Where have all the Stories gone?
by Anthony Rosenbaum · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 04/26/2006 (6:44 am) · 3 replies
Recently I have been reading up on writing for game and interactive story telling. I used to be one who sat firmly in the "game play makes the game" camp. But recently I realized it is the story that pushes me to finish a game.
Now some games don't need story line, Marble Blast is a classic example, you are a marble get to the end, that is, a story line would complicate the simplistic beauty of the game. Unless you are making a casual game it would seem that having a story for a game would play a critical role in the success of the product.
One thing I see rather often here on GG is a post about a "great new game idea" most the time the idea is either a rehash of a current AAA title, or a hybrid of an existing game types and genres, almost never is story mentioned. I think one thing we as a community needs to focus on is acknowledging that story is as important as the game play.
Any way that was my two cents
Now some games don't need story line, Marble Blast is a classic example, you are a marble get to the end, that is, a story line would complicate the simplistic beauty of the game. Unless you are making a casual game it would seem that having a story for a game would play a critical role in the success of the product.
One thing I see rather often here on GG is a post about a "great new game idea" most the time the idea is either a rehash of a current AAA title, or a hybrid of an existing game types and genres, almost never is story mentioned. I think one thing we as a community needs to focus on is acknowledging that story is as important as the game play.
Any way that was my two cents
About the author
#2
I'm doing a 3D adventure game, but the approach I'm using is to base it on a great story-based text adventure game. So the 'story' is already written, and it did really well as a text game, winning a bunch of awards. The author thought it would be cool to see it developed into a 3D game, so he's on board to help implement it.
But there's still the artwork...
04/26/2006 (8:26 am)
I agree, it's a very tough task for the indie developer, probably because we're already trying to do too much as it is. And you definitely need good artwork, and lots of it. But I also agree that for many games, the story (and the telling of it) is the important thing, and it's often overlooked or just dealt with superficially.I'm doing a 3D adventure game, but the approach I'm using is to base it on a great story-based text adventure game. So the 'story' is already written, and it did really well as a text game, winning a bunch of awards. The author thought it would be cool to see it developed into a 3D game, so he's on board to help implement it.
But there's still the artwork...
#3
I do believe that story can be an extremely engaging element, as can characterization, but I also believe that it needs to have some semblance of gameplay that is intruiging as well. But it depends on the gametype. Interactive novels, Myst-likes, interactive fiction, etc are dependent on story. Most RPG stories are extremely cliche, with cliche characters, and spotty writing. I enjoy them, but RPG stories of the quality of good interactive fiction is rare.
Another element that comes with story in modern gaming is content. Cut-scenes, voice-over, FMV, etc. Creating such things can be extremely cost prohibitive to indies. It doesn't mean that an indie can't make a great story-oriented or character-oriented game or that they actually have to have all of these elements, but it has almost become expected by the average gamer who enjoys story-oriented games. If you narrow your market to those who do not care (say, the IF market), you can get away with more, leaving more to the imagination, but it also narrows your potential market.
Just a stream-of-consciousness out loud. I'll probably disagree with everything I said in twenty minutes.
04/26/2006 (9:17 am)
I think a major issue with the narrative/anti-narrative track is that there are a number of people who have become jaded because of the huge amount of people who want to make some story-oriented game but have no other skills. And then, when you actually read what they have written, you realize that their writing skills are extremely incomplete. The "story idea" and "story completion" concept are two completely different aspects, and writing quality for style, genre, focus, characterization, narrative structure, and cohesive design are often where things break down outside of the "story idea". It doesn't mean that someone with a great story idea cannot flesh out and then hire a gifted writer to make their story happen; it is just that most do not because of a strict sense of idea ownership. Which is why most story-oriented games either do not get done or are done rather badly. Look at the RPG Maker community, for example. They have hundreds of games, hundreds of stories, and very few coherent and engaging ones. Same with interactive fiction.I do believe that story can be an extremely engaging element, as can characterization, but I also believe that it needs to have some semblance of gameplay that is intruiging as well. But it depends on the gametype. Interactive novels, Myst-likes, interactive fiction, etc are dependent on story. Most RPG stories are extremely cliche, with cliche characters, and spotty writing. I enjoy them, but RPG stories of the quality of good interactive fiction is rare.
Another element that comes with story in modern gaming is content. Cut-scenes, voice-over, FMV, etc. Creating such things can be extremely cost prohibitive to indies. It doesn't mean that an indie can't make a great story-oriented or character-oriented game or that they actually have to have all of these elements, but it has almost become expected by the average gamer who enjoys story-oriented games. If you narrow your market to those who do not care (say, the IF market), you can get away with more, leaving more to the imagination, but it also narrows your potential market.
Just a stream-of-consciousness out loud. I'll probably disagree with everything I said in twenty minutes.
Torque Owner Thomas \"Man of Ice\" Lund
As much as I would love to do a story based game, it is just very very hard to do properly on an indie project.
I tried making a story based 3d adventure game, but the sheer amount of art and content was just overwhelming, and we put it in the drawer again.
I'm sure you can do them with some though, but compared to making yet another 4 in a row game, story driven is just so much larger and harder
imho