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| The Game Player Meets Game Conflict Narrative |
The narrative in a game turns its challenges into conflicts. There are several types of game conflicts, and they are similar to the classic types of conflict in literature.
Man versus Man
Man versus man is a conflict between people. In games, the player can be in conflict with another player or a computer-generated avatar. Man versus man can also be extended to include two-versus-one scenarios and conflicts between individuals and small groups.
Common narratives for man versus man conflicts include:
a battle between good and evil
a battle for an object
a race to a location
a scenario of betrayal or revenge
a top score or ranking scenario.
An example of a game that uses man versus man conflict is Beyond: Two Souls. In this game, the main character, Jodie, struggles for freedom against the head of a paranormal CIA unit that wants to detain her because of her psychic connection to a ghost.
Man versus Environment
In man versus environment, the player wants to be in a particular place or state, and must struggle against the environment. Common elements of man versus environment in games include:
bad weather
locked doors
limits of geography (a river you can’t cross)
prison
security systems.
Man versus environment often traps players so they must find a way in or out. Survival-horror games like the Resident Evil series include aspects of man versus environment. In Resident Evil, the player must navigate environments inhabited by zombies.
Man versus Society
The man versus society narrative is created when a law or societal code of conduct prevents the player from achieving his goal. The player must struggle against the law or social rule in order to move forward. An example of man versus society is the Grand Theft Auto series, where protagonists advance through the games by improving their rank in a criminal organization.
Man versus Himself
In a man versus himself narrative, the character or avatar’s conflict is internal. The conflict could be a moral dilemma or a character struggling with a personal weakness.
This is one of the most difficult types of narrative conflicts because of the nature of the game design medium. Games are interactive, so designers want the experience and solutions to come from the player. Man versus himself games are typically third-person games with a developed main character that the player controls, like Max Payne, Alice: Madness Returns or Psychonauts.