The Story So Far…
John Carmack once said “Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It’s expected to be there, but it’s not that important.” Well, we respectfully disagree. If you’ve ever looked forward to seeing old friends in a sequel, or really looked forward to crushing that final boss, or appreciated the moment when the game hands out the Really Big Gun, story matters to you. We’re not just talking about cut-scenes and audio barks, but the world design, characterisation, plot structure, and what motivates you, the busy player, to choose this world to save over all the others.
Done properly, a story isn’t simply something draped over a game like a sheet, or tacked on either side to set the scene, but a core of making a gameworld more than the sum of its pixels and physics routines. It’s certainly not everything, but everything usually ties to it at some point, and makes the experience that much more interesting.
And that’s what this blog is about – writing and story in its many and varied forms. The good, the bad, but most importantly, the interesting – whether it’s new games and ideas, classics that never got their due, forgotten gems, or simply diving a little deeper into a frequently overlooked part of gaming.
As with all new blogs, cue lots of messing around, feet-finding and so on to see what people are interested in. Posting schedules are likely to be irregular, with a mix of bite-size bits and pieces and longer essays. Guest posts are a distinct possibility. Until then, much of the point is to chat about this stuff, not simply shout it out into the internet. Post your comments, suggest stuff to look at… it’s all good. And don’t forget to follow via RSS or Twitter to get the latest updates. As for how long all this runs, well, as ever, it depends on how it goes. If nobody’s interested or it turns out to be no fun, no harm no foul. If not, hurrah! There’s quite a bit of planned content on the big chart, and every hundredth comment poster will receive the secret to happiness absolutely free.
Spam filters depending, of course.