Did you know that hotels used to provide a newspaper at your door every morning? The practice started in the first half of the 19th century and technically still exists, though you won’t find a newspaper at your door anymore. Instead, you most likely have to ask for a newspaper at the front desk. In this age of newspapers appearing at your door to give you a window into the world while you are traveling, a little RPG from Nintendo came across the Pacific to show us what a Japanese author thought America looked like. That little RPG is a masterpiece called EarthBound. And in that game, a boy stays the night at hotels to heal his wicked wounds and restore his psychic powers. In the gentle mornings across Eagleland after a hotel stay, a bellhop stands outside your door to read the latest newspaper headline as a courtesy. What a treat!
As the boy and his friends roam around Eagleland, they’re not just getting into mischief and knocking sense into people, places, and things. The evil Giygas has messed with their world at every destination, and they’re on a mission to turn it around. But it’s a long road to get to Giygas, and that requires saving people and towns along the way. As the story moves, so too do the newspaper headlines.
“Mysterious Meteorite North of Onett Still Burning Brightly,” the very first Onett Times headline reads. As the first big event in the game, the literal kick-off event, this newspaper headline gives us a feeling that people exist in this world and don’t know about the event that’s central to our motivation. However, this meteorite hit before we took control, before we donned our gamer gloves and took hold of our Super Nintendo controllers. Ness has started on his quest and his first stop is to deal with the local ruffians, the Sharks.
The next headline acknowledges Ness’ contributions to the community, “Tamer of the Sharks Actually a Boy in a Red Cap!” It’s a rudimentary system, moving on to the next headline once specific game conditions or progress happen. In its simplicity, though, it makes the player feel connected to the world. You’re not just experiencing the events surrounding the game’s main narrative; people are there, reporting on it, and seeing your progress. EarthBound tells the player that yes, your actions matter and people are noticing them.
Having NPCs comment on my exploits is nice, but having headlines and reporting it to a general audience, like in the Fallout series, is even better. Since Bethesda took over the series (a lamentable occasion for some), the radio has been a focal point. Each radio station plays music that evokes the feeling of a time when the bombs hit. Along with the music, the radio stations have a DJ that talks about recent events. Galaxy News Radio in Fallout 3 had Three Dog (Awooo!) who would talk about the lone wanderer’s exploits.
“For those of you not in the know, to the northwest of Megaton, there’s this vault. Vault 101. Now, believe it or not, this one’s still got people livin’ in it! And every few years or so, someone comes scrabblin’ out. Well, wouldn’t you know it, someone’s come out of it again!” Three Dog is one of my favorite DJs for Fallout radio, but he’s not alone. Fallout 4 had Diamond City Radio hosted by Travis Miles. Travis has a whole quest surrounding his confidence. If the player chooses to help Travis gain his confidence, some of his lines change. Hilariously, Travis can be killed, leaving the DJ duties to water purification expert Sheng Kawolski. Travis is alright, but he doesn’t compare to the best Fallout radio DJ who lives in all our hearts, Mr. New Vegas himself.
“A package courier found shot in the head near Goodpsrings has reportedly regained consciousness and has made a full recovery. Now that is a delivery service you can count on.” Oh, Mr. New Vegas, there’ll never be another one like you. Voiced by the irreplaceable Wayne Newton, Mr. New Vegas’s charm is unmatched when it comes to commenting on your actions as the player, or just being a charmer in general.
“The women of New Vegas ask me a lot if there’s a Mrs. New Vegas. Well, of course there is. You’re her. And you’re still as perfect as the day we met.” I’m not a woman, but I still melt when I hear that line.
I know it’s quite a line to draw between EarthBound, a Japanese Nintendo RPG intended for a younger audience, and Fallout, a post-apocalyptic critique on Americana, American exceptionalism, and capitalism. But the common thread is how these games bring the player into their world. I play many RPGs, and a surefire way to pull me in is to incorporate the in-game work I’m doing into the world like this. In Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves’ classmate and friend Mishima creates a Phantom Aficionado website. When you sleep and the day progresses, you see posts from people on the Phantom Aficionado website discussing not only people in their own lives whose hearts they’d like The Phantom Thieves to change, but those whose hearts have already been changed.
RPGs are full of cool systems and provide some of the best narrative experiences in gaming. Importantly, they have the opportunity to really pull the player in and involve them in the process. As you progress in Earthbound, you run into fewer inns as you venture into more dangerous territory. The final bellhop is in Scaraba after the player has defeated the Kraken.
“Kraken, the Evil Sea Monster, Now Gone Forever!” reads the headline. Though the bellhops become less relevant throughout the story, it’s still something to note. Someone sat down and wrote these headlines out. Someone sat down, took the main narrative threads, and wove them into Three Dog and Mr. New Vegas’s cadence to make them seem important. Someone sat down and wrote out forum posts from high schoolers who wanted to change people’s hearts. And that job may have seemed trivial at the time, but it’s one of the most essential jobs to involve the player in the game experience and community.
It might sound self-serving, but journalism and reporting are important in any society. You’re reading this, so even if it’s something trivial or unimportant in the greater societal scheme, people are still looking to connect with the world around them. Whether you’re forging your way through a wasteland, looking to change the hearts and minds of your superiors, or helping a town deal with a zombie threat, you want your story to be told. Next time you’re playing a game, ask yourself if your actions are being noticed. Do the NPCs that exist in the world care about what you’re doing, or are you just a protagonist taken for granted?
