"Tell Your Own Damn Stories! Games, Overreading and Emergent Narrative"
It's an article about how to tell stories - focusing on the inevitable amount of narrative that people put into the events they see in front of them.
I don't agree with what the guy says of games or film in terms of emergent narratives - there's always a combination of setting and narrative devices that create a good story in the minds of the audience.
So suggesting that meaningless events following one after the other is actually a stroke of genius - that's the kind of thing best left for advertisement and politics, probably.. But he does make a few very good points about how narratives work. So go read.
joseph_valencia Nov 18, 2010
fleinn Blogger Nov 18, 2010
Isn't it the same in film..? Typically the question is just how easily it is to slip into the story, and how believable it is - how easy it is to suspend disbelief. And then what sort of emotions that narrative inspires in you.
Which is how it's possible to defend Star Wars, for example. ..or at least the first three movies.. It's something that - even if the writing is absolutely atrocious - makes you engage with the characters and the setting. Maybe it had to be a bit corny to actually work..? You know, "theater".
Imo, games have that same thing. Since you can't really act out what you imagine yourself doing - you need that barrier when telling the stories. MGS is a great example of how that works, imo - you have actions you can do that don't even attempt to be realistic - but it's realistic enough that you can imagine yourself in Snake's shoes. And avoid having a too big clash between game-mechanics and imagination.
The entire "!" thing describes exactly how that works - it's arcadey and video-game. But it's expressive anyway, and doesn't actually break immersion. Because you always have that detached view from your perspective anyway - controller and screen, and so on. So maybe it works the opposite way - linking you to the game.
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zippdementia Nov 18, 2010
Not to say that you can't be creative, but there are certain beats and rythyms to telling a story that you have to hit. Just like you have to stay on beat in music or it just doesn't work. Doesn't mean you can't switch to a new beat or try some acid jazz, but you still have to play to the rules of musical creation.