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S w a n s e a ' M e t r o p o l i t a n ' U n i v e r s i t y '

Max$Payne’s$Storytelling$Analysis.$Edoardo$Natale$An$accurate$analysis$on$the$storytelling$of$Max$Payne,$divided$in$2$parts.$In$the$first$part$an$analysis$using$the$12$Chapters$method,$described$by$Vogler$in$his$book$“The$Writer’s$Journey”.$In$the$second$part,$a$list$of$method$used$by$the$game$to$delivery$its$story$and$$on$the$time$that$the$game$use$to$tell$it.$

08!Fall'

“Vogler’s!12!chapters!analysis!on!Max!Payne”!!

The!intent!of!this!assignment!is!to!analyse!the!storyline!of!the!Rockstar!“Max!Payne”!‘s!game,!!using!the!method!showed!by!Christopher!Vogler!(which!is!based!on!Campbell!works)!in!his!book!“The!writer’s!Journey”.!

Max!Payne!is!an!officer!in!the!NYPD,!Manhattan,!Hell’s!Kitchen.!His!life!is!perfect,!a!beloved!wife,!a!son!and!a!classic!American!House.!He!is!living!the!“American!Dream”.!!“But%dreams%have%a%nasty%habit%on%going%bad%when%you%are%not%looking”1.!One!night!he!found!a!group!of!junkies,!who,!using!a!new!drugs!named!Valkyr!,!killed!all!his!family.!After!this!Max!went!undercover!inside!the!Pulcinello!mobster!family!which!is!the!family!who!has!the!Valkyr!business.!After!3!years!his!colleague!!!and!Max!get!in!touch!again,!during!a!bank!robbery,!but!someone!kills!Alex,!and!the!police!think!that!Max!is!the!responsible.!Also!the!Mobster!discover!that!Max!is!an!undercover!agent,!so!now!our!hero!is!forced!to!escape!from!the!police,!try!to!survive!to!the!mobster!and!find!out!who!killed!Alex.!The!plot!will!continue!with!twists!and!turns,!finally!making!you!discover!that!Valkyr!is!not!a!drug,!but!is!a!sort!of!“superUsoldier”!serum,!and!that!the!producer!of!this!serum!is!a!pharmaceutical!factory!named!“Aesir”,!about!which!!Max’s!wife!found!evidence!of!something!irregular!in!her!district!attorney’s!office.!After!all,!you!will!discover!that!the!Boss!of!the!factory!,!Nicole!Horne,!ordered!the!murder!of!his!family!because!his!wife!wanted!to!reveal!everything.!

The!plot!is!all!based!on!the!revenge,!not!just!for!his!dead!family.!The!story!is!divided!in!3!different!acts!(each!of!one!seems!to!be!new!episodes!of!a!saga,!“where!each!act!sends!the!hero!on!a!specific!track!with!a!certain!aim!or!goal”2).!In!the!story!there!are!also!a!lot!of!Nordic!Mythology!references.!There!is!also!a!trip!inside!Max’s!inner!self!,!which!blames!the!mobster!on!the!outer!self,!but!inside,!he!feels!guilty!for!the!death!of!his!own!family.!

To!analyse!this!story!I!will!use!the!Vogler!method,!explained!in!his!book.!This!method!is!the!reworking!of!the!studies!of!another!man,!Campbell,!just!more!simplistic.!This!method!was!elaborated!after!the!study!of!hundreds!of!different!tales!from!different!cultures,!which!showed!that!almost!all!the!stories!have!the!same!key!points!and!same!archetypes.!In!this!analysis!there!are!12!points,!which!can!be!easily!found!in!a!lot!of!the!movies,!comics,!games!and!stories!of!nowadays.!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Quote!of!“Max!Payne”!in!Act!1!Prologue!2!“The!Writer’s!Journey”!Christopher!Vogler!(MWP)!!

1)!Ordinary!World!

“A%house%across%the%river%on%the%Jersey<side.%A%beautiful%wife%and%a%baby%girl.%The%American%dream%come%true.”%

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In!the!prequel!with!just!one!comic!strip,!the!game!is!able!to!show!to!all!the!players!how!life!is!for!our!hero.!

! !Fig.!1!

With!this!strip,!the!game!explains!to!the!player!the!background!story!of!the!hero,!he!is!a!cop.!Just!this!knowledge,!of!the!fact!that!he!is!a!cop,!gives!to!the!player!a!hint!on!how!his!life!is!about!to!change.!Being!a!cop!in!NY!is!!dangerous,!and!the!fact!that!he!speaks!so!much!of!his!family!(2nd!frame),!makes!easy!to!understand!that!it!is!the!thing!he!cares!!most,!and!that!it!will!probably!be!the!part!of!his!life!more!likely!to!have!a!drastic!change.!It!also!creates!a!bond!with!the!player,!introducing!the!hero!as!a!normal!man,!who!prefers!family!to!career,!with!a!normal!life!and!friends!(makes!the!hero!one!of!us,!normal!)!just!with!the!sentence!in!the!3rd!frame.!!Alex:!“Still%on%for%poker%Thursday%night,%right?”!

Max:!“Like%taking%candy%from%a%baby.”%

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2)!Call!To!Adventure!

%“I%didn’t%like%the%way%the%show%started.%But%they%had%given%me%the%best%seat%in%the%house.%Front%row%center.”%

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The!hero!faces!the!Call!to!adventure,!which!is!where!he!actually!experiments!the!change!on!his!own!skin.!This!change!is!evident!in!the!frame!immediately!after!the!ones!in!Fig.1!

!Fig.!2!A!!darker!environment!makes!immediately!evident!that!something!is!wrong.!At!this!point!of!the!story,!Max!realizes!that!!a!few!junkies!get!inside!his!house!and!kill!both!his!wife!and!his!baby.!!This!particular!“call”!is!personal,!pushed!by!a!sentiment!that!everyone!knows,!revenge,!rage!and!desperation.!Now!Max!is!presented!to!the!player!under!a!new!light.!A!broken!man,!with!nothing!to!loose.!

!Fig.!3!The!main!call!will!always!be!the!revenge!for!his!murdered!family,!but!every!acts!has!a!“subUcall”!such!as!revenge!for!killing!Alex!in!the!first!act,!destroy!the!Pulcinello!family!in!the!second,!destroy!Aesir!and!make!public!what!they!have!been!doing!all!these!years!in!the!third!act.!

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3)Refusal!Of!the!Call!

“I%went%undercover,%infiltrated%in%the%worst%mafia%family%in%New%York.”%

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This!particular!stage!in!game!is!really!rare.!Because!it’s!the!fact!that!the!hero!accepts!immediately!the!call,!which!makes!the!actual!gameUplay!to!start.!Someone!could!argue!that!the!possible!refusal!(when!it!comes!to!games)!would!be,!from!the!player,!to!switch!off!the!console.!But!that!would!not!be!part!of!the!plot,!would!be!something!outside!it.!In!this!game,!there!is!not!a!well!defined!refusal!for!the!revenge,!but!there!is!a!point!in!which!!Max!looks!as!if!he!wants!to!throw!!himself!totally!inside!the!work!accepting!the!offer!(Fig.1!frame1)!to!go!undercover.!It’s!like!if!he!is!escaping!from!the!call,!even!if!at!the!end!that!work!will!help!him!to!obtain!his!revenge.!!!

!Fig.!4!!

4)!Meeting!with!the!Mentor!

“Alex%and%B.B.%where%my%only%contacts%at%the%DEA”%

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During!the!game,!Max!will!meet!different!mentors,!one!for!each!of!the!three!acts.!Everyone!of!them!will!provide!our!hero!with!information!or!weapons.!The!first!is!“Alex”!the!man!who!convinced!you!to!join!the!DEA!and!go!undercover.!He!will!die!(in!the!2nd!chapter!of!the!1st!!act),!making!the!revenge!for!his!death!the!main!goal!for!this!particular!act.!In!the!second!act!there!will!be!another!mentor,!named!Vladimir!Lem,!a!Russian!!weapon!smuggler,!who!will!give!you!all!the!fireUpower!you!need!to!kill!!Pulcinello’s!family.!The!last!one!will!be!a!different!kind!of!mentor,!because!he!will!show!his!true!form!almost!at!the!end!of!the!game,!showing!his!nature!of!“Shape!shifter”!(from!mentor!to!trickster).!Alfred!Wooden!will!in!fact!help!you!at!start,!looking!like!a!mentor,!giving!you!important!pieces!of!information,!even!if!at!the!end!Max!will!discover!that!he!was!just!using!him!to!kill!his!worst!enemy!and!associate,!Nicole!Horne,!which!was!his!worst!enemy!as!well.!

!Fig.!5!Tree!different!mentors!for!the!tree!different!acts.!!

(From!left!to!right:!Alex,!Vladimir,!Alfred)!

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5)Crossing!the!Threshold!

“Lupino%ran%his%racket%of%sex,%drugs%and%contract%killings%from%a%sleazy%hotel%and%a%slum%of%block%of%tenements.”%

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Even!if!you!start!!killing!criminals!in!a!chapter!before,!it’s!clear!how!this!part!of!the!game!(3rd!chapt.)!is!recognizable!for!this!point.!In!this!particular!part!in!fact!you!get!inside!the!unknown!world.!As!a!cop!you!already!had!shootUout!nothing!new!in!it,!but!get!inside!a!slum!full!of!junkies,!visit!the!new!face!of!NY!after!the!Valkyr!treatment,!this!is!the!real!“crossing!the!threshold”.!Usually!at!this!point!the!hero!should!be!scared!or!worried,!but!not!in!this!case.!A!man!has!nothing!to!fear,!if!he!has!“nothing!to!lose”3.!!

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6)!Tests,!Allies,!Enemies!

“That%kinda%depends%on%who’s%askin’,%a%friend…or%a%junk%squad%plant?”%

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This!particular!stage!in!game!could!be!defined!as!the!fight!with!the!boss!at!end!of!the!level,!a!test!for!the!player!to!make!him!ready!to!fight!against!bigger!adversities!in!the!rest!of!the!game.!Because!of!the!structure!of!the!game,!there!will!be!more!than!one!“Threshold!Guardian”.!The!first!that!will!be!encountered!in!the!game!are!the!Finito!Brothers.!

! !Fig.!6!(see!table!1)!

7)!Approach!to!the!Inmost!Cave!

“Ragnarock%was%as%inviting%as%a%headache…”%

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After!the!defeating!of!few!threshold!guardians,!Max!will!get!the!knowledge!he!was!looking!for,!where!the!Ordeal,!or!the!nemesis!of!the!main!character,!is!hiding.!This!happened!in!all!the!3!different!acts,!in!the!same!mode,!getting!information!from!the!last!threshold!guardian,!in!order!to!arrive!to!the!Inmost!cave.!This!place!is!where!everything!ends(or!where!it!should!end).!The!last!part!of!the!hero’s!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3!Max!Payne!!cover!!

journey!before!the!final!battle.!This!place!is!like!the!wolf’s!den.!It’s!the!most!dangerous!place!in!the!story,!where!the!hero!will!prove!to!be!ready!to!fight!with!the!Ordeal.!There!will!be!3!places!like!this!in!the!game!that!are:!

Ragnarock,!a!discotheque!owned!by!Lupino.!The!mansion!of!the!Pulcinello!family!and,!finally,!the!Aesir!headquarters.!

!Fig.7!!

8)!The!Ordeal!

“I%have%tasted%the%flesh%of%fallen%angel...”%

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The!ordeal!is!the!final!fight,!the!pursuit!of!revenge,!even!if!only!for!a!“subUcall”!like!in!the!case!of!the!first!2!ordeals.!Three!are!the!ordeals!in!this!game,!everyone!of!which!is!at!the!last!chapter!of!all!the!acts.!In!these!fights!Max!will!face!his!nemesis,!the!occult!with!Lupino,!the!organized!crime!with!Pulcinello!and,!at!the!end,!against!the!high!power,!corrupted!multinationals,!which!sometimes!are!more!dangerous!than!the!organized!crimes,!with!Nicole!Horne.!!

!Fig.!8!!

But!in!the!game!!another!fight!is!present,!a!such!more!dangerous!ordeal!for!Max!himself.!In!fact!there!will!be!two!prologue!levels,!where!Max!will!be!drugged!with!the!Valkyr,!and!he!will!start!a!journey!of!self!discovery!of!his!inner!self,!which!blames!Max!for!the!death!of!his!family.!These!ordeals!will!appear!in!a!nonUmaterial!way,!under!the!shape!of!horrible!nightmares!of!the!day!when!his!family!died.!There!won’t!be!a!real!enemy!to!shoot!at,!the!levels!will!be!like!a!labyrinth,!the!labyrinth!of!Max’s!mind.!In!these!nightmares,!Max!will!continue!to!see!himself!shooting!at!his!wife,!while!she!is!begging!for!mercy.!

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9)!Reward!

“A%bit%closer%to%heaven…”%

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This!is!the!time!of!the!story!where!Max!enjoys!the!revenge!that!he’s!sought!for!such!a!long!time.!He’s!waited!undercover!for!3!years,!lost!one!friend,!killed!a!whole!mobster!family!and!an!evil!corporation,!literally!destroying!them.!!As!he!says!at!the!end!“My!ghosts!release!me!from!their!hunting”.!

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10)!The!Road!Back!

“I%release%my%hand%from%the%trigger...And%then%was%over”%

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Max!has!been!thought!guilty!for!Alex’s!murder,!so!the!police!is!arresting!him.!At!this!point!we!understand!that!Max!won’t!be!able!anylonger!to!go!back!to!the!ordinary!world!because!he!wouldn’t!fit!anymore.!His!“ordinary!World”!died!3!years!ago.!The!unknown!world!became!his!ordinary!world.!

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11)!Resurrection!

“Wooden%was%there…”%

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It’s!easy!to!speculate!that!there!will!be!a!sequel!to!this!game!(released!in!October!2003).!In!fact,!even!if!all!the!quests!were!fulfilled,!Wooden,!the!man!who!tricked!you,!used!you,!for!his!own!interest!is!in!the!crowd,!smiling.!There!is!also!another!question!that!has!been!lying!with!no!answer,!!what!happened!to!Mona,!who!helped!you!in!a!few!parts!of!the!game,!the!one!that!more!than!all!the!others!seemed!to!be!an!ally.!

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12)!Return!with!the!Elixir!!

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Max!is!under!arrest,!and!the!story!ends!with!an!open!ending.!Will!Max!spend!the!rest!of!his!life!in!jail?!Will!Max!be!reintegrated!in!the!police!force?!Max,!in!the!last!frame,!looks!satisfied!(Fig.!9),!he!does!not!care!at!all!about!these!questions.!For!him,!nothing!matters!except!the!fact!that,!after!3!years,!he’s!had!his!revenge.!

But!unfortunately!there!will!be!no!“return”,!that!has!never!been!the!plan,!because!there!is!noUone!to!return!to.!

Conclusion!

Does!Max!Payne!adheres!to!the!12!chapters!of!the!Hero’s!Journey?!In!my!opinion,!it!is!one!of!the!few!games,!one!of!the!few!“old!glories”!game,!which!will!be!always!remembered!by!the!people!who!played!it,!thanks!to!his!extraordinary!plot.!It!is!also,!a!game!where!it!is!possible!to!identify!all!of!the!12!points!described!by!Vogler!in!his!book.!I!have!proved!it,!thanks!to!my!analysis,!in!which!I!have!pointed!out!all!the!12!chapters!and!the!respective!levels.!Even!if!particular!chapters!are!explained!just!with!a!fast!frame,!a!particular!sentence,!they!are!all!present,!rare!thing!for!a!game!which!has!different!principles!from!a!movie!or!a!comics.!Games!are!interactive,!this!is!what!makes!so!hard!having!all!the!12!points!totally!developed,!but!differently!from!other!games,!Max!Payne!has!the!chapters!3,10!and!12.!

!Fig.!9!

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“How!the!game!delivers!its!story!through!narrative”!!

Max!Payne!has!different!ways!to!deliver!the!story!to!the!player.!Like!in!almost!all!games,!there!are!simple!cutUscenes,!with!a!cinematographic!cut;!but!it!also!has!other!means!to!deliver!the!story.!The!most!diffused!means!is!comic!strips.!There!will!also!be!,!prompt!on!the!screen,!environmental!storytelling,!speeches!!between!enemies.!Some!of!these!ways!to!deliver!the!story!seem,!at!first,!to!be!in!contrast!with!the!story!itself,!yet!they!work!perfectly,!throwing!the!player!in!a!noire!world,!with!a!sort!of!black!humour,!telling!a!really!deep!and!sad!story!in!a!means!that!is!generally!!used!for!less!brutal!tales.!

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CutOscene!

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The!story!develops!!in!New!York,!the!perfect!place!to!give!!the!whole!game!a!noir!mood.!The!cut!scenes!are!few,!and!they!are!not!the!first!means!to!give!the!player!the!complex!story!of!this!game.!They!tend!to!be!with!a!cinematographic!cut,!being!Max!Payne!a!game!that!is!mainly!based!on!spectacular!actions.!Just!to!make!an!example,!during!the!gameUplay,!when!you!kill!the!last!man!in!the!area,!a!camera!will!circle!round!him,!showing!in!slowUmotion!his!body!penetrated!by!bullets.!CutUscenes!are!really!rare!in!this!game.!The!longest!is!the!first!one,!which!is!!basically!!the!end!of!the!game,!and!the!whole!story!is!told!as!a!huge!flashback.!The!few!occasions!where!you!can!find!them,!are!not!even!cardinal!points!of!the!story:!could!be!Max!jumping!from!the!top!of!a!train,!chasing!Vinnie!Gognitti!(see!Table1),!visualizing!a!new!zone.!CutUscenes!are!hardly!ever!used!to!explain!the!story,!except!the!start!and!the!end!of!the!game.!CutUscenes!work!perfectly!for!what!the!developer!has!chosen!to!use!them,!even!if!relying!more!on!the!comicU!strips,!they!are!used!wisely!and!in!more!handled!(???)!parts!of!the!story.!

!Fig.!10!

ComicOStrips!

This!is!the!most!used!means!to!transmit!the!story!to!the!player.!They!are!made!in!a!very!unique!way,!only!present!in!Max!Payne!and!Max!Payne!2!(hopefully!in!the!3rd!as!well,!announced!from!Rockstar!for!next!winter4).!The!mix!between!!the!really!dark!story,!and!the!particular,!cartoony!stile!of!the!comicU!strip,!creates!a!feeling!in!the!gamer!that!is!rare!to!obtain!in!a!game.!!When!the!game!came!out!comics!where!seen!like!a!means!fit!just!for!kid!stories,!superhero!adventures!(nowadays!as!well,!even!if!in!a!lesser!way!)!or!similar.!The!contrast!between!the!story!and!the!way!it!was!delivered!was!something!!new!and!fresh.!The!system!of!the!comic!strip!works!like!the!recently!made!apps!(for!Iphone,Ipad!etc…)!created!by!Marvel!and!DC!Comics,!making!visible!frame!for!frame,!focusing!the!attention!of!the!player!on!the!interested!part!of!the!story!each!time.!The!drawings!are!realistic!but!with!a!cartoony!style!at!the!same!time,!they!look!in!fact!real!pictures!edited!in!photoUshop.!!

!Fig.!11!The!whole!system!is!founded!on!blackUhumour.!This!tension!in!the!story!it!is!sometimes!broken!by!proper!comic!strips!inside!the!comic!strip!system.!

Fig.!12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!IGN!“Rockstar!announces!Max!Payne!3”http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/965/965130p1.html!

This!way!of!telling!the!story!is!really!well!balanced,!making!frames!like!these,!where!a!comic!for!kids!is!in!the!same!frame!that!talks!about!a!cold!blood!murderer!and!the!mass!of!corpses!he!left.!

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! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Fig.!13!

Prompt!on!the!screen!

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The!developer!uses!this!special!way!to!indicate!!points!of!particular!interest!to!the!player.!Represented!by!an!!exclamation!point,!it’s!always!been!!used!as!a!“filler”.!It!generally!!starts!with!one!short!comic!strip!cutUscene.!The!part!told!by!this!comic!strip!!generally!!adds!more!depth!to!the!story,!but!the!player!could!go!ahead!without!seeing!it.!This!is!often!used!when!Max!can!listen!to!the!radio!for!new!information!(such!as!police!declaration,!weather!conditions!etc…!),!or!directly!from!the!TV!News,!where!he!can!see!the!consequences!of!his!actions.!In!few!occasions!these!particular!prompts!are!necessary!to!the!continuing!of!the!level!and!the!story,!such!as!finding!the!diary!!of!a!hooker!who!is!talking!about!Alfred!Wooden!(Act!1!chapter!3!,!who!is!still!unknown!at!that!point!of!the!story)!and!again!finding!the!tape!that!“Candy”!was!talking!about!in!her!diary.!

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This!particular,!and!only,!prompt!present!in!the!game,!is!also!used!to!deliver!!the!player!a!further!explanation!on!what!is!already!present!in!the!environmental!storytelling.!A!perfect!case!of!this!is!when,!in!the!last!chapter!of!Act!2,!Max!finds!in!the!Pulcinello’s!Manor!a!bunch!of!mobsters!killed!by!someone!else.!Interacting!with!the!prompt,!Max!will!formulate!his!own!theory!on!what!has!happened,!even!if!he!will!never!discover!whether!it!was!correct!or!not.!!

!Fig.!13!

Environmental!Storytelling.!

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The!environmental!storytelling!is!a!big!part!!executed!with!great!skill!by!the!developer.!Thanks!to!it,!in!fact,!you!really!have!the!sensation!to!be!in!the!Big!Apple,!in!a!slum!filled!with!drugU!addicted!people!,!a!mobster!manor!or!in!a!skyscraper!of!a!multinational.!It!is!not!just!meant!to!make!an!environment!believable!(with!the!technology!of!the!time),!but!it!also!tells!what!happened!in!the!near!past,!leaving!evidence!that!a!police!man!like!Max!could!collect,!even!if!“collecting!evidence!had!gotten!old!a!few!hundred!bullet!back”.!It!will!often!happen!!(at!least!in!the!first!act)!to!find!briefcases!full!of!money!and!others!filled!with!Valkyr,!making!a!more!believable!drugUdealing!in!the!underworld!of!NY.

Fig.!14!The!use!of!environmental!storytelling!reaches!its!climax!in!the!level!where!Max!has!been!drugged!and!!starts!a!trip!to!!discover!!his!inner!self!(Act!2!prologue,!Act!3!prologue).!!

In!these!levels!the!player!can!feel!the!discomfort!that!Max!is!feeling.!In!the!first!“trip”!into!Max’s!mind,!there!will!be!a!change!of!the!camera!position,!making!it!more!distant!from!Max’s!shoulders.!This!could!represent!how,!after!his!family!death,!he!feels!alone,!lost!and!without!nothing!that!pushes!him!to!continue,!except!revenge.!!

Fig.!15!

Moreover,!in!the!part!of!the!level!portrayed!in!this!picture,!the!corridor,!once!started!!touring!it,!will!increase!in!length,!symbolizing!the!entrance!into!Max’s!mind!and!inner!self.!After!this!corridor,!and!in!both!the!levels!set!in!Max’s!mind,!the!player!will!face!real!labyrinths,!that!indicate!the!complexity!of!human!mind,!and!moreover!of!Max’s,!after!the!tragedy!that!had!invested!him.!

Fig.!16!

There!will!also!be!!blood!!trails!to!follow,!and!the!scream!of!his!wife!and!the!crying!of!his!daughter!will!be!overwhelming!during!these!levels.!!

Fig.!17!All!this!darkness!and!the!possibility!to!walk!just!on!the!blood!trail!makes!hard!for!the!player!not!to!get!lost!inside!Max’s!subconscious.!It!also!symbolizes!!that!to!save!himself,!Max!!has!either!to!accept!the!fact!that!his!family!loss!was!his!fault,!or!that!he!has!to!overcome!his!sense!of!guilt!!to!find!the!real!offender.!!

Moreover,!to!make!clear!to!the!player!Max’s!sense!of!guiltiness,!at!the!end!of!the!level!there!will!be!an!enemy!to!kill,!just!one,!Max!Payne!himself.!

!

There!will!also!be!!hints!on!who!is!the!real!responsible!for!the!whole!mess.!In!fact,!during!the!entire!game,!there!will!be!posters!advertising!Aesir,!and!news!on!the!television!talking!about!it.!

!Fig.!18!

There!will!also!be!!few!Easter!eggs!in!the!game!represented!with!environmental!storytelling,!in!rooms!that!are!hard!to!reach!or!outside!the!normal!path!that!the!player!would!follow.!An!example!is!a!corpse!that!the!player!can!find!in!a!secret!room,!where!it’s!possible!to!find!a!man!killed!with!a!wooden!stake,!who!,with!his!last!energy,!wrote!with!his!blood!the!name!Buffy!on!the!floor.!

!Fig.!19!!

Sound!

Audio!will!also!have!a!huge!part!in!the!narration!of!the!story!in!this!game.!As!I!said!before,!the!screams!of!your!beloved!wife!and!the!crying!of!your!daughter!will!work!perfectly!during!the!levels!mentioned!in!the!section!before.!That!is!not!the!only!case!when!the!sound!becomes!essential!to!immerse!the!player!in!a!bigger!world.!An!evident!example!of!this!are!the!voices!of!all!the!protagonists!of!the!game.!In!!Act1,!Max!will!face!almost!exclusively!!ItaloUamerican!mobsters,!using!their!particular!pronunciation.!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Fig.!20!

In!the!same!way,!in!!Act!2!!you!will!face!!Russian!mobsters,!speaking!!with!their!different!pronunciation.!This!makes!!the!game!!deeper!!and!the!whole!environment!more!believable.!In!Act!3!Max!will!face!!well!trained!soldiers,!who!!use!tactical!codes!in!order!to!be!able!to!kill!him.!

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!

Conclusion!

!

This!game!heavily!rely!on!the!story.!As!my!graphs!show!(Pie!Graph!1),!in!the!total!amount!of!time!needed!to!finish!the!game!(4:50:16)!!21%!(59:53)!is!story!time,!intended!as!cutUscenes!and!comic!strips,!excluding!environmental!storytelling!and!sounds.!It!would!be!interesting!to!compare!these!data!with!another!game,!analysed!!in!the!same!way!I!have!done!with!this.!!Always!from!my!graphs!(Pie!Graph!2),!it’s!noticeable!that!the!6th!chapter!is!the!most!diffused!in!the!game!thanks!to!its!37%!(on!the!59:53!seconds!of!story!time),!followed!by!“The!Ordeal”!with!14%,!which!are!both!allocated!in!!Act!2!of!the!Vogler!scheme!to!describe!the!12!chapters.!

From!my!3rd!pie!graph!it!is!clear!that!!Act!2!is!the!most!developed!in!story!time!(74%),!followed!by!Act!1!(17%)!and!finally!Act!3!(9%).!If!we!compare!these!data!with!the!first!pie!graph!we!will!deduce!that!Act!1!is!!3,5%!of!the!whole!game!time,!Act!2!is!15,5%(story!time!amount!in!the!whole!time!needed!to!finish!the!game,!94%!if!we!add!it!to!the!play!time)!and!Act!3!is!1,9%.!!

If!we!compare!these!numbers!!with!the!traditional!act!time!allocation!for!a!game!that!are!Act!1=1%,!Act!2=98%!and!Act!3=1%5!we!find!out!that!this!particular!game!heavily!rely!on!story.!In!the!case!we!consider,!the!whole!time!needed!to!play!through!the!game!(game!time!+!story!time),!using!as!main!reference!the!traditional!act!time!allocation,!including!the!Act!2!percentage!in!the!game!time,!we!will!obtain!a!3,5%!of!Act!1!and!1,9%!of!Act!3,!which!slightly!differ!from!it!(traditional!act!time!allocation).!

In!conclusion,!the!developer!has!done!a!great!job!implementing!the!story!in!this!game,!and!it!would!be!really!hard!for!me!to!find!potential!areas!of!improvement.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5!Barry!Ip’!!Narrative!Structures!in!Computer!and!Video!Games!Part!2:!Emotions,!structures!and!Archetypes.!!

Tables'and'Pie'Graphs''

(Tables'1)'

'

Nr.$Level$ Level$Name$ 12$chapter$ Game$Time$ Story$Time$ Note$17P$ The$American$

Dream$Prologue$17279$ 1:29$ 3:21$ 9:$cutscene$starting$

with$Flashback$171$ Roscoe$Street$

Station$3$ 7:43$ 1:18$ 3rd$point$briefly$

touched$172$ Live$from$the$Crime$

Scene$4$ 11:42$ 1:18$ Alex$met$in$person$

and$murdered$173$ Playing$it$Bogart$ 576$ 5:12$ 3:25$ 6:Finito$Brothers$$174$ The$Blood$Veins$of$

New$York$6$ 6:39$ 2:02$ 6:$Rico$Muerte$“Big$

time$Hustler”$175$ Let$the$Gun$do$the$

Talking$5$ 6:08$ 3:03$ Searching$for$Vinnie$

Gognitti$176$ Fear$that$Gives$

Men$Wings$6$ 7:56$ 2:16$ Chasing$Vinnie$

Gognitti$177$ Police$Brutality$ 6$ 11:37$ 4:20$ Kill$Vinnie$Gognitti,$

Knowledge$of$where$Lupino$is$

178$ Ragna$Rock$ 7$ 9:57$ 54$ Lupino’s$lair$179$ An$Empire$of$Evil$ 8$ 4:31$ 3:52$ Sub7Ordeal$Killed$27P$ Nightmare$ 8$ 4:13$ 2:28$ Fight$with$your$guilt$271$ The$Baseball$Bat$ 6$ 7:25$ 4:15$ Kill$Frankie$“The$

Bat”$Niagra$272$ An$Offer$You$Can't$

Refuse$4$ 11:43$ 1:04$ Meet$Vladimir$

273$ With$Rats$and$Oily$Water$

576$ 15:06$ 1:10$ Change$of$environment$and$enemy$tipology,$killed$Boris$Dime$

274$ Put$Out$My$Flames$with$Gasoline$

6$ 6:00$ 1:07$ Test,$escape$building$on$fire$

275$ Angel$of$Death$ 67778$ 12:36$ 3:06$ Killing$the$“Trio”,$entering$the$Pulcinello’s$Maison,$Kill$Pulcinello$

37P$ The$Drug$Trip$ 8$ 6:35$ 2:02$ Fighting$against$your$mind$

371$ Take$Me$to$Cold$Steel$

5$ 8:42$ 2:08$ Change$environment$and$enemy$tipology$

372$ Hidden$Truths$ 6$ 18:34$ 19$ Discover$why$you$wife$but$not$who$wanted$to$kill$her$

373$ The$Deep$Six$ 6$ 7:09$ 2:25$ Discover$that$Valkyr$was$a$government$experiment$

374$ Backstabbing$Bastard$

6$ 19:10$ 2:51$ Kill$B.B.$who$was$the$man$who$killed$Alex$

375$ In$the$Land$of$the$Blind$

476$ 9:57$ 2:58$ Meet$Alfred$Wooden$

376$ Byzantine$Power$Game$

6$ 9:21$ 32$ Escape$from$a$trap$

377$ Nothing$to$Lose$ 7$ 18:37$ 3:08$ Getting$inside$Aesir$headquarters$

378$ Pain$and$Suffering$ 879710711712$ 12:09$ 4:51$ Kill$Nicole$Horne,$get$arrestd,$Alfred$wooden$in$the$crowd,$totally$realized.$

Story&and&Gameplay&time&in&percentage.&

'(Pie'Graph'1)'

Story'Time:'0:59:53'Game'Time'3:50:23'''''''''''''''

21%'

79%'

Time&Story' Game'

Presence&of&every&chapter&of&the&“Writers&Journey”(in&“Story&time”).&

'

(Pie'Graph'2)'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

3%'

3%'3%'

8%'

11%'

37%'

9%'

14%'

3%'3%'

3%'

3%'

Chapter&Presence&

1:'The'Ordinary'World'

2:'Call'to'Adventure'

3:'Refusal'of'the'Call'

4:'Meet'the'Mentor'

5:'Crossing'the'Lirst'Threshold'

6:'Tests,'Allies,'Enemies'

7:'Approach'to'the'Inmost'Cave'

8:'The'Ordeal'

9:'The'Reward'

10:'The'Road'Back'

11:'Resurrection'

12:'Return'with'the'Reward'

Percentage&of&time&for&each&act&of&the&“Vogler”&analysis&method.&

'(Pie'Graph'3)'

17%'

74%'

9%'

Acts&Distribution&Act'1' Act'2' Act'3'