they are, what they do, and their role in Geralt’s story.  This journal is not concrete; it changes based on the player’s choices throughout the game.  These elements contribute to the plot, character, thought, and diction of the game, allowing users to be convinced of the character’s actions and Geralt’s choices in that exact moment of the story.  Similar to Skyrim, the world is filled with the ambience of nature and beautifully composed music that sets breathtaking scenes.  This element of song adds depth to the immersive experience and strengthens the emotional bond that players develop with the game.  However, these elements would not matter if the core developmental aspects, the spectacle, of the game were not seamless.  Although Geralt is the game’s only playable character, users have countless gameplay choices and story options embedded in a complex quest system, influencing the surrounding environment – both in Geralt’s individual endeavors, as well as the continent’s politics.  These intricately crafted components create one solid product of theatrical tragedy that has kept players continually returning for its story six years after initial release.

Conclusion

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt exemplify Aristotle’s model of dramatic tragedy in a modern form. These case studies prove that video games are fun, tragedy is fun, and by marrying the two, arts organizations can experiment with exciting new forms of audience engagement! For a guide on how arts organizations can implement the use of gaming, visit this AMT Lab article that serves as a starting point for smaller organizations in their video game creation journey.