Tonamel on 8/2/2009 at 19:07
Just remembered Iji, which would also be a good game for the Player Designed Narrative section
demagogue on 8/2/2009 at 20:16
Also Dwarf Fortress. The whole original concept of DF was to set up a procedurally created narrative, and if you read the creator's blog on it he explains his thinking on it. The game plays around with that idea ... the news announcement system, the epics written on walls, the 2nd-level game where you fight through the cave 1000s years later, reconstructing the 1st game's story. And think about the Boatmurdered thread. But the execution doesn't quite match what his original ambitions were. Some techniques work better than others.
Aerothorn on 9/2/2009 at 00:18
Shakey-Lo:
I actually think there's a lot of merit to what you're saying, and it's something I'd like to explore more in this course. Unfortunately, the professor really wants us to be grounded, have answerable questions, stick to the reality of what games currently are, etc. The fact is that whether or not they should, many modern games DO use a linear story (often forcefully inserted into the game). I'll see if I can work your stuff into the course, but it might just not fit. Regardless, an excellent post.
demagogue: Neither of us have played dwarf fortress (though I am aware of it) and so it's hard to work it into the syllabus at this point (particularly since the professor wants us to remove a unit - we're leaning towards removing unit 2). I will play it in my little free time and see if I can make it work, though.
Edit: Combined these two! Added Dwarf Fortress to "absence of narrative or gameplay" section, to look at player created narrative (didn't go as well in the "designed" section, since it's more about creation than decision-making, in a sense, plus that was already over-crowded). Thanks for the tip!
Edit 2: Actually, I might shove "player-created narrative" into the Emergent Gameplay section, and re-name it, since it goes well together.
Aerothorn on 9/2/2009 at 00:34
Sorry for the double-post, but need to stop editing that one.
Demagogue: Can you give me a link to this blog entry?
Tonamel: Thanks so much for the feedback. Will definitely integrate that.
Also, general question: Is there a reason why we think Half-Life 1 is better for Narrative as Linking Element than Half-Life 2?
Tonamel on 9/2/2009 at 00:58
It's not so much that it's better, but that it was a shocking departure from what had come before. Other popular FPSs up to that point were largely level-based, with not plot to speak of, and what was there usually came as text or cutscenes. The use of the in-game scenes was a very radical idea at the time.
That's the cue for people who know more about FPSs than me to tell me that I'm wrong.
gunsmoke on 9/2/2009 at 01:02
Quote Posted by Tonamel
That's the cue for people who know more about FPSs than me to tell me that I'm wrong.
I sure won't. I agree with your statement.
Aerothorn on 9/2/2009 at 03:59
Tonamel: we were lucky and our normally awful library had A Theory of Fun (it's currently out of print and very expensive otherwise). Do you recommend a particularly chapter for that sub-unit, or the book taken as a whole?
Chade on 9/2/2009 at 05:22
A theory of fun is based on a single talk, iirc. It is a tiny book, very focussed on its theme, and more concerned with being engaging and thought provoking then with being informative (this should not be taken as a slur ... it is an excellent book).
So I imagine Tonamel is recommending the whole book.
