In her article The first great works of digital literature are already being written Naomi Alderman makes a strong case for video games being a prominent form of digital literature. Nowadays, literature which originated from oral storytelling has many faces and voices. Alderman focuses on the story telling aspect of narration and there are many video games on the marked that make a point of telling a story. Some offer a 'free play' and a 'story mode'. While 'free play' does not necessarily have a set goal, the 'story mode' usually does. Follow this link to read Alderman's full article.
Games, such as Dear Esther, stress the importance of the story in the game by reducing the player's possibilities in the sectors of making decisions and taking action. Other games, such as Little Big Planet or Tearaway, combine aspects of hit-and-run, mini-game and riddle or task solving with a narrative voice that reminds of a classical night time story telling situation. Both games encouraged the player to build an own story line or mini game. Furthermore, they promote their online community in which players can share their creations. The interactivity between the game and the player as well as between player and other players bears characteristics of a hypertext.
Tearaway includes the player not only in the usual way of letting him control the protagonist of the game, it also includes the player as a separate character in the game. The cameras and the microphones of the PlayStation Vita enable the game to add video sequences, photos of the player and his surroundings and his voice to the story line. As the sun, the player looks over the letter on his journey. Video sequences add to the story telling aspect of the game.
The player has less of an impact on the story in Little Big Planet; however, it stresses its story telling character. The main narrator of the game is Stephen Fry who is a popular narrator of audio-books, television series, films, documentaries and video games. The familiarity of his voice, his story and character introductions, and his extradiegetic quality add to the narrative quality of the game. Hugh Laurie who took on the role of Newton in Little Big Planet 3 points out that story telling remains story telling whether it is a book, a film or a video game. As and old friend and colleague of Stephen Fry, he also indicates Fry's adequate casting as the narrator of the series.
Incidentally, Stephen Fry is the narrator of the of the film adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005). The story, which has been picked up in several television-, radio, and book series, has also been depicted in an interactive fiction. An interactive fiction relinquishes any kind of visual features and only consists of written words. The platform reminds of the layout of a chatroom or online forum and the action is conveyed solely through words. The inter-textual experience of the game is build on the phenomenon of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; however, a solid knowledge of Douglas Adams' works do not ensure a successful gaming experience. The player still has to take the game as an individual work in order to solve it. Familiarity with the conventions of interactive fiction and trial & error runs added to the knowledge about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are necessary to solve the puzzle. The simplicity of the game make this form of literature accessible to a broad reader-/player-ship.
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