The subsequent conversation has Felicia reflect on her role and speculate with the player on how to proceed and on the nature of narrative.Īn abstract representation of Save the Date shows subsequent sessions as substantially different from earlier ones:Ĭross-session memory is rarely used as a narrative strategy, yet holds much promise in expressing complex and interdependent consequences. Save the date successfully demonstrates how cross-session memory can be used to enrich the narrativ experience by reflecting the player’s growing knowledge. In Save the Date the roles are reversed – the player addresses the in-game character and makes the date aware of her role as a character in a game. ![]() In more traditional media forms, the meta narrative involves a character addressing the reader as such. In this moment, the game narrative becomes meta-narrative. Yet, as the player quickly learns, using this knowledge directly is also risky, as Felicia will find the unexpected intimate knowledge rather creepy and as a reason to break up contact.Įventually, the player will encounter a set of choices that reveal her as a player of a video game to the date character. And it keeps changing to include more warnings and ways to avoid earlier disasters. In this way, the game reflects earlier experiences, which means the narrative changes accordingly. In subsequent attempts the player will now find an additional option to warn the date about the peanuts and thus avoid death at this level in the game. Hence, the goal of the game is to literally “save the date,” which turns out to be rather difficult. For example, taking Felicia to a Thai restaurant will have her die from a food allergy to peanuts. However, regardless of the particular choice, the date will invariably die. For this purpose, the player can chose from a variety of restaurant options. In addition, this work extends the notion of metanarrative in an important way and challenges the player to consider abandoning the game to reach a successful ending.Īt the start of the game, the player invites a romantic interest – Felicia – to a dinner date. So what does this game do? Save the Date reflects the player’s growing knowledge in consecutive replays though an evolving narrative. ![]() ![]() At the same time, this work challenges long-standing conventions in both games and narrative. This game puts the affordances of digital media to great use by demonstrating how procedurality and interactivity can extend narrative. Save the Date is a real gem from the perspective of interactive digital narrative.
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