Backstory (was RE: [MUD-Dev] New poll)

[Angela Ferraiolo]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Sheldon" <linearno at gte.net>
To: <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2000 5:53 PM
Subject: RE: Backstory (was RE: [MUD-Dev] New poll)


> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu
> > [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> > Angela Ferraiolo
> > Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 5:13 PM
> > To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> > Subject: Re: Backstory (was RE: [MUD-Dev] New poll)

> Exactly, what I try to do when I teach is give examples of traditional
> narrative tools (from fiction, drama, film, whatever) that seem to work
> quite well in games and MUDs.  And by no means do I think we've used all
> that are possible.  New connections are waiting to be discovered.

Right. There were traditional rules of narrative that actually became more
important because it seems like there is less to hold on to in a game.
But there is still a lot of structuring that needs doing, it's just
operating
in a different mode.

> Other than a couple obvious ones like linearity, though, I haven't found
> many rules that can just be thrown out.  What are some that you think
simply
> don't work?

Losing linearity is no big deal. Linearity is merely an organizing
principle.
You can replace it with another organizing principle. In some ways, levels
are a form of linearity. But rules that apply to rising tension? I threw
some of
those out.  For instance,  the rule that says here's where the reversal
goes,
here's where Neo decides he is not "the one", or here's where Skywalker
says he can't be a Jedi, he has to go back to the farm. That moment should
drive the
audience crazy, right? They should be saying, no wait, you're wrong, Neo.
You are
the one. Luke, you do want to be a Jedi. I want you to be a Jedi. What will
make you
change your mind? All of a sudden everyone is really paying attention. The
feeling that
things are going wrong is a very important feeling for the audience to have.

But a player may not make a bad decision. A player wants to win the game. To
satisfy
that rule, I had to think of it differently. More like, well, do we really
need a reversal?
Or do we just need to raise the stakes in an interesting way so that the
player remains
engaged? Let's send the player an obstacle. We can send another monster, but
the player might be expecting that. To raise the stakes, I need something
surprising.
If Indiana Jones is making all the right moves, if he's really closing in on
the ark, if
he's not going to make a bad decision? Let's have the bad guys kidnap
Marion. Just as
Chief Brody is about to call for help? Let's have Quint walk across the deck
and
smash the radio to bits. We've all seen how well this kind of thing was
handled in Half
Life. The trick is knowing that here or close to here we have to increase
the tension,
that doesn't change. So you're right, I didn't really throw the rule out, I
just had to rethink it.
What changes in games is not what needs to be done, but how we go about
doing
what needs to be done. Don't you think?  Do you have a new use of an old
rule
you feel like sharing?





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