This report focuses on the use of a narrator displaced in time and how it affects the amount of suspense the player feels. The use of a narrator displaced in time, has been seen in various forms in newer games. One of the games that utilize this form of narration is The Stanley Parable. Here, the player is met by a voice that describes the protagonist‟s future actions. These descriptions are presented in past tense, and appear before the actual event is happening. This gives the player the opportunity to follow or disregard the story that the narrator is telling. The way this form of narration is used in The Stanley Parable adds to the immersiveness of the game. However, the game only functions as a proof of concept in regards of storytelling. We believe that the addition of suspenseful elements could take this use of a displaced narrator to a whole new level, and thereby create a new form of game experience. This has led to the following problem statement:

“How can a narrator displaced in time affect the amount of suspense, generated by narratives, visuals, sounds and gameplay?”

To answer this problem statement, theories regarding the areas of interest have been gathered. A part of our approach was to analyze three games we thought had encompassed both the use of a displaced narrator and suspenseful gameplay. These games are: The Stanley Parable, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and Alan Wake. We analyzed these three cases to obtain the knowledge and insight needed, to answer the problem statement. Based on the analysis and previous experiences, we created a game in which we sought to make the best use of a displaced narrator to enhance the player‟s feeling of suspense. In order to see whether or not the implemented game‟s use of a displaced narrator would have any impact on the amount of perceived suspense, we created two versions of our game which allowed us to make a comparison. The test results showed, that the individual sequences where the displaced narrator appeared, had a visible decrease in the amount of perceived suspense. In spite of this, the overall experience was rated equally suspenseful, as the version without the displaced narrator. Another noteworthy finding was that when the displaced narrator used vivid picturesque descriptions, instead of directly commenting on events, the suspense seemed to be heightened.
Based on our findings, we can‟t make a definitive conclusion. However it seemed that a displaced narrator can be used to generate an increased amount of suspense, if it utilizes a sufficiently descriptive approach.