stories can make games nice, yeah, but I think sometimes settings are enough as well. Like, does this guy really need to be the legendary hero foretold of in prophecies of yore? Or can he just be, I dunno, a random adventurer, and you just take on the role of his everyday routine in this setting you've created (it just so happens that his everyday routine involves a lot of monster slaying and exploring or whatever the mechanics of your game are) I think sometimes it's more fun to explore settings themselves with just the barest minimum amount of setup regarding the character's role. I think that can be an okay thing to do.
"You are a hunter. You need food."
"You are a god. You need prayers."
"You are a seven thousand pound trampoline. You long to thrust your pelvis towards the sky."
And that's all you get.
The game that follows has no super antagonist or character development, only an exploration of the game's mechanics as presented within the setting, or an exploration of the setting through the game's mechanics.
"You are a hunter. You need food."
"You are a god. You need prayers."
"You are a seven thousand pound trampoline. You long to thrust your pelvis towards the sky."
And that's all you get.
The game that follows has no super antagonist or character development, only an exploration of the game's mechanics as presented within the setting, or an exploration of the setting through the game's mechanics.
I think making your own story in a game is a valid approach, and that more games should do that.









