DEREK EX MACHINA, created by author and editor Derek L.H., is a blog dedicated to exploring the effect that video games and film have on people.
All tagged Narrative Design
The quality of Saros’ storytelling is a byproduct of the many developers, systems, and layers of presentation that come together to create the package that is Saros. On a narrative front, they fail to align and elevate the core narrative that I see quality in at the very heart of this game.
There’s very much a strong core to Yakuza 3. There’s nothing explicitly bad or unenjoyable at the game - it just feels like a victim of a series that naturally improved its execution of its ideas over time. Later games refining what Yakuza 3 brings to the table isn’t the fault of Yakuza 3, but it does highlight how unpolished and unrefined Yakuza 3 is as a result.
Link’s Awakening is but one example of how smaller-scale design can nevertheless make a world feel as believable and immersive as it is tightly constructed and uninterested in wasting the player’s time. Through its tight design and consideration for making an experience that provides a consistent feeling of progression and gradually expanding sense of freedom and exploration, Link’s Awakening ended up provides an adventure that I recall very fondly - an assessment that is in large thanks to the title’s size.
