Game narratives tend to be told through text like [url=http://www.theyawhg.com/]The Yawhg[/url] or any visual novels, or cutscenes like Halo 3 or Black Ops 2, or neither like Half Life or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter; and these methods vary from game to game in their use. Narratives in games are commonplace in most games today, however are technically not needed. All games have stories, whether you look at games like Pacman or Minecraft, or games like Halo or God of War, and they all have stories because they all have conflict. In games like Pacman or Minecraft, there isn't any narrative to them. If you ask someone what the games are about, they will usually tell you their experience playing or how to play the game by explaining to you the game mechanics (Pac-Man eats dots while being chased by ghosts; Minecraft players mine and craft). I'm bringing this up because just as games do not require narratives, they also do not require those devices that narratives are delivered by. Cutscenes can be used as a reward for the player's hard work in completing a section of a game, but they can also hinder the player by seizing control and preventing the player from being free to create his or her own experiences. This holds true for interactive cutscenes or quick-time events (as demonstrated by the final boss battle in Halo 4 or in Ryse Son of Rome). Text-based games also fall into the trap of preventing players from being free to create their experiences by essentially becoming a book to read through, just as cutscenes turn a game into a movie. [b]My question to those who participate in the poll and this thread is: [/b] why do you prefer one method over the other and what games have you played that demonstrate that way of story-telling? Below there are two interesting articles found on Gamasutra that if you take the time to read, may help in your discussion: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130155/rethinking_carrots_a_new_method_.php?page=2 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130770/what_every_game_developer_needs_to_.php