3 ms·

It is telling that game developers are not storytellers like those who write novels or even performers in a niche like like opera singers. It looks like after a

It is telling that game developers are not storytellers like those who write novels or even performers in a niche like like opera singers. It looks like after all these years, computer games have been around since the 1970s, they don’t have not only don’t have the cultural cache of writing but also music.

adamrezich 3y ago
the nature of the medium allows one to create games that don't have "writing", per se—where the "narrative" is the emergently-developing narrative you the player are telling yourself as you play. in this way, games have the potential to be fundamentally different than all other forms of linear storytelling. I still enjoy story-centric games, but as time goes on, I find myself looking more and more for something different and better. some of my best and most meaningful experiences with games have been these emergent narratives. it would be nice if more people tried to make games like this, because it's really something you can't get anywhere else, aside from a tabletop RPG (but even then, that's different, too).
vkou 3y ago
There's a reason the 'storytellers' in games aren't getting star billing. Games are a hugely collaborative effort, unlike books (which are just a collaborative effort). Music is also collaborative, but there's way more people involved in making most games, than the people whose names end up on an album cover. Movies are also a highly collaborative effort, but even there, there's usually one 'czar' - often the director, that gets to stand behind nearly every creative decision made in the film (Even if they weren't the one who made it). Again, no such thing usually exists with games. There's just too many parts to them, no one person owns all of them, and the costs of making 'cuts' preclude a single opinionated personality from doing an eleventh-hour pass on it in post-production.

adamrezich 3y ago

the nature of the medium allows one to create games that don't have "writing", per se—where the "narrative" is the emergently-developing narrative you the player are telling yourself as you play. in this way, games have the potential to be fundamentally different than all other forms of linear storytelling. I still enjoy story-centric games, but as time goes on, I find myself looking more and more for something different and better. some of my best and most meaningful experiences with games have been these emergent narratives. it would be nice if more people tried to make games like this, because it's really something you can't get anywhere else, aside from a tabletop RPG (but even then, that's different, too).

vkou 3y ago

There's a reason the 'storytellers' in games aren't getting star billing. Games are a hugely collaborative effort, unlike books (which are just a collaborative effort). Music is also collaborative, but there's way more people involved in making most games, than the people whose names end up on an album cover. Movies are also a highly collaborative effort, but even there, there's usually one 'czar' - often the director, that gets to stand behind nearly every creative decision made in the film (Even if they weren't the one who made it). Again, no such thing usually exists with games. There's just too many parts to them, no one person owns all of them, and the costs of making 'cuts' preclude a single opinionated personality from doing an eleventh-hour pass on it in post-production.