Technicaly Behind in old Blogging, but this is about Games and Gameworlds...

Yes, I know I haven't updated the blog for my class as frequently as required, but, well, I've never been really good at this updating online stuff. However, today's assignment, blogging about games and gameworlds, is something quite close to my heart.

Why?

I'll be honest, I'm a gamer. I'm also not a simple computer gamer, I'm a role-player in the worst degree, I play DnD, I play a LARP (that's a Live-Action Role-Play), I play Computer RPGs and Console RPGs (yes, there is a major difference), I've played MMORPGs, I've played Persistent Worlds and play by email or forums RPGs. There are very few genres I haven't hit, and the reason behind my love of them all is very simple:

I'm a sucker for a good story, especially ones I can be a part of.

I've also played lots of strategy games, some shooters, hells, I have a drawer full of computer game jewel cases, to say nothing of the shelf of console games I own.

And in every case, my favorite games (outside of the Sim-style games) all tell engaging stories that I, as a player, get to take part in (well, except for Total Annihilation, but the gameplay more than makes up for the weak story).

I play these games for the same reason I read a book, to be told a story, albeit one I have a little more say over. That being said, since I was just a little guy, I'd read a story, then late at night as I'm falling asleep, imagine myself as a part of the story. The games I tend to replay (that are not open-ended like the Sim games or Civilization games) are ones that tell an engrossing story, where I just want to play through the next section (read through the next chapter) to find out what happens next. What is around the next corner in the dystopian New York of Deux Ex? Where am I as I exit through the next hyperspace jump as I return to the Homeworld? Just what is a Spirit Eater and why am I one in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer? Will the Prince of Falena succeed in Suikoden V? Will the Chosen One find the GECK of Vault 13 and save the people of Fallout 2?

In any case, the fundamental part of a gameworld is a degree of interactivity, allowing the players to do things are they will. Even if this is as limited to what actions to take from an action menu while the players go down a preconstructed story, these choices are what differentiate games from a movie, television show or novel. That being said, everything that is important in those venues is important in creating a gameworld and engaging game. What are those? Well, its the fundamental three things that are part of any story: setting, characters and plot.

The setting is potentially the most difficult thing to set up in any for of fiction, especially in the genres that games most often use: Science Fiction and Fantasy. Some games can build on previous games, for instance the Suikoden games, unlike the more famous Final Fantasy series, all take place in the same world. This means that games all draw on similar ideas and even similar game mechanics. This also allows the games to have reoccurring characters, some who have multiple adventures in their lives, and others who are just mysterious, just like a series of novels or movies.

Dystopia futures are also common settings. This makes it a bit easier than creating a world from scratch, as you draw on the read world, but in a twisted future, perhaps rules by conspiracies and megacorps like in Deus Ex, or in the post nuclear war world of Fallout. Finally, the science fiction games have their own challenges, just like any science fiction story, they have to seem plausible, and at the same time, fantastic. The actual setting of the game must interest people, since the player's character, the person or people they control live in and affect this world. If the setting does not engage a player, they quickly loose interest.


Characters are equally important, but perhaps much more complicated. The main protagonist of a game is the player. In completely linear games, this isn't a problem, as you can always put words in a character's mouth, making a game into a movie with interactive combat. That being said, often what is done in games is what is termed the "silent protagonist," that is, a character who doesn't speak at all, letting the player fill in the gap with their own dialog. Or, in some games that don't use extensive voice acting, there is extensive use of dialog choices that shape the player's relationships with the world around them.

The supporting cast of a game, what are called Non-player characters in RPGs, also play a huge role. These are the characters that are more in line with more traditional storytelling mediums, as the creators of the game have complete say over their personalities, their actions and their ends, though often in RPGs the creators will allow the way the player acts or talks to them to affect them, changing their actions and outlooks. Like any medium, these characters must be developed and sympathy (or hatred) must be engendered. If a character that is suppose to support the player is hated or shallow it can drive people away from the game, while if the characters are interesting and sympathetic it can help overcome bad game mechanics or buggy gameplay.


Finally, like any story, plot plays a major role. This area is the most open, as any story can be told, at the same time because of the nature of computer games, the plot often is a heroic story involving the player character overcoming the odds and various enemies. Conflict resolution is usually through some sort of violent means, which is one reason Science Fiction and Fantasy are popular genres. That being said, many games hide their plot and set of the world so that, instead of the player being the center of the plot, the player(s) are merely a part of the world: MMORPGs are the chief of this type of game. At first glance, World of Warcraft, for instance, has no clear plot, but this is actually not quite true. There is a story going on in the world: the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde and the potential revival of the Burning Legion, but unlike other games, the players play only marginal roles in this plot, as it is revealed through expansions that change things about the world, and the smaller stories, that though persistent and never truly resolved, that the players work through at they play.


It is possible to have a game without the elements of storytelling, these games don't have a true "gameworld" in the sense that there is fully fleshed out alternate world, but are merely diversions designed to entertain through distraction rather than through storytelling. In the end, there's nothing wrong with that, but for me, personally, I've still got a soft spot for a good story.