Hands-On: Bastion Spins an Intriguing Role-Playing Yarn | GameLife | Wired.com: But then there’s the other story, the one constructed by the actions you perform during the game. Because the gamer is in control and because videogames often give players a good amount of freedom, these two stories are usually somewhat misaligned — sometimes preposterously so.
The Penny Arcade webcomic made this precise point in its take on Sega’s sprawling drama Shenmue. “I will avenge my father’s death…. Right after I play with this kitten! And drink this soda! And play with these toys!”
I noted another example of this dichotomy in a series of articles called “Confessions of a Grand Theft Auto Virgin.” There’s nothing in the games’ cinematic scenes about the main character being a serial murderer of prostitutes, and yet the do-what-you-like, open-world gameplay led many gamers to spend their time doing only that.
The important thing about Bastion’s narration isn’t that it’s clever and funny, which it is. What’s so interesting about the “constantly talking old man” device is that it attempts to square the circle and unite the two stories, the one that’s written down and the one that’s told in the moment-to-moment actions of the player.