Environmental storytelling

Environmental storytelling conveys narrative through a game's spaces, objects, architecture, and visual details rather than relying solely on explicit dialogue or exposition.

Environmental narrative: A story conveyed through features of an environment rather than only through direct narration. The broader narrative technique that game environments adapt through interactive spaces.
Gone Home: A 2013 exploration game in which a player investigates an apparently empty family home. Its domestic objects and documents reveal a family's story through exploration.
Exposition: The presentation of background information about a story's characters, setting, or events. Environmental clues can convey background that exposition states directly.
Immersion (virtual reality): A sense of being present within a computer-generated environment. Discovering story through spatial details can strengthen a sense of presence.
Ludonarrative dissonance: A perceived conflict between a game's story and the actions its mechanics encourage. A carefully narrated setting can clash with repetitive or contradictory player behavior.
Environmental design: The arrangement of physical or virtual spaces to shape how people perceive and use them. Spatial layout guides attention, movement, and interpretation of story clues.
What Remains of Edith Finch: A 2017 adventure game about a family whose members meet unusual deaths. Rooms and keepsakes make the Finch family's history tangible and personal.
Cutscene: A non-interactive cinematic sequence embedded in a video game. Cutscenes deliver authored scenes directly, unlike clues embedded in explorable spaces.
Player agency: A player's capacity to make choices that affect actions or outcomes in a game. Exploration lets players control the pace and order of narrative discovery.
Affordance: A perceived possibility for action offered by an object or environment. Players must recognize which details invite inspection or carry narrative significance.

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