A discussion about subtext...

I was recently having a conversation with a writer friend of mine and our back and forth led us onto the discussion of subtext. A debate began regarding whether subtext is a good or bad thing as it is often assumed that subtext adds a another layer of depth to a narrative no matter the medium. My friend (lets call him The Doctor because of how gosh darned English I am) suggested that implementing subtext may be good for teaching the consumer something new but abandoning subtext all together leads readers, viewers, and players to search for it themselves and, in turn, discover something a lot more personal. Now this debate is interesting and all but ultimately, slightly pointless for me. This is because of the simple fact that, at least in my opinion, gamers don't look for subtext.


You could argue that this applies to all mediums, not just games. You could argue that most the people who watched Avatar didn't spot the glaringly obvious subject about the founding of America (despite the similarities to Pocahotas which presented the topic in a far more direct way). You could argue that most the people who read through Of Mice And Men didn't look for the various statements Steinbeck made about the time the book is set in. But connoisseurs of those mediums did.


The fact is that your typical game fanatic maybe have played Braid but did they know the entire game's a metaphor for the atomic bomb? Probably not, but you can't blame them. When our medium is littered with so many games featuring busty female objects and one dimensional badasses you can't expect the same audience who buys into those travesties to also observe Rapture's portrayal of a world where science has overruled morals in much depth. I'd ramble on about how more developers need to focus one creating more intelligent narratives but the fact is, it's not their fault either. 


When writing a book you can go back and edit it at your leisure. When you produce a film there is a script to work by. In game development levels will be cut to meet deadlines, cinematics will have to be cut also, and any art assets that detail the worlds narrative will be the first on the chopping block if you're rushed for time. This means that often a lot of developers need to plan a narrative where parts can be cut and the main plot line will still make relative sense, subtext is just to awkward to put in a lot of the time.


Does this mean we shouldn't strive for subtext in games? Ofcourse not, but don't expect such rich narratives until the digital distribution revolution hits (more on that in another post).


P.S: To settle the debate with The Doctor, everything should have various forms of subtext, providing the subject is relatable to the target audience.