Best Narrative Quotes

"There's winning the narrative, and then there's getting things done. And as we've seen throughout this tour, the two aren't all that connected."

"Small-scale stories can honestly have much more real feeling stakes."

"Photography is about capturing emotion, telling a story."

"Economic empowerment is the way we change the game and change the narrative."

"Wade Wilson's journey is not just a sequence of events, but a narrative rich with Easter eggs, detail, and a deep connection with the audience."

"It is a very narrative-forward game that emphasizes the collaboration between player and GM."

"This is a hopeful narrative of the human race."

"Ghost of Tsushima's narrative works fantastically well to motivate the player's actions within the world."

"We're being fed this narrative just to keep us clicking, just to keep us worried, just to keep us afraid."

"Make sure that there is a complete arc for a character."

"The mutation itself is something that's really interesting that was added. I do like it as a storytelling instrument."

"I missed the modern plot line... I always liked seeing how the Assassins vs. the Templar conflict was playing out in the present."

"The Stanley Parable tells a quirky, weird, narrated story filled with humor and weird wonder."

"Damn, another side mission complete. Now it's time for me to get back to the main story."

"Halo Reach is a prequel to the initial Halo Trilogy and is expertly crafted to fill you with a sense of hopelessness and dread as the human Planet Of Reach falls to the might of the Covenant."

"A narrative is strong if it still leaves room for the personal interpretation of its player."

"This game is going places that I didn't expect it to go."

"Making data a pivotal point in an overarching story."

"The world of social media...the newspapers don't control the narrative anymore."

"I respect World War II's campaign because they at least tried to make some sort of cool narrative."

"It's not a rule book, y'all; it's a love story."

"Psychonauts' greatest strength is that it manages to tell nuanced stories without interrupting the flow of gameplay."

"The genocide run caught on because the feeling you get from the word genocide best represents the brutality of it all."

"We believe it's the actual person or the actual event that's happened that's created our pain, but really it's a story we've attached to it."

"Maybe as Link conquers those intrusive thoughts and begins to succeed, a malevolence grows elsewhere in the shadows."

"Video games are increasingly viewed as legitimate cultural artifacts capable of communicating aesthetic, narrative, emotional, and ethical meanings."

"The show was not just about motorcycle building; it was a narrative of the American dream."

"Everybody's the good guy in their own narrative."

"The stuff that moves civilization is narrative."

"Honestly, the Cinderella story for a lot of fans out there."

"A well-developed narrative makes a frame for your life and helps you stabilize your negative emotions."

"James Sandin learns that a stranger’s life is just as valuable as his family’s."

"The game revolves around her; the world is Lily's, and you're just living in it."

"If you evolve to match reality in some sense, and the manner in which you evolve predisposes you to view the world as if it's a narrative of sorts, then possibly the world is a narrative of sorts, at least as far as it concerns you."

"Every conversation feels like a scene, it has a beginning and an end, and you feel like you're making meaningful choices."

"World building is the one thing that I think games can do better than any other narrative medium."

"That's an amazing moment, completely irrelevant to all the characters in different arcs, but it is so perfect at actualizing what the story is about."

"This is the Dyatlov Pass Incident, and this is the red thread."

"We're the heroes of this story. We're the ones it's going to come down to."

"In BG3, every single NPC that you talk to comes with a cinematic-esque cutscene."

"If you recall, a dramatic flaw fits all three: like how the hubris of Sherlock Holmes caused him to underestimate Irene Adler during A Scandal in Bohemia, leading to one of the few times Holmes failed to resolve a case."

"Young people are embedded in a story and a narrative they wake up every day in; we should be very thankful we get to be a part of this story."

"The narrative is more important than the arithmetic."

"When we're talking about the narrative, that's what this game does so well, and that's why this game is one of the highest-rated games of all time, ever released, period."

"Developed by the creators of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America's unforgiving Heartland."

"After months away, John Marston has returned to his loved ones while trying to rebuild his ranch and win back the trust of his family."

"What was supposed to be an arc about healing, fixing your problems, and uniting as a family, ends with probably one of the most depressing endings in manga."

"Higgs's descent from altruistic porter to egotistical terrorist is fascinating to see unfold."

"My job as a therapist is almost to be an editor where I help people to revise the faulty narrative that they came in with."

"The thing that's been so strange is that over the last 15 months, knock on wood, every time I've been pushed into a corner and remained composed, the narrative reversed."

"It offers a conceptual framework for constructing a narrative unity of life."

"The girl grew up to be the same old woman who had an encounter earlier with our protagonist. She keeps having these terrible dreams about what happened to her village."

"Science isn’t shaped by how attractive a narrative is. It’s shaped by scientists who have studied science for a very long time so that they can now do science."

"The conventional story about the making of England is completely wrong. The real story will reshape our future and rewrite our past."

"When you control the pen, you control how the story gets told."

"It's the story of humans and Navi learning to live in harmony."

"Human beings want stories. We don't want necessarily just repeated standalone sessions that have no overarching narrative that pulls us together."

"This is our story. I mean, there have been...books written about this case...we are the only ones that know what has happened to us since JonBenét's death. No one else. This is a story only we can tell."

"By sharing in this cruel, arbitrary suffering, something special happens: we become both the bard and author."

"Gameplay is king in this game, but the narrative...is really good."

"This is our story and as such we can choose whichever side we want."

"Misogyny is rife in the world...they're real things happening. We have to be able to write about them and especially in narrative ways because that's how we can get people to feel."

"Its use of symbolism and literary references as both thematic and narrative tools is nothing short of genius."

"God of War is such artistry, not just visually but in how it navigates narrative and identity."

"Ymir is just a really tormented soul that's been locked away for so long."

"Detroit: Become Human, because the graphics are incredibly beautiful, the characters are great, the theme of the story is great."

"We're trying to combat it and so now, the beauty is moving forward, we can create a counter-narrative. We can create more healthier dialogues and more healthier conversations to be able to create better men, better women, and improve Black America."

"Sephiroth, a normal man, his will became strong enough to overcome a galactic parasite that had been playing mind games for over 2,000 years."

"It's story that propels the action, story that triggers the emotions, and it's story that gives us that sense of fulfillment."

"Truth in warfare is often the first casualty, as narratives and realities diverge under the fog of conflict."

"Character development will always supersede power scaling to me because said power scaling will always be created in accordance to what the writer actually wants to occur for the character development or narrative in the first place."

"Life is complicated, and we shouldn't undermine that to promote a narrative. If we're doing that, I just think we're harming the people that we claim to want to help."

"Every horror element in this game has deeper symbolic meaning."

"It feels very cinematic because of the movement but what I really like about it is although on a surface level you've got the basic level narrative, it feels like she's popping out from like a painting."

"I hope this video has been useful. I think narrative is a powerful thing in photography. I also think it's a very natural thing."

"We're storytellers. We like to tell the story of the individuals and not just this big global thing."

"The dragon tears in Tears of the Kingdom is wrought with this subtext of guilt."

"The implicit promise of the story is that these things will add up to something; there will be some coherent meaning behind all this talk and blood."

"So there's this perfect fit between such a compelling character but also such a natural gamification of that experience."

"This saga in a lot of ways feels like the perfect version of this particular formula Toriyama had begun with the King Piccolo saga."

"Lamar Jackson has to become the neurosurgeon, if you will, of his field, winning a Super Bowl to rid himself of the narrative. It may be unfair, but it's reality."

"The focus on colonialism feels refreshingly mature and balanced."

"Warframe has stunningly good gameplay and an excellent narrative-driven tutorial."

"They always ended with spiraling into madness and disappearing in a mad chase after something."

"You can change your story, you can change your narrative whenever you want. You can be a victor. You can have victory over your circumstances, and you don't have to be a product of your family of origin or whatever cards were dealt to you. You can create whatever type of life you want, and it can be amazing."

"It's kind of like in a romance novel, you kind of have to know who you're rooting for."

"Real empowerment comes from taking charge of your narrative."

"You deserve a happy ending; you are this empress, regardless of gender."

"Hell's Island... announces the Dentist as our nemesis."

"You're not going to just list down random information. You're going to tell a story."

"The storytelling element of True Crime is a vital part of its appeal."

"Examining why you constantly seek out certain types of information to form a particular narrative is important."

"A good story must have meaning and should ultimately be about something."

"Suddenly, Claire asks him how a man can form a contract with a spirit. It is well-known that only the shrine princesses can contract with spirits. How did he do it?"

"Perhaps inadvertently, he granted himself and his Floette immortality. Otherwise, how would they still be here 3,000 years later?"

"Religion requires narrative, it requires poetry, it requires this kind of faith-based thinking that analytic philosophy, you know, reason alone, can't really grasp."

"Therapists and patients reauthor their lives to retrace where their self-perception comes from."

"Evolve your characters with your story and every now and then throw a spanner in the works."

"If run the subject of villains, every Metal Gear game has a squad of villains for the heroes to take on, and MGS3 follows this trend with the Cobra unit."

"You could not write the better script, Shogun. He has done it, and Cloud9, they are still in the RLCS season."

"Detective quests in many games are always really intriguing especially when they play into the world of the game."

"These people aren't important, but it's showing us that Jeff isn't a unique case; they're doing this to anybody, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or income."

"Moments where V gets another gameplay option or a unique alternative based on what life path they are, even if they aren't large in scope, are good examples of the system working."

"Archaeological theories often try to fit evidence into preconceived narratives, rather than letting the evidence speak for itself."

"Rockstar Games did so much right with this game, various elements in my opinion being perfected, which includes the design of the open-world, the musical soundtrack, graphics, the narrative, character development, and the mystery throughout the world of RDR 2."

"My friends and I were introduced to what is, for my money, the best story in all of gaming, across all categories, including video games."

"It's not about what we know, it's about what we think happened and how these people may have felt."

"The narrative up until that point did a great job of riding the fence between belief and skepticism."

"The ending actually demonstrates this best: 'Don't believe me? Here, I'll put you on.'"

"Embrace yourself as we delve into the chilling narratives of 15 haunting relics salvaged from the depths of the Ocean's Greatest tragedy, the RMS Titanic."

"Reality always wins, but not on day one. The narrative can prevail."

"The Stanley Parable makes delightful use of the player's impish desire to not play along with a set narrative."

"This isn't a story about saving the world; it's a story about saving the self, or trying to at least."

"Every mile of your journey told continuously, every step, you really feel like you're gunning your way through Earth's final days."

"The idea that a sapient species can inherently tend towards good or evil acts weakens the narrative."

"In a BioWare game, you should feel like the story's about you. You create your own character, you decide what happens next, and you become the hero."

"Games work best when the arbitrary number goals of the game system mesh with the demands of the narrative."

"Semi-reliable communal sense-making is the number one crisis. If we do not learn how to come up with a narrative that we can share, we're gonna take the most hopeful and best experiment and trash it."

"Meek is capable of these immense feats of emotional intelligence and narrative."

"Memory is not a photocopy; memory is not a documentary. Memory is an act of emotionally infusing narratives that can either guide your life to a better or a worse destination."

"Why is he doing this? Clearly, he has an axe to grind with Providence."

"The finale of the movie is so powerful, not just because Cecilia gets her bloody revenge, but because she is so committed to getting the truth from him."

"Every character has strengths and weaknesses, or more specifically, every character has a space of situations they're good at handling and a space of situations they're bad at handling."

"It makes for a more interesting narrative if your character has some things they're good at and some things they struggle with."

"It’s always neat to watch a clever character figure things out and potentially save the day in the process."

"This part of my life… is called 'happyness.'"

"The key to confidence and the key to self-reliance is in controlling your own narrative."

"The power of a character is strongly dependent on their narrative importance."

"Aya goes through the game both trying to save New York from her genetically manipulated monsters while simultaneously trying to figure out what her and Eve share."

"Every frame of this movie is beautiful to look at, it's cohesive and, most importantly, it works with the plot."

"She missed almost the entirety of the Avengers Saga because she had so much other cosmic ass-saving to do."

"It's about teamwork and it's about telling a story together."

"Great writing happens when the satisfying narrative or emotional moments... are married to their character's capabilities and motivations."

"The game will follow the son of a blacksmith whose family has been killed by the invading army. The protagonist seeks revenge and will ultimately strive to restore the rightful ruler to the throne and order to the land."

"It's one of the most memorable narrative experiences that I have ever played."

"An ending isn't just the end; it's a culmination of everything that's come before it and a resolution to the entire journey."

"People are looking for authenticity. They are looking for a narrative that exists independently of what companies, media conglomerates, and the political elite class want you to hear."

"It's hard but not impossible to condense a story while still holding true to its core narrative and messages."

"Jiraiya decides that the sequel should be called 'The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki' and smiles at how good the title is."

"Matsuno's hands-on and dictatorial approach was vindicated publications around the world lauded Vagrant Story for not just its compelling narrative but also its innovative battle system."

"The streak was the story, and Michaels and Taker skillfully played with the crowd's expectations."

"Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, the irresistible force meeting the immovable object."

"This a story about revenge and honor. Revenge. I'll avenge us, mama, I swear it."

"Conduct needed a hero. Instead, they got me."

"Betrayal has oomf. It means something. Calling a character a traitor is an instant gutpunch."

"And finally, this is all rounded out with a vibrant and diverse atmosphere, a lovable cast of characters, and a simplistic yet enthralling narrative with heart."

"Trust is again, in the end, trust is always based on believing in the same story."

"Journaling helps us kind of change perspectives and build a more cohesive narrative."

"I will always love Tinko; she has such a soft, sweet side, and her free time events are so, so adorable."

"It's one of the most human endings that I've ever seen written into a video game."

"Mass Effect 1 has not only some of the best world-building I've seen in a video game to date but also sets up the main threat of the game to be more than what it seems."

"Don't let facts get in the way of a good story."

"The emotional depth and symmetry to this narrative moment was beautiful."

"Still, there are moments in this game that are delicate, considered, and unforgettable."

"In this new universe at the end of the part, we see the main cast living different but better lives."

"Maria is alive, not just alive, but acting as if her death had never happened."

"Hades is gorgeous in every respect; it's action-packed and heartfelt and epic."

"It's like a really, really harrowing tale about this lady just displaced, you know, a millennium."

"Characters are always at the heart and soul of any good story."

"There is a good amount of heart... giving us interesting dynamics to watch outside of Nate's narrative."

"Someday your life will be nothing but a story, a story told by a lot of authors that aren't you."

"Despite being a village based in reality, Doolin's mystery is really alluring, and anytime you shift into the netherworld, it feels like you're walking into a fairy tale."

"I care more about the characters and the story in Origins."

"I have this theory that, like, I think stories...we have a biological reaction to stories in the same way that we have to music."

"We have more information than ever before, but with the lack of a narrative to identify with, we only become more lost in the midst of this information."

"This whole chapter is probably gonna be a huge cliffhanger."

"Even if the world has ended and humanity has gone extinct, I can't give up. It'd be a crappy story if the hero gave up so easily."

"The whole Bible is a love story. It starts with a wedding, Adam and Eve, and it ends with a wedding, the last book of Revelation."

"It captures what Star Wars has lost: how long we hang on, how far we get, how many of us make it out...all of that is now up to us."

"A villain is good if they are written well, they’re written well if they enhance the narrative, and what enhances the narrative is dependent on the story."

"This is Ripley, warrant officer, last survivor of the commercial starship Nostromo, signing off."

"Post-modernism says that all the grand narratives are bad because they took their source of oppression, but they don't apply it to their own grand narrative."

"The level to which people will surrender to their own narrative bias."

"Conflict is important to storytelling. You can't really tell a story without it."

"Everything's a narrative. They can twist the narrative. The narrative could work for you or go against you."

"I've decided to explain the characters in depth, one by one, starting with the very top: Queen Marika, the ruler of the Lands Between and shatterer of the Elden Ring."

"The Addams Family animated film is frustratingly mediocre despite decent intentions. It takes a unique property and weighs it down with a weak narrative, not enough humor, and way too many mainstream studio trappings."

"It takes the foundation of The Last Jedi and tells a story that turns away from a perfect 2-dimensional character who wins in the end, into a flawed three-dimensional character who loses in the end."

"The adventures... string together to form this cohesive narrative... each location the adventure kind of plays out in a session or two, so they're very fast, quick but memorable in-and-out experiences."

"It's also a shame, as there's a good story being told in well-made cutscenes with snappy writing and performances carrying a lot of the weight."

"The Incredible Hulk becomes the Herald of Galactus and presumably goes about the universe doing whatever it is he does."

"This could have been Oda telling us, the readers, that Luffy won't die the same way Roger did and his ending will be different."

"When you do this with the resurrection narratives...it's actually quite striking."

"The increasingly horrifying narrative will keep you well and truly spooked due to its sheer bizarreness."

"Walker finds that Conrad had committed suicide after his failed evacuation effort, and Walker had been communicating with Conrad through hallucination."

"We have a narrative sense of the world. For me, that's been the world of morality. That's the world that tells us how to act. It's real, like we treat it like it's real."

"The war is getting set up where it's up to the societal underdogs to save the societal top dogs, and it's beautiful."

"The Legend of Zelda's successful blend of sword and sorcery iconography with a laissez-faire narrative structure still live on in the sandbox games of today."

"Please wait, do not be so hasty in writing the ending of our story. I beseech you."

"This game has some of the best dungeons, puzzles, stories, characters in the entire series."

"Specificity of narrative comes from specificity of character."

"Mob of the Dead marks the turning point where zombies would leave behind the immature characters and stale gameplay and move into something more developed and polished."

"Shank's final battle with Blackbeard will result in him being rescued by Luffy and the Straw Hats, bringing the story full circle."

"Final Fantasy Tactics had a very strong story that has become revered owing to its compelling characters, political intrigue, and its significant dose of betrayal."

"Kratos has forged ahead to a new life, a new gameplay style, and a new world, but the past can never truly be forgotten."

"I think authors of content should leave their interpretive aspects of their narrative work alone once it goes out into the world for consumption."

"The narrative that's emerging is that we have an anti-racist majority."

"His actions, including saving this family, directly led to Muzon's eventual defeat."

"They kind of shot themselves in the foot in at least for their narrative not creating a little more Jeopardy on poor old Vince's business and Company going into the thing before it was a raving success."

"The strength of those great Heroes was not innate."