lundi 28 septembre 2015

Storytelling & How It's Woven Into Game Design

By Jennifer Marie Anderson


If someone makes the claim that video games are incapable of telling stories, chances are that they haven't played many modern titles. Simply put, game design has blossomed into one of the biggest storytelling platforms imaginable, regardless of how simple or intricate those tales might be. With that said, I think that it's important to discuss just how this endeavor can be carried out. Here are just a few points of interest worth covering.

One of the ways for storytelling to occur, in game design, is with actions. Sometimes, a game can tell so little and yet convey a tremendous amount of detail. Many independent developers have been able to overcome the hurdles of big budget costs and the like by simply using their games to present narratives. Many of these titles - "Thomas Was Alone" being one of the more streamlined examples - have gone on to become favorites amongst gamers. This is just one of the many talking points to be illustrated by any Long Island advertising agency.

Does this necessarily mean that bigger budgets can be a detriment? I believe that it depends on what creators do with it. For example, "The Last of Us" is often regarded as one of the finest video games of all-time, especially from a storytelling standpoint. The plot of said game featured all kinds of twists and turns, and they were played out by some of the finest characters in this art form. As a result, a unique experience was created for anyone to get into.

Creativity matters, more than anything else, which is something that students in various art colleges will become familiar with. This is no different in the field of game design, either, meaning that it's of the utmost importance to focus on all of the moving parts of game design as a whole. Even if someone doesn't have technological savvy on their side, creative genius through way of storyboard construction can still prove to be useful. Simply put, if one isn't creative, he or she might not thrive in this field.

Without question, storytelling has become one of the most essential components of game design. If it isn't set in place, depending on the genre, players have a difficult time connecting with what's being presented to them. More than anything else, it feels like conducting actions simply for the sake of seeing the end; this should never be the case. Game design is meant to immerse others, and one of the ways to do this is the creation of effective narratives.




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