The biggest challenges facing JJ Abrams with Ep9 are the same as he’s faced for the entire Sequel Trilogy, to whit: (1) satisfying fans of the Original Trilogy, and (2) creating the next generation of fans with the new cast/direction. By ‘fan’ I don’t mean someone who just goes and watches each movie dutifully once (like say a typical ‘fan’ of the Mission Impossible franchise might), but someone who watches all the movies multiple times, gets their friends and kids and parents to watch it, and buys into all the merchandise for years or even decades: toys, Halloween costumes, books, comics, TV spin-offs, games, theme park tickets, etc. Ideally Disney/Kennedy/Abrams would want to fulfill both (1) AND (2), but if it comes down to it, they could give up some of (1) if they get more of (2) in return. The worse case scenario would be if they whiffed on both …
Tag Archives: storytelling
Storytelling and digital games: the road goes ever on and on
There’s been some controversy this year (stoked by that venerable film critic, Roger Ebert) about whether computer games are really “art”. I
’m not going to weigh in on this directly, but tangentially – through the lens of storytelling. Can digital games tell stories which are as compelling and interesting as an epic poem, a novel, or a good movie (let’s call them “passive literature”)? The answer is: yes, they are already, not quite at the level of timeless classic literature just yet. There’s a long way to go, but we could get there in our lifetimes.
I wanted to explore this by reviewing a genre of computer game – the CRPG (computer or console role-playing game). Typically these are single-player games, where the player takes on the role of a defined protagonist in a quest. These are the closest types of games to novels or movies, except that the player can and does make decisions during the game (they don’t just passively sit and watch, or read and turn the page), and often these games run into 40-80+ hours (vs. say a 2-3 hour movie). If we consider the genre as a whole, let’s compare their storytelling elements to the traditional components of a novel’s or movie’s story: plot, structure, characters, theme, setting, style and tone. Then we’ll conclude with some thoughts on how game designers can continue to improve the story and experience of their games.
WetWareGames 