Posts Tagged 'Storytelling'

Blizzard and Bioware's MMOs: Telling Stories From Opposite Directions

There’s a lot of presumption out there that MMORPGs can’t or don’t tell stories like their single-player counterparts. Me, I think it’s nonsense. Maybe that was true in the past. It isn’t now.

In fact, I’ve been amazed at how much they’ve evolved from oldschool monster-clubbing. Somehow, some way, MMOs started telling stories. Final Fantasy XI has character-focused missions bound together into a grand narrative, Age of Conan has its early-game switches between single-player and multiplayer, and Guild Wars has its hub-and-instance structure. Dungeons and Dragons Online actually has a narrator. Storytelling’s gotten big, and storytelling choices has become key to differentiation within the genre.

Even World of Warcraft (WoW) has evolved into a story-focused game.

/ 3 Comments

Blizzard and Bioware's MMOs: Telling Stories From Opposite Directions

There’s a lot of presumption out there that MMORPGs can’t or don’t tell stories like their single-player counterparts. Me, I think it’s nonsense. Maybe that was true in the past. It isn’t now.

In fact, I’ve been amazed at how much they’ve evolved from oldschool monster-clubbing. Somehow, some way, MMOs started telling stories. Final Fantasy XI has character-focused missions bound together into a grand narrative, Age of Conan has its early-game switches between single-player and multiplayer, and Guild Wars has its hub-and-instance structure. Dungeons and Dragons Online actually has a narrator. Storytelling’s gotten big, and storytelling choices has become key to differentiation within the genre.

Even World of Warcraft (WoW) has evolved into a story-focused game.

/ 3 Comments

After Pressing Start: Prince of Persia Sands of Time

One of my favorite things about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is the ability to rewind time. It’s immensely enjoyable to undo your small mistakes rather than having to restart a level or reload a saved game. It’s a mechanic

/ 2 Comments

After Pressing Start: Prince of Persia Sands of Time

One of my favorite things about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is the ability to rewind time. It’s immensely enjoyable to undo your small mistakes rather than having to restart a level or reload a saved game. It’s a mechanic

/ 2 Comments

A History of Mutual Looting, and What Videogames Can Learn From Non-D&D Tabletop RPGs

The historical relationship between videogames and tabletop RPGs is not hard to spot, and they work together very naturally (1): computers present the opportunity to automate the underlying mechanics of game play.  Although the majority of games based on tabletop

/ 3 Comments

A History of Mutual Looting, and What Videogames Can Learn From Non-D&D Tabletop RPGs

The historical relationship between videogames and tabletop RPGs is not hard to spot, and they work together very naturally (1): computers present the opportunity to automate the underlying mechanics of game play.  Although the majority of games based on tabletop

/ 3 Comments

After Pressing Start: Halo CE

Halo: Combat Evolved, the FPS made by Bungie, starts you off with a cinematic in outer space showing people you don’t know, talking about things you don’t understand. That’s okay, though. You’ll figure it out soon enough. The important thing

/ One Comment

After Pressing Start: Halo CE

Halo: Combat Evolved, the FPS made by Bungie, starts you off with a cinematic in outer space showing people you don’t know, talking about things you don’t understand. That’s okay, though. You’ll figure it out soon enough. The important thing

/ One Comment

Death and Storytelling

One of the distinguishing – though not universal – features of playing games is that you die.  The natural phrase people use – even small kids who’ve not learned it via experience – is to say “I died,” not “Mario

/ 8 Comments

Death and Storytelling

One of the distinguishing – though not universal – features of playing games is that you die.  The natural phrase people use – even small kids who’ve not learned it via experience – is to say “I died,” not “Mario

/ 8 Comments

The Art of Storytelling

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKfBSUKI9PA&w=480&h=390] Roger Ebert said, loosely, that no one has ever written a video game narrative that anyone will remember in fifty years. And I get the feeling he’s right. Narrative in video games has had a long, curious history; I’m

/ 2 Comments

The Art of Storytelling

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKfBSUKI9PA&w=480&h=390] Roger Ebert said, loosely, that no one has ever written a video game narrative that anyone will remember in fifty years. And I get the feeling he’s right. Narrative in video games has had a long, curious history; I’m

/ 2 Comments

Alan Wake Writer Blames Ludonarrative Dissonance on Game Expectations

Ah, ludonarrative dissonance: we’re all familiar with it. It’s the disconnect between the narrative and ‘play’ aspects of a game. Think, for example, how Nathan Drake is characterized as a likeable good guy and yet we spend all game killing

/ 9 Comments

Alan Wake Writer Blames Ludonarrative Dissonance on Game Expectations

Ah, ludonarrative dissonance: we’re all familiar with it. It’s the disconnect between the narrative and ‘play’ aspects of a game. Think, for example, how Nathan Drake is characterized as a likeable good guy and yet we spend all game killing

/ 9 Comments