be the story

Favorite Classic Story Games

What do I mean by “story game”? After all, most games now have stories. What differentiates a story game from all the others? By “story game” I mean a game whose story drives the game. In most games, the gameplay is the central element, and the story is there to add flavor. But in story games, the story is the central element, and the gameplay is built around the story. As a result, the story is so tightly integrated with the gameplay that you cannot remove the story and still have a game left.

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Sick and Writing

I was thinking about the first letter to the editor I got published. And this is all I’m going to post about this weekend, for two reasons: Firstly, I’m sick. I’m getting over a cold, and I have a fever. I’m also working on a special writing project, which I can’t tell you about just yet. But I’ll share the results sometime next month.

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How to Name Characters

Writers often waste too much of their blood picking names for their characters. Even so, character names can be used to enhance the story. Here are some ways to pick meaningful character names.

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Spotlight: The Goat in the Grey Fedora (Review)

The Goat in the Grey Fedora
An on-line story game by Mark Darin, starring Jason Ellis, published by Pinhead Games.

Many of us expect little from adventure games. But the story game is not dead, no siree. In fact, it’s coming back to life. Just as bloggers and podcasters and videobloggers are ushering in a new era of media, on-line game publishers are ushering in a new era of story gaming.

If we expect little from adventure games, we expect even less from free games. But we should not settle. And the second episode in the Nick Bounty series by Pinhead Games neither asks us to settle nor disappoints.

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Be Careful About Happenstance

Happenstance can be a powerful source in a story. A well placed coincidence can provide that important opportunity to move the story forward. Just make sure happenstance doesn’t drive your story, or it’ll feel contrived.

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The Minister’s Daughter (Review)

I just read The Minister’s Daughter by Julie Hearn, one of the better novels I’ve read recently, though it didn’t make me swoon.

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Great Characters and How to Make Them

The are lots of great books and other resources to teach you how to make good fictional character, but my favorite step-by-step guide is Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic. Here’s an overview of this tool, with an example character description as we go through it.

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Moving Between Characters in Omniscient Point of View

Remember when I read Spellbound by Nora Roberts? One of the things that threw me was that she wafted from character to character. Orson Scott Card in Characters & Viewpoint gives an example of this that actually works. Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell us why it works. Maybe we can propose a theory.

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The Birth of a Story Thread

Possibilities: Not only do they add complexity, they add suspense. In a plot-driven story thread, we explore all the possible plot options. In a character-driven story thread, we explore all the possible character interactions.

Whether you do as an author, your audience will explore the possibilities. (Read more…)

The Legacy of the Story Game

“A game is not a movie,” a sentiment regurgitated from time to time in the gaming world. It’s why I’ll probably never get along perfectly with—gack—gamers.

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