2022 brought us a rich set of narratives in games. While heavy hitters like God of War: Ragnarok, Elder Ringor destiny 2‘s The Witch Queen Expansion might be the loudest praise, there were also games like Obsidians’ Buses which deserve our attention equally.
Buses is a work of interactive historical fiction, and while the game may be most rewarding for history buffs, its historical foundation and well-written NPCs (who never feel like they exist just to teach history lessons) make it one of its finest achievements of this year’s storytelling. We sat down with Josh Sawyer, Fallout: New Vegas, pillars of eternityand Buses‘s director to chat about how the team weaved story and narrative into their characters so seamlessly.
Buses is a crime thriller set in the late 16th century. The historical premise and detective storyline are appealing in their own right, but it’s the natural interactions with various NPCs that keep me glued to this game. Each feels distinctly real, with intent and knowledge, and serves to outline the historical background of the fictional town of Tassing in particular, but also of late medieval Europe. It’s both a history lesson and a character study, and is captivating the whole way.
Continue reading: This killer storytelling game by Obsidian is a must-play
Speak with my city, director Josh Sawyer describes the process of choosing who teaches which historical lessons as an important aspect of world and character building. It wasn’t enough for that Buses to simply ensure that each character has a valid reason for their knowledge. A character’s personal interests and who they are in the world are also considered, and that shapes when, where and how they tell their stories
“It’s actually been a challenge for much of my career, and so something in the last few games I’ve worked on, when characters are essentially dealing with performances, my question to the writer was usually, ‘Why is this character the figure to tell the story?’ Because if the answer is, “Well, we need someone to tell us,” that’s not a good answer.”
Sawyer continues, “The [exposition] what is being told must mean something that is really important to the person telling it. And I think that’s probably why people feel like it feels more natural than, say, you’re in a history class or a social studies class and someone is giving a lecture.”
An example Sawyer cites is Til Kreutzer, one of them Buses‘s characters, who willingly talks about world history – particularly that of the Romans who preceded this period. But that knowledge has to come from somewhere important to the character. Through the game we learn that he was granted access to the church library, access he no longer has. Combined with his workplace, Til becomes a natural source of world building for Tassing (who bases his history on the Church) as well as the history of the region.
“[Til] works in the field. And he keeps looking at the Roman ruins. He is a shepherd. And he says, “I love books and I love the stories about the Romans,” and I think it comes across as really caring and interested in that. When Andreas sees the figure jumping over the aqueduct, [that’s why Kreutzer says] “Oh yes, who knows how many Romans [spirits] are here.'”
The scene Sawyer is referring to is one in which the protagonist Andreas spies on a ghost near the Roman ruins (although it’s not exactly clear what it is). Til is ideally placed to provide context and add to the creepiness of the scene, thanks to his learned knowledge and proximity to the ruins himself. This scene and earlier conversations with Til paint a portrait of a living history in Tassing. This history is both visible and invisible, in the ruins and the stories people tell. This makes sighting the apparition all the more sinister, despite the fact that there doesn’t appear to be anything supernatural going on in the game.
Had Til been just an ordinary NPC delivering lines of dialogue about ruins rather than something with a personal interest and a little backstory on how he developed that interest, this scene wouldn’t have the same weight.
A recurring theme in Buses is the history of paganism in the region. While the city is thoroughly Christianized and many characters embrace this faith, old beliefs and customs are not easily forgotten. You unfold more and more Buses‘s history gives you a better sense of the path that lies between different historical eras and how this feeds into the daily lives of these people. Because of this, Sawyer Ill described Peter as an effective conduit for understanding how things were before the Church.
“Ill Peter is one of the depositories of pagan knowledge within the community and he resents that the new abbot doesn’t really respect their traditions. So that’s important to him. He thinks it’s important to keep practicing [older traditions] and he’s kind of resentful of the abbot and a little mad that young people don’t remember those old ways.”
Buses‘s characters don’t just provide “abstract” history lessons, says Sawyer, and that’s why they work so well as primary story movers. Each character’s individual interests inform your work as you investigate possible motives and unravel the gooey intersectional tissue that may have led to the murder in question. Everything is inherently tied into historical and political contexts. Chatting with pretty much every character is an opportunity for the game to showcase the historical research that went into its development, while also providing various references to other characters that give Andreas everything he needs to piece together the murder mystery .
But none of this would matter, fictional or not, if these characters didn’t have a personal investment in what they were talking about or felt like real people. Sawyer’s extensive work to establish them as believable characters makes it stand out Buses‘s characters so intriguing.
More than anything else in it Buses, I enjoyed my time with these characters, learning about their lives and sharing meals with them. What they have to say about the world, both the broader one that exists outside of Tassing’s confines and their daily lives, drew me into the murder mystery. No one felt like a generic NPC townsfolk tasked with running around in circles teaching history classes.
“These are all stories that are important to those individuals,” Sawyer said, “and I try to make sure the writers are conveying the connection of the story to the person, not just the story itself. Because if you don’t communicate both, you will.” it doesn’t feel good.”
Buses is a unique game. One that might not be for everyone. But in 2022, it’s an excellent example of how intentional choices about who tells which story fulfill the utility of teaching the player about the world while also presenting characters who have an investment in the world around them. This effect is contagious and makes you, the player, in turn, care about the game’s world and the time you spend in it.
