Ludonarrative dissonance
In short A clash between what a game's story says and what its rules reward the player for doing.
Definition
Ludonarrative dissonance is a conflict between a game's story and its systems: the narrative asks the player to believe or value one thing, while the rules reward the opposite. The designer Clint Hocking coined the term in 2007, writing about BioShock, whose story criticises ruthless self-interest while its systems reward exactly that. The term names a problem of meaning, not of quality; a game can be excellent and dissonant at once. It can only arise because games speak twice, through what they show and through what they make the player do, and the two can disagree. When they agree, a mechanic can carry the story's feeling on its own.
Not to be confused with
- Persuasive game
A persuasive game argues through its rules on purpose; ludonarrative dissonance is when the rules argue against the game's own story.
- Theme
The theme is what a game is about; dissonance is when the systems contradict that theme.
- Mechanic
A mechanic is one rule-driven action; dissonance is a mismatch between what the mechanics reward and what the story says.
Where the game lives
- rules: used
- goals: used
- feedback: used
- uncertainty: not essential
- choice: used
- play: not essential
The dissonance lives in goals and feedback. What the rules reward is itself a statement, and it can contradict the one the story makes.
used dropped
Examples
BioShock2K Boston and 2K Australia, 2007
The case Hocking named the term for, a story against ruthless self-interest wrapped around systems that reward it.
Brothers: A Tale of Two SonsStarbreeze Studios, 2013
The opposite case. A control scheme taught for hours, one brother per thumbstick, delivers the story's grief at the end.
In the essays
Industry, Art, Media: What Video Games Actually Are
A video game is three things at once: an industrial product, an artistic work and a medium that argues. The most revealing parts of a game sit where the three meet.
Sources
- ArticleLudonarrative Dissonance in BioShock. 2007. The blog post that coined the term.