Developed by Daniel Benmergui and published by Annapurna Interactive, Storyteller is available for purchase on Windows and Nintendo Switch and for free on iOS and Android with a Netflix subscription. Because of the simplicity in initial puzzles/narratives, the game can be initially played by a wide audience from kids to adults, however, as puzzles increase in difficulty, younger players may have trouble continuing due to the lack of hints. In addition, it would specifically appeal to players who enjoy challenging brainteasers and piecing together narratives in a logical manner.
In Storyteller, we are given a title and have to make a narrative that matches the title with a set number of panels, characters, and settings. The simplicity in its mechanics creates a dynamic where players can explore narratives effortlessly which facilitates discovery, fantasy, and narrative. Players merely have to drag and drop (and rearrange) characters and settings to progress in these puzzles, which fall under the categories of sequence puzzles and dialog puzzles because players are required to rearrange panels until they are in the right order to allow characters perform the right actions that satisfy the plot suggested by the title. As the order of panels and combination of characters can drastically alter the outcome, many interesting micronarratives are formed, which makes the gaming experience more complex and rich in discovery. Even as I was failing to get the puzzle correct, I was discovering new interactions between characters merely by dragging new characters to replace the old ones. In the puzzles where there are more characters (Eg: Butler, Duchess, Detective, Duke), players can easily conjure up narratives of their own by incorporating the evocative settings provided by the game (Eg: gun, ballroom, witness). The game also facilitates exploration of micronarratives by creating additional optional subtitles that require players to alter the plot slightly. Because each action instantly results in something new and interesting, it feels more stimulating than other puzzle games like Monument Valley where it feels like you are just progressing bit by bit (literally walking) until you finally reach the end. In the case of Monument Valley, I think that the greater emphasis on sensation through its minimalist art style and interesting physics resulted in a decreased emphasis on its narrative, and as a result, players may be more attracted to how “satisfying” the game feels rather than understanding the narrative.
Although Storyteller’s interface seems to be designed for single player, I ended up playing the game with friends and had a lot more fun collaborating and struggling together to piece the puzzles. Once again, this is attributed to the simplicity in controls; when my friends saw the interface and me dragging characters to panels, they understood the game almost immediately and helped me out on ones that I was stuck on. I really appreciate this unintentional flexibility that the game provides in player interaction. Even if you’re not actively contributing and performing the main mechanic of dragging pieces, by ideating and talking aloud the possibilities, you’re also able to have fun. Storyteller is even able to facilitate fellowship because it allows players to engage with the gameplay at varying levels of involvement. My friends and I were playing in lecture and got stuck on a puzzle for almost an hour, but once I figured it out on my own, I immediately sent it to them to celebrate together!
The narratives that we’re asked to piece together in the game can be also classified as evocative spaces. Using characters that we might be familiar with such as Adam and Eve or Snow White and the Prince, we have to make new stories that may require knowing/changing the existing relationships between these characters in their respective original narratives. However, the creators’ implicit assumption that players are all familiar with these well-known characters can disadvantage players who are not. While the puzzles can be solved through logic alone, this assumption creates a disparity in difficulty, making the experience less accessible for some players.
In addition, as there are definitive right answers to these narrative puzzles, the creators may be implicitly enforcing stereotypes, especially surrounding gender and sexuality. When I was completing a puzzle using Snow White (Snowy), the Witch, and the Prince, I was really excited to see what kind of interactions can occur between Snow White and the Witch and find out how much liberty the creator took in allowing players to redefine relationships. When I tried to make Snow White and the Witch kiss, the witch seemed to indicate that she wasn’t interested because of Snowy’s gender. In addition, although the title doesn’t specify who gets cursed and who lifts the curse, many players may instinctually abide by the original narrative and portray Snow White as the classic ‘damsel in distress’. Although this decision may have been because of the original narrative, I was surprised to see it replicated in another puzzle where the characters were more generic medieval characters that don’t belong in specific, well-known stories. Queer gamers may seek representation in games in small ways that many dismiss as silly, but moments like these can be hurtful and demonstrate heteronormativity. Although queer romantic interactions are allowed in some other puzzles, it’s very inconsistent throughout the game and I wish that the creators took a more consistent approach to make the game more inclusive for players, even though that may be at the cost of more complicated logic and conditions for correct puzzles.
