Is it Story or Storytelling that truly make a tale worth experiencing?
- Thread starter PedroSteckecilo
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Its all in the way you tell it baby!
What I mean by that, espeically in the case of videogames, its how you shape that story into peoples minds.
A lot of excellent videogames barely contain any words at all, yet through effective use visual (or in some cases audio) cues, detailed artwork (/artistic style), and sometimes even the gameplay itself, the story can be understood and enjoyed just as clearly as any game reliant on text.
What I mean by that, espeically in the case of videogames, its how you shape that story into peoples minds.
A lot of excellent videogames barely contain any words at all, yet through effective use visual (or in some cases audio) cues, detailed artwork (/artistic style), and sometimes even the gameplay itself, the story can be understood and enjoyed just as clearly as any game reliant on text.
It is interesting that this distinction is being made. If we consider the story to be only the core themes, plot elements and so forth, and storytelling to be the. Devices and mechanisms used to relate said story, then I would say that generly storytelling is more important. There are any number of examples of a plain , inherently uninteresting narrative being dragged to success with excellent storytelling. Indeed one could reasonably argue that that the story itself is always less important tuan how it is told. Take for example the movie Forrest Gump - a story lacking in plausability driven by a character with the mental capacity of a young child. It is a grand story told with simplicity and innocence, and this is really all that stands between a legendary film and an uninteresting anecdote regarding the amazing luck of a handycapped man.
If you are really interested on the subject, you my want to read The Golden Bough by James Frazier, same subject applied to Religion and Kings, its a a bit of a shelf breaker mind. Or the Myth and Meaning by Claude Levi-Strass. Both are a lot more developed and amazing reads. (My second year thesis was based around the Myth and Meaning)Altorin said:
I think how you tell the story is the key. As stated above, Mass Effect 2 is the poster boy for this mindset. Pretty basic story, but told in such a manner you find yourself completely in love with it. I'm sure there have been plenty of games out that had great story lines, that never got off the ground because it was told poorly the first time around. I think a good example would be Black. Had potential for a damn good story, but half assed it in the telling so they could up the gun porn gimmick (Which I can forgive because the guns were so badass in that game. even if it did take 4 shots to the head with an M249 to kill some one)
Stories may fit patterns or formulas, they may be familiar. But the same is true with sandwiches, every turkey club might have the same basic components but the quality of the ingredients, the preparation, presentation and other factors make some turkey clubs stand apart.
I think people often confuse plot and premise.
Consider Mario and Braid.
They have the same premise. character tries to rescue princess from monster.
Their plots are astonishingly different. As is their execution. of course braid is intentionally crafted this way as a critique of game structure, but you get the gist.
Consider Mario and Braid.
They have the same premise. character tries to rescue princess from monster.
Their plots are astonishingly different. As is their execution. of course braid is intentionally crafted this way as a critique of game structure, but you get the gist.