--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...the video-game form is incompatible…" description: "\"“...the video-game form is incompatible with traditional concepts of narrative progression. Stories are about time passing and narrative progression. G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/tom-bissell-20404_narrative_the-video-game-form-is-incompatible-with_2148661.jpg" --- # ...the video-game form is incompatible with traditional… ![“...the video-game form is incompatible with traditional concepts of narrative progression. Stories are about time passing and narrative progression. Games are about challenge, which frustrates the passing of time and impedes narrative progression. The story force wants to go forward and the…” quote by Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/tom-bissell-20404_narrative_the-video-game-form-is-incompatible-with_2148661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/tom-bissell-20404_narrative_the-video-game-form-is-incompatible-with_2148661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/tom-bissell-20404_narrative_the-video-game-form-is-incompatible-with_2148661.jpg) > ““...the video-game form is incompatible with traditional concepts of narrative progression. Stories are about time passing and narrative progression. Games are about challenge, which frustrates the passing of time and impedes narrative progression. The story force wants to go forward and the "friction force" of challenge tries to hold story back. This is the conflict at the heart of the narrative game, one that game designers have thus far imperfectly addressed by making story the reward of a successfully met challenge.”” [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traditional narrative relies on linear time; games introduce challenge that disrupts that flow, creating tension between story and gameplay. **In simple terms:** Games challenge story flow. Key Takeaway Balance challenge with narrative pacing. Themes storytelling game design conflict progression player experience Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical theoretical When to use this quote - video game development - interactive storytelling - player motivation - design workshops Key Concepts Narrative tension player agency design theory Questions to Reflect On - How can designers integrate challenge without stalling narrative? - What mechanisms preserve story momentum? A Different Perspective Challenge can alienate players seeking story. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Passing Of Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-of-time/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Time passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-passing/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) ## Related quotes > [“I avoid looking at the clock, fearing the slow passing of time that will only seem slower if I watch its progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-zink/i-avoid-looking-at-the-clock-fearing-the-slow-passing-of-time-that/) [Michelle Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-zink/) > [But if we learn to think of it as anticipation, as learning, as growing, if we think of the time we spend waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-neagle/but-if-we-learn-to-think-of-it-as-anticipation-as-learning-as-growing/) [Anna Neagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-neagle/) > [Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/life-is-not-just-the-passing-of-time-life-is-the-collection-of/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Love knows not the meaning of time, for the passing of time can not change True Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyrus/love-knows-not-the-meaning-of-time-for-the-passing-of-time-can-not/) Cyrus > [“Where we are from, he said, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/where-we-are-from-he-said-stories-are-factual-if-a-farmer-is-declared/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [If you have a beautiful story, it has to have conflict. If you don't have conflict, it can't be a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/if-you-have-a-beautiful-story-it-has-to-have-conflict-if-you-don-t/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [As a filmmaker, you look for a story, and the story has to have conflict and a match of opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tcheng/as-a-filmmaker-you-look-for-a-story-and-the-story-has-to-have/) Frederic Tcheng > [Like in every story... we were good friends and then came the villain... the good thus went missing from the friendship...the story found its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-in-every-story-we-were-good-friends-and-then-came-the-villain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most short fiction falls into one of three categories: stories of conflict, stories of decision, or stories of discovery…The story of conflict is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-sakaduski/most-short-fiction-falls-into-one-of-three-categories-stories-of/) Nancy Sakaduski > [You can't tell a good story without conflict - the story can't be beautiful or meaningful. We're taught to run from conflict, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/you-can-t-tell-a-good-story-without-conflict-the-story-can-t-be/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Young poets bewail the passing of love; old poets, the passing of time. There is surprisingly little difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/young-poets-bewail-the-passing-of-love-old-poets-the-passing-of-time/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest. Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad. It is not conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/set-aside-all-involvements-and-let-the-myriad-things-rest-zazen-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [“He strolled to the front door and stood watching, letting the picture of Felicity grave itself so deeply on his mind that when with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/he-strolled-to-the-front-door-and-stood-watching-letting-the-picture/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [The clouds are passing by slowly as the moon appears. Like the clouds, there are certain things which will disappear with the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jin-sun-mi/the-clouds-are-passing-by-slowly-as-the-moon-appears-like-the-clouds/) Jin Sun Mi > [“But I recently celebrated my thirtieth birthday and became acutely aware of my age, and the passing of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-kinghorn/but-i-recently-celebrated-my-thirtieth-birthday-and-became-acutely/) [Judith Kinghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-kinghorn/) ## More by Tom Bissell > [To create anything — whether a short story or a magazine profile or a film or a sitcom — is to believe, if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/to-create-anything-whether-a-short-story-or-a-magazine-profile-or-a/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“Final Fantasy VII awoke American gaming to the possibilities of narrative dynamism and the importance of relatively developed characters—no small inspiration to take from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/final-fantasy-vii-awoke-american-gaming-to-the-possibilities-of/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“You have agency, yes, but what of it? It is just a game. But when a game does this well, you lose track of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/you-have-agency-yes-but-what-of-it-it-is-just-a-game-but-when-a-game/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“There are not many mediums whose Dantes and Homers one can ring up and talk to. With games, one can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/there-are-not-many-mediums-whose-dantes-and-homers-one-can-ring-up/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“The world, finally, is no longer large, and to ignore it likely requires more effort than to simply take notice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/the-world-finally-is-no-longer-large-and-to-ignore-it-likely-requires/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“This is one of the most suspect things about the game form: A game with an involving story and poor gameplay cannot be considered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/this-is-one-of-the-most-suspect-things-about-the-game-form-a-game/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [We are no longer worried that children are missing school because of video games, though. We are worried that they are murdering their classmates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/we-are-no-longer-worried-that-children-are-missing-school-because-of/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [To create anything… is to believe, if only momentarily, you are capable of magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/to-create-anything-is-to-believe-if-only-momentarily-you-are-capable/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [Charyn, like Nabokov, is that most fiendish sort of writer-so seductive as to beg imitation, so singular as to make imitation impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/charyn-like-nabokov-is-that-most-fiendish-sort-of-writer-so-seductive/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“Hocking was slender in the way that writers and musicians are sometimes slender: not out of any desire or design but rather because his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/hocking-was-slender-in-the-way-that-writers-and-musicians-are/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“Games such as Mass Effect allow the gamer a freedom of decision that can be evilly enlivening or nobly self-congratulating, but these games become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/games-such-as-mass-effect-allow-the-gamer-a-freedom-of-decision-that/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“And so, my beloved Kermit, my dear little Hussein, at the moment America changed forever, your father was wandering an ICBM-denuded watseland, nervously monitoring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/and-so-my-beloved-kermit-my-dear-little-hussein-at-the-moment-america/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [Girlfriends, indeed: the anti-video game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/girlfriends-indeed-the-anti-video-game/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [“The impulse to explain is the Achilles’ heel of all genre work, and the most sophisticated artists within every genre know better than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/the-impulse-to-explain-is-the-achilles-heel-of-all-genre-work-and-the/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [Fun is not the same thing as fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/fun-is-not-the-same-thing-as-fulfillment/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) [Explore all 31 Tom Bissell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) ## More Narrative quotes > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [My writing has always been what you call 'narrative fiction' in the sense that it's got very strong plots and twists at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/my-writing-has-always-been-what-you-call-narrative-fiction-in-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [The narrative needs to change. Asian-American actresses don't want to be the damsels in distress anymore. We don't want to be saved, especially by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-chung/the-narrative-needs-to-change-asian-american-actresses-don-t-want-to/) [Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-chung/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [A digital director shouldn't be out front, but a campaign manager's job is to set a narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/a-digital-director-shouldn-t-be-out-front-but-a-campaign-manager-s/) [Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/) > [It's interesting to think about the history of Israel in relation to the history of the U.S.. There were Native Americans living here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-the-history-of-israel-in-relation-to/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [I don't really think in terms of the future of literature. I think literature will be around "forever" - but in a relatively niche…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-really-think-in-terms-of-the-future-of-literature-i-think/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [“Story is one of the foundation stones of the human mind along with rhythm and chant. If a collection of facts lacks a narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-vehafric/story-is-one-of-the-foundation-stones-of-the-human-mind-along-with/) Frank Vehafric > [I think any new technology that helps connect and create social cohesion is great. But at the end of the day, you and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-guber/i-think-any-new-technology-that-helps-connect-and-create-social/) [Peter Guber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-guber/) > [Short fiction is the medium I love the most, because it requires that I bring everything I've learned about poetry - the concision, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/short-fiction-is-the-medium-i-love-the-most-because-it-requires-that/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) [Browse all 1,855 Narrative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...the video-game form is incompatible with traditional concepts of narrative progression. Stories are about time passing and narrative progression. Games are about challenge, which frustrates the passing of time and impedes narrative progression. 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