Humans think with words.

While I agree with the original post, I'd like to elaborate on this point. Our brains work mostly behind the scenes, manipulating all sorts of things: images, sounds, sensations, feelings, but rarely in words. When an idea breaks into conscious thought, it is then posited in words. Remember, most other animals don't have language specific brain areas. They also 'think' and make decisions, but they're working with areas that we've outgrown. It's like the fact that our noses are rather good compared to other animals. We just don't pay them much attention.

Try this fun experiment. It takes practice, but it's a nice way to relax. Sit down and close your eyes. Stop all mental pursuits. When a thought comes to you, pay attention. Don't do anything with it, and it'll go away. Keep this up, and eventually you'll sense some of the after effects of what it took to bring that thought into words.

WORD!

Whereas visual art can suggest music, words contain bits of music.

WORD!

Something important to consider is the player's personality in a story game. Does the player want to express her own personality, or does he want to be someone different?

Gameplay is good at encouraging players to express their personality.

Story is good at encouraging players to be someone different.

How you balance that will greatly influence who will enjoy your game. Maybe you just want to make the game you want, and don't need to worry about which players will like or dislike it. That's fine, but maybe keep this in mind, if you're trying to appeal to any specific audience.

Try Rondo of Swords, an Atlus tactical RPG for the DS. It's got a great central mechanic, worth knowing. You attack by running your troops through opponents, while trying to end your runs in squares safe from enemy attacks. Very different.

If only the rest of the game was as good. Not a bad game, but could have been so much more.

Words can express negatives, far more easily than art. For example: Magritte's 'This is not a pipe.' He had to put those words on the picture, because a picture alone cannot express 'this is not a pipe'.

Now, before someone claims that all those 'no smoking' signs are pictures of negatives. Those are not just pictures. They are symbols. The NOT symbol (slashed circle) has a definition. It is a word, just like a chinese character is a word.

WORD!

Oh, and I'm always a fan when interaction with the game is thematically relevant (eg. Castlevania is about courage and the game is significantly easier if the player forges ahead at a rapid clip as opposed to getting psyched-out and trying to whip every enemy).

Excellent point!

The classic myth of strong narrative opposing interactivity should have been put to rest by now. There are alternatives. Some fit certain types of games better. I've written 2 and 1/2 story games, (the third is still in production) and each required a different approach.

What I've found is the resolution of the narrative changes according to the amount of interactivity defined by gameplay. Highly interactive story games use more abstract methods of storytelling. Less interactive story games can supply greater detail. Games with cutscenes mix these methods, for example.

 

This thread should be retitled to, 'How to write a player supporting protagonist.'

My first two games had strongly developed main characters. The player was given choices external to their character(s)' personality. This allowed the characters to act consistently, and maintain the continuity of the story.

My upcoming game let's the player decide a character's personality. In all of the games, a strong framework wraps the story. In the first two, the player explores a rich story and its potential paths. In the new one, players create a story within the framework. Each age of civilization is defined by the events it presents during gameplay.

How the main character (the family head of each generation) acts and reacts is decided by the player. This allows players to try out different personalities in the same game. Unfortunately, the player doesn't have to choose consistently for the same main character. This can break the continuity of the game, but I would rather allow the player to choose freely, instead of arbitrarily constraining him or her to consistent choices.

So my approach is to have a strong story framework that allows the player to explore personality options for 'their' character. The Bioware games have been doing this forever. My new game is entirely unlike those, but the concept still works.

Chris Hecker is probably somewhere near emeryville ...

Chris Hecker would be in fucking Emeryville. No wonder he gets so cranky.

Shit. I better ask my wife if she's okay with relocating away from Emerville. (kidding) I didn't know this. I should hit him up for a quick play of Spy Party.

I would participate in a writing forum. All of my games to date have been story games. (Fruit-o-matic doesn't count, because... um..)

Dude said everything I was planning to say. Sorry I missed the indian food. Great light show!

Lux
Castle Vox
Betty's Beer Bar
The Witch's Yarn
Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble
Rock Legend
Kudos
Democracy
Oasis

Still in Dev
arcada mia

what's with all this marketing talk and 'press releases' and 'teaser campaign' and all that business?

this is tigs 

:-) Yeah, tigs got ALL kinds! Don't it? :-)

I can speak to this subject from several experiences. My first game, 'The Witch's Yarn' was an adventure game. It was important to know the story before inventing the puzzles. My upcoming game, 'arcada mia', is a casual-core game that influences story, so the gameplay has to be solid before writing the stories.

The oddball was, 'Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!'. In that game the mini-games and story were very distinct. Several times I swapped out bad mini-games for, hopefully, better ones, without affecting the story. However, the part of the design that linked story to games was critical. Mini games had to reflect ways that high school girls resolved conflicts. That was the bridge that allowed gameplay and story to be modular.

supershigi,  here's something you might find interesting, we recently made a music announcement for our game. Here's the mp3.

http://arcadamia.com/Site/by_Mousechief_files/ZigguratTiers.mp3


You can read the release here:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/64918/arcada_mia__a_Medley_of_Ziggurat_Tiers.php

Okay, here's some music from our game.


http://arcadamia.com/Site/by_Mousechief_files/ZigguratTiers.mp3


Here's where you can find our devlog.

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=14173


Also, this might be interesting. We made a press release about the music, but it didn't get picked up. Pictures seem to get more press than music, but as we state below...


Medley of Ziggurat Tiers

Savvy gamers realize the sound of games is at least as important as the graphics. Having showcased Bill Stoneham's art direction, previously, today we pay respect to our hard-working composer, Levan Iordanishvili.

Most casual games offer background music dumbed down to prevent interrupting game flow. Whereas the rich stories of 'arcada mia' beg for music intricate enough to evoke full, diverse lives. The game plays our rich music in an ingenious, old way that does not disturb the player's train of thought. Ranging from intimate to epic, the music underscores our game's purpose.

'arcada mia' presents the personal side of western civilization. Players will experience the lives of workers, artisans, nobel professions, and perhaps even rule the land. A simple, absorbing core mechanic drives these lives, one generation at a time.

A dynasty can pursue a variety of goals for great family legends: Heroics, Social Ascendence, and Discovery. These special legends provide different advantages in the core game and can influence ongoing stories.


(Begetting around: Early 2011.) Visit 'arcadamia.com' for more info.

This new game is not intended for children and will be rated TEEN using the T.I.G.R.S. rating system.

@bander: The melody is nice and the backups work well. The timing felt a bit too robotic.

@TheLastBanana: That's some solid 8-Bit. Very fun!

@rdein: I like the distortion. Keep struggling. You'll get it to where you like it, eventually.


Darn. Now I have to expose our game music to peer scrutiny... let me get back with that. :-)

The games at the link below are made with python and pygame. Our next one will add PyOpenGL into the mix. Fun stuff!

www.mousechief.com

I'll propose Sat. 20th, or Sun. 21st. That gives enough time for people to make plans, and is still ahead of Thanksgiving entanglements.

And I'll re-suggest Henry's Hunan as a meeting place, (early dinner?). They are quieter than Ritual, close to BART, and have family style tables that seat ten people. I'm thinking of the one on Natoma St. Open Daily 11:30am-9pm. Prices are cheaper than Herbivore.

It was great to meet you guys! Let's start a new thread for next month. I'm going to suggest a quieter place, though.

This'll be my fourth try with DHSGiT. The record number of submissions, before a game was picked, is five tries, and then it won. I was hoping to submit my next game, 'arcada mia', but it's just not ready.