What's the Story in "Blog" amory? wouldn't ya like to know

What's the Story in "Blog" amory?

Well hello hello hello agin to all of the lovely people including the Lads, ladies, chaps, ol sports and everyone else in between to another one of my lengthy, insightful and chin waggling goodness that is my blog created by yours truly. So we have come a long way since starting with the important question of what exactly is Game Design? and we have learned a lot since then including the deep mechanics of Mechanical, Dynamic Aesthetic (MDA), the intricate layouts of a Game Design Document, the methods of making a game idea concept and working to expand and we even learn the importance of the concepts of peoples feedback and implementing fun into your game design as well as playing video games. So we may be nearing our end of the beginning and if you can tell by the title of this very formal blog, we notice that I have once again given the sense of a working pun to this blog itself and that we are going to be talking about the importance of Story in Games and how it can be presented to us in it's full form in game or they only give you a slightest threads for you to go and find the other pieces to bring it all together. I will also give some examples of this through games I have seen in the past as well as give an example of my own. So, let's get down to business and let me explain what is the real story in "blog" amory, because wouldn't you like to know.

(let us start at the very beginning of the tale that we shall discuss)

In the world today, there is this whole debate that the likes of story doesn't really matter in terms of video games, or the likes of single player story games are dead. I don't know where they are getting that assumption from because in the last few years a lot of the big released games that have gone on to win countless accolades have been mainly single player games with a large emphasis on story and gameplay such as the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Spiderman, Uncharted 4:a thief's end and so on and forth to even the announcement of the recent game awards showing that nearly all of the games nominated for game of the year are single player story games (all except Smash Bros Ultimate but that I can give a pass to and it does also have a single player campaign so). So I want to ask the important question of how important is Story in terms of Video Games. To give my Honest opinion the game is only as good and as memorable as it's deep story, characters and its gameplay. Personally I prefer the likes of massive Story games and open world adventure games with a massive branching story or even very well developed Indie games over the likes of Massive multiplayer Games and Battle royales any day of the week. I feel that personally when a game company releases a big game with such an epic story in a lengthy single player experience deserve all the praise and much more then what the likes of those that are the same thing every year or don't change very little and release some very broken messes in the processes.

When I envision a developer of a game I imagine this scenario when they are starting out: "by jove, I want to create a game that will be released to the masses and appreciated or gain a cult following by many, but where do I begin exactly?". This is where I would see them start to create some concepts and build out from there from the creation of characters and building a world around them and from there the idea of creating a story for their game begins to take shape. I have also looked into the likes of many different articles about crafting a story through reading some articles by the group of Canvas on the importance of Games and Art of storytelling, another blog by a chap known as Bob Bates which talks about the importance of how a story can revolved around the main protagonist or hero and their journey to save the world or something similar to that and another article from a different chap known as John Sutherland about the importance of giving a focus on the important aspects that a developer needs to tell a story in a game and how it can be in relation into some experiences that they have come across in real life that could inspire the story. These have really helped me in finding the importance of telling a story for my own game (which I will discuss in a little bit).

It is also a point to note that a story don's have to be all bogged down into one game as it can spread into multiple instalments. This is seen a lot in Game series and as I said before earlier that it can tell a simple story in a single large scale game and could add to that world with some sequels if the right idea comes around. An example of a game like this would be The Last of Us, a simple story of playing as a character named Joel who has survived through a Fungal Apocalypse that has turned normal civilians into these dangerous undead like creatures like Runners, Clickers and Bloaters and those who haven't will do anything to survive. He has been a lot over the span of 20 years that this epidemic has happened and he has lost a lot in the process including his own Daughter and when h is given a job to escort a fourteen year old girl named Ellie across a post apocalyptic America, they will learn some things along the way including making a stronger bond with one another. Now that story wrapped it all up in a nice little emotional bow but left it open to the possibility that they could continue the story in the future which they are with Part 2 in May of Next Year. However there are also stories that may seem like they are telling a simple concept but underneath that facade that their is actually a deeper and more complex story than spans multiple instalments in the one series. Case in point for this type of story that I am still piecing together with it's continuing instalments is in the Five Nights At Freddy's Series. Now at first glance it may seem like a simple story about playing as a night guard in a children's pizzeria similar in likes to Chuck E. Cheese where it seems like an easy job if it weren't for the Animatronics being allowed to roam the restaurant at night and if they catch you they full forcefully stuff you inside an empty costume and throw in an endoskeleton for good measure, but in reality there is a much deeper story that involves multiple children being kidnapped and presumably murdered and stuffed inside of suits while he is also trapped inside of a decaying Yellow Bunny suit and the shady business of the company that own the restaurant and the multiple other restaurants and sister locations and the possibility that he main murderer is actually now an animatronic himself as well as his oldest son and stuff about remnant or basically soul energy and the list goes on and that is not even scratching the surface of the full story to this game. This is the difference to being simple and making a in depth story that you hope many people will take the time to develop as the series continues.

(like I said that story can go for eons at this point without any clear indication on when he is going to stop)

This is what I hope will be the case with my own story as I have been developing a story and game of my own for the past few weeks and I want to give you little rundown on what the story of the main concept will be. So, the story begins in the little town of Sleepy Dines where we are introduced to Shimmer and we learn that they don't know what their dream is in life and they decide to wish upon the wishing star. This is when all the stars begin to disappear or fall from the sky and their wishing being taken away by at this point we don't know but eventually will learn this is the work of Atrax. This will lead them through a journey across their home town in the Dunes, across the cold lands of Cold Sweat Slopes, then across the Heat of the Insomnia Volcano range. During one of these sections there will be time that you will be helped and introduced to the Star-sea Dream-walkers and they will help at different points in time (those points are not fully final but they will try the best they can in certain areas of the game). This is when you reach the Moonlight meadows to rest and reflect and maybe get a little story for the team itself of their lives and how not to give up ho[e in times when it doesn't seem like there is no way in accomplishing it. Following from this you head into the Gemstone woods to experience it's wonders and once you have exited that forest you will then be entranced by the dulcet tones of Harmony Town. It will here though some form of a song of a tale where you are told of our 8 legged fiend that has been causing all of this and you head for his lair that lies on Sunlight Peaks in the tall mountains. Once you climb the mountain with all you have come across, all those people that you have helped in the process and the inspiration that the SSDR had given you you soon reach his lair in a castle in clearing in a cave in the mountains and come face to face with Atrax. He tells you of his plan that he is stealing all the essence of the stars in the night sky to make him powerful with magic to become the most dangerous sorcerer in the world and take over this land and soon the entire universe and soon no one will have any dreams anymore. This will lead to a final confrontation by stopping him through an intricate puzzle that will stop him but not kill him saying that he will plot his revenge eventually and you will escape and bring all the stars back to the night sky. It is then you finally try again to wish upon the wishing star but you feel at first that it doesn't work but then the voice of the star will tell you they can't grant a wish or dream that is already a reality. It is then the true dream is finally realised that the true dream of Shimmer is that their dream is to make the world a better place for all whether it is helping with some very smaller problems to stopping humanoid spiders from becoming dangerous powerful beings and that they should always do it for the greater good. It is then that the Star-Sea Dream Walkers come to thank you for helping bring the stars back and that they need their help again in another world and so the adventure and the kid that went to find a dream and found it's journey is only beginning. So, that is a summary of the game that I am crafting.

(thank you I try my best all the time)

All in all, I do feel that the importance of story in games is just as important as the game world that you have built or the characters that you have created or the gameplay elements that you have chosen for it. So, that is all I have to say on this matter so I am going to head out. So, until Next time.

Cheerio!!!

-Sam