Who is John Marston? Interactive Storytelling in Red Dead Redemption
Tags: Anthony Burch, grand theft auto, interactive narrative, interactive storytelling, narrative, open world game, red dead redemption, rockstar, storytelling, suspension of agency, videogame narrative
Playing Red Dead Redemption I found myself thinking a lot about the story, specifically within the context of the objective vs. subjective storytelling (which I discussed in a previous post.) The one thing that I kept coming back to was that within the game it seemed that there were two John Marstons, the one that Rockstar created for the game, and the one that the players create for themselves as they play the game. The players’ John Marston exists between the cut-scenes and in-game dialogues between characters, while the Rockstar John Marston exists in those scripted moments.