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RPG General News - Jeff Vogel: More about Storytelling

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by RPGWatch, Sep 27, 2024.

  1. RPGWatch

    RPGWatch Watching... ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG]Jeff Vogel explains why storytelling in video games isn't easy:

    [​IMG]​

    Why Video Games Are Tough For Storytelling

    A good story can help your game make money, but the medium will fight you every step of the way.

    Writing a video game with a good story is easy! Just have it be 20 hours of reading! Done and dusted!
    "Players will forgive your game for having a story as long as you allow them to ignore it." - Vogel's 2nd Law of Video Game Storytelling

    I recently wrote a blog post about writing good, clear stories that progress logically and make sense. It was based on a short, really good video by the guys who made South Park (and a bunch of other stuff).

    The basic idea is this: When your story moves to another scene, the scenes should be collected by "Therefore" or "But then". They should never be connected with "And then."

    As in, each scene should be the result of what came before. Someone does something to achieve a purpose. Someone else does something to react to that. And so on. This creates a logical story that moves at a good tempo towards a conclusion.

    But I'm a video game guy. (Kickstarter for our next game running now!) What does all this mean for me?

    It turns out the things that make a video game feel like a video game make storytelling very hard.

    Storytelling In A Video Game Is A Strange Thing

    I will go to my grave saying that, if you want to create a game that gets a following and makes money, good writing is the most cost-effective way to help. Good words and good settings are cheap to make, and they can massively increase the popularity of a product.

    [...]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 28, 2024
    RPGWatch, Sep 27, 2024
    #1
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