A panic is fermenting among established men of letters.  “Video games will kill the narrative!” they say, and shut their eyes and ears against the perils of lions and tigers and video game writers, oh my!  Keep your eyes open, though, and you see the narrative art is in no mortal danger from pixels and d-pads.  But though predictions of narrative’s imminent demise are hysterical, they draw attention to an important point.  Video games suffer from an ignorance of traditional narrative form and tools.  Story lines are sloppy and weak, character development is non-existent, and I could go on.  Game narrative must have a central role in game design and writing; however, the art is still underdeveloped and its place in the medium still uncertain.

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