I remember I had a poignant conversation with the writer at Treyarch (Call of Duty: World at War), who was brow-beaten into writing filler plot to explain the events of the game. Designers would say, “Let’s do a level on Okinawa!” and he would have to figure out how to explain it. That being said, I think he did a stellar job with what he was given. The story is fairly compelling for the genre.

With Mirror’s Edge, I think Pratchett dropped the ball a bit (possibly not her fault.) One glaring point is the unexplained need to go rescue Faith’s sister Kate twice in a row, and the unnecessary killing of Merc (imo).

Overall, I don’t believe narrative design will be given due priority as a practice until game development as a process is simplified. When we have a team of 40 designers versus 1, 2, or 4 writers–also taking into account the inevitable strong-willed personalities common in the industry–narrative would need a strong backing from the head of the studio to survive.