Player Created Story?

Okay, so i was playing a bit of a game mod called DayZ for Arma2, a millitary simulator game. the mod changes the gameplay by removing all normal NPC characters and stories and replaces them with zombies, lots of zombies.

first thing i noticed when I went in was...hey, where's the story??!! But i soon realized that there was no actual storyline, it was simply a free roam MMO type mod, where you more or less had to come up with your own story.

So, I trudged on, learning the mechanics and all of that until I came across a group of players who i got into a conversation with. they started discussing how they were hiding out in the woods, trying to ration food and water while raiding little nearby abandoned building for supplies. At this point, I realized soemthing. While there may be no story in this game and you need to create your own, if you combine your ideas with those around you doing the same thing, it ends up being much more beleivable in general!

I think this type of gameplay really only works well on very specific situations, and has to be supported by a reasonably realistic platform, like Arma2. It tries to replicate basic needs for living as best it can while combining it with fun gameplay. While its not reallly necessary for this topic, it does help with the suspension of disbelief overall in this case.

but back to the topic at hand. This...freeworld style is really a unique one to say the least. for those who have a great imagination, this is a paradise, essentially a free-forming playground in which you can do whatever you'd like and can form any story you want and do whatever you want. for those without the imagination however, i don't think it'd be appealing to the mass market, simply due to the fact that most play games to be entertained, not to really brainstorm and think.

anyways, just wanted to share my thoughts on this!

Episodic content?

Well here we are yet again. I was just lazily browsing the web when I came across a very interesting and compelling conference video discussing storytelling video games focusing in on Episodic content, to which i'd like to express my views on.

I couldn't find a youtube link to embed the video, but it can be found here:
http://www.gamespot.com/features/episodic-content-the-future-of-storytelling-in-games-6350306/

Now in there, he talks about how he thinks that episodic content, very much similar to how a TV series does an episodic series for its shows, can be applied to video games as well, and i think he's definitely on the right track in this assumption. If you look at the big list of titles coming this year, you'll notice alot of those really great games have some grain of this within them. take Modern Warfare 3 for instance. In its trailer, it reintroduces an old character which was part of a major storyline piece in a previous call of Duty title. and, since the previous story was a great success and they planted hints of yet a further storyline in the previous games, it keeps people coming back for more and more and more.

but, even as he stated, don't take that at face value, look at the numbers! If Modern Warfare 3 was able to outsell even a massive blockbuster movie like Avatar, they must be doing something right, right? and that episodic planting combined with great visuals and compelling gameplay are exactly what made it a smash hit.

anyways, I just wanted to get in here and post my comments about this piece I found, thanks for looking!

Shooting Games...

Well here we are again with another wonderful post1 This time I think i'll go ahead and try to tackle the role of storytelling in shooter games, such as Battlefield and Call of Duty.

This is probably going to be a bit shorter of a post than my last one, but hopefully will still coer all the same points overall. first off, again, this isn't a one size fits all covering all shooter games, just only the ones i'm very fimiliar with.

In the case of a game such as Battlefield...storytelling isn't a paramount aspect of the game as a whole, its more of an afterthought in the end was kinda just tacked on.This game in particular is more or less just for the multiplayer mode, where there is no story.

now..the Call of duty series has a bit of a different take on this. the designers went a different route from the devs of Battlefield and made the "campaign" around a story, instead of the opposite way around. In fact, the what i'd call storymode in these games often times feels more like an interactive cinematic than a game! This is a much more effective way of telling a compelling story than the previous mentioned title.

Now, fps titles in general have never been centric around story, as you are mainly meant to just shoot at your friends or the AI in some form. In my opinion, people do not get FPS titles for a story based experience, they get them to play with friends and be competitive in the world of video games.

This post is a little less in-depth than my last one i think...but honestly I'm not sure what else to say in regards to fps games that I haven't already put down, so till next time!

Stories in RPG games...

Okay, so I took some time and collected my thoughts on how I would best go about writing up the rest of this blog, and I think what i'll do is segment it out into different genres and storytelling's effects on each one relatively. this is by no means a one size fits all statement for genres, but I think its as good as place as any to start from!

Alright, so we'll go head and kick this off with my personal favorite genre, which is roleplaying Games, RPG for short. In my opinion, these are the most blatantly obvious use of stories in games, since the entire game is formed around the story itself. take for instance perhaps...the Elder Scrolls series of games. These titles are a prime example oh how a narrative story can be woven into the electronic medium of video games. The characters in the game are beleivable, the voice acting for the game scripts is wonderful, and all the twists and turns the plots take put it on par with any award winning novel or blockbuster movie in my opinion.

the role of the story in this sort of game is paramount. they are designed from the ground up to be tailor fit to the story's structure, thereby making it more beleivable and causing you to ant to keep going to find out the next part of the story.

To sum it up in my own words, these games are not so much games, but an interactive story in which you are able to fully immerse yourself in for as long as you want.

I think it's only fitting to show the latest game trailer for the latest Elder Scrolls game here, as it puts a strong emphasis on the story of the game as much as the gameplay itself.

Storytelling in Games...

Well here we are, finally worked up enough motivation to kick this thing off! not really sure on the route these blogs will take, hopefully the path will emerge on its own as I delve further into the mystery that is storytelling!

Well to me, storytelling is somewhat of an art form in and of itself. It helps us depict a fictional, or nonfictional scenario/chain of events in such a way that is easy to pass on to others via a plethora of delivery mediums. whether it be a book, a story someone told you, or through the use of some form of technology, stories all have that same overall purpose; to entertain, educate, give life lessons etc.

now my post here isn't to talk about all those other means, only to explore what storytelling means in the eyes of video games, what roles they play, and their importance.

Now, if you do just a quick google search for something along the lines of "storytelling in games" you'll find alot of posts talking about the topic; quite a few of them in fact are quite good reads! but, I don't want to base most of my posts off of those, i want to give what I know to these posts and make my own conclusions.

hm, well this post really didn't cover much huh? at the least, it gives me a good starting point to jump off from, so stay tuned for the next, hopefully soon-ish post!

Test

This is a test post!