Red Dead Redemption stars two John Marstons: the one that Rockstar created and controlled, and the one that the players create for themselves within the game. Rockstar's John Marston exists in the cut-scenes and in-game dialogue, while the players’ John Marston fills the many moments in between.

At GDC 2010 Bioware's Armando Troisi spoke about objective and subjective storytelling in video games. Specifically, about how most of Bioware's games are subjective stories, while the Mass Effect series is objective.