Video Games, Writing, & "Cringe"

A Very Basic Intro to Video Game Storytelling

I have been playing video games since I was very young and have seen the industry grow into what it is today. One of the first games I have vivid memories of is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Anyone who plays video games knows of the legendary status the game holds to this day. A large portion of its fame is due to Toru Osawa and Kensuke Tanabe's script and screenplay, with English translation and localization coming from Dan Owsen. In terms of narrative it was not anything groundbreaking or unique using a lot of story-telling tropes found in the basic Hero's Journey outline. However, what was unique about it at the time was the presentation. With the Nintendo 64's 3D capabilities bringing cinematic language to the forefront of video game storytelling.

Now, almost thirty years later, AAA games have made this a common practice with the use of motion capture elevating video game characters to an entirely new level. Some of the most compelling character performances have come from video games. Characters that come to mind are Joel (The Last of Us) performed by Troy Baker, Kratos (God of War 2018) performed by Christopher Judge, and Maelle (Claire Obscur: Expedition 33) voiced by Jennifer English and motion capture by Charlotte Hoepffner. All of these great performances would be nothing without dialogue which can make or break any video game character's performance and reception. Sometimes dialogue is not handled well which can lead to a video game character's biggest sin: CRINGE!

Pictured above is Chloe from Life is Strange performed by Ashley Burch - Image Source

People Don't Talk Like That...

Sam Wolfe describes in his article titled The Anatomy of Cringe as "similar to awkwardness and embarrassment but not quite the same." The concept of cringe as a colloquial is an autonomic emotional reaction to social pain or someone's social blunder. It is a "know it when you see it" type of concept, but it is also subjective and limited to context and audience. What makes one person cringe may not make the other cringe. For example, the point and click adventure game Life is Strange released in 2015 to positive reception earning itself a large fanbase and praised for its writing and characters. I think this game is cringe. I played it in 2017 based on a recommendation from a friend and cringed from start to finish. While I appreciate that the game attempts to tackle heavy subject matter (e.g. depression, suicide, childhood trauma) I think the one thing that makes it cringey is the dialogue. While the voice acting provided by the cast is well done, it does not save it from being cringe every time the character Chloe uses "hella" in a sentence. The way the teenage characters speak feels similar to the way Tumblr post from 2013 reads. It's clumsy, awkward, clunky, and forced to a point where it feels like the writers are Steve Buscemi in the famous clip from 30 Rock. You know the one.

The Anime Cringe

Before I say anything else, I must put the disclaimer that I am a fan of a lot of anime and manga. Some stories and video games can benefit from leaning into anime aesthetic due to its hyper-stylized nature. That being said, if it is not applied carefully then it runs the risk of cringe. I think of games like Code Vein released in 2019 which lean into the aesthetic in its art style and character dialogue. The game's visual presentation is incredible with hyper stylized unique character designs, environments, and enemy design. I haven't played the game since 2019, but I remember the cringe I felt more than anything else. One particular scene sticks out in my mind that made me say to myself, "Oh no, it's one of those..."

After fighting your way through grotesque monsters in an apocalyptic environment a cutscene plays that you can watch here. In it, the character Yakumo is eating "onigiri" and, unprompted, goes into a long winded speech that is supposed to be emotional and inspirational. Instead, it's cringe. It's a completely unnatural moment that feels out of place, and is force fed to the player for no reason other than the writers wanted to do world building and couldn't figure out how to do it naturally. Not only does it make me cringe, it also makes me say "Ok I don't care." It clashes with the tone and interrupts the flow of the gameplay which is something. There are plenty of other examples like that in the game, and it is a feature of a lot of games that lean into the anime aesthetic.

Conclusion

Writing is difficult, and writing dialogue is even more difficult. It has to sound natural to not just the character, but to the environment and tone of the story as well. Too many games suffer from the problem of dialogue that feels forced, unnatural, clunky, and unnecessary. If you want to know more on this topic, I suggest you check out ShreddedNerd's video "Millennial Writing" on the topic.