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Level design in of itself is incredibly important for games in general, as poor level design can completely negate whatever great mechanics the developers created. However, this article will focus on a more specific aspect of level design, environmental storytelling. A technique that, while it requires player attention and intention, is a far more effective way to tell a story in comparison to something like exposition.
While technically every game that has “levels” or playable zones uses environmental storytelling, this article will focus on examples where the developers not only intentionally use it but use it to great effect. It must also be noted that environmental storytelling is not exclusive to games and is often used in film. However, in further examples it's application in video games will be focused on.
The Entire Fallout Franchise
Even before Bethesda took the reins of the franchise and changed the games to be in first person, the series was known for using details in the level design to display the world. Bethesda's entries into the series popularized the trope, often joked about among the fanbase, the "Environmental Storytelling Skeleton". Even when Fallout 76 launched, the designers made up for the lack of NPCs by including notes and terminal entries wherever they could. How well they did this is up for debate, but it's clear that they knew it to be a go-to asset for the series.
Walking Simulators
Considered a generally dull sub-genre of games by most, they absolutely can be if certain design requirements are not met. One of these necessary aspects is making the environment not only visually engaging, but make the player genuinely think about every location or item they are seeing and recognize it's importance. This is obviously easier said than done, but it can be effective in cases like the game "Firewatch" where while the story has it's own reasons for motivation, the exploration of the environment, uncovering secrets long forgotten and the general atmosphere are what make it a game worth playing.
While the concept can be applied effectively, there are definitely ways that can be misused as well. Often a game well have plenty of environmental details but completely lack the in-game context that makes the player even recognize them. Sometimes a game will overindulge in detail placement and cause an overstimulation effect, also resulting in the player overlooking or simply not caring about it. What is often hours of a developer's time can be made completely in vain because of these pitfalls.
Environmental Storytelling is in incredibly useful tool in game design when it comes to not only telling a story but just general world building too. While it also can become a curse in some cases, it most often is used effectively. It can be found in almost every visual media, all it takes is a little viewer attention and intention to make these experiences way better than before.
Gunner Farrell is a member of the Poudre Press. He is a sophomore in high school and has taken interest in doing journalism work in relation to the critique an analysis of video games and other similar media.
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