Good morning, Readers!
Zerg! RUN! Image courtesy of smosh.com. Click for link.
I don't actually have a topic for today's blog post, so I thought I'd give you nightmares about a race of aliens that evolve by assimilating DNA from conquered species in the quest for genetic perfection. I'm lovely like that.
They're from a video game called StarCraft, which I used to love to play. I'm terrible at video games (and hopefully I'll soon get to show you just how terrible), but I love playing them; particularly if they have a really good story.
I don't much like playing your games that don't really have any depth to their stories; your basic side-scroller like Mario, Meat Boy, Sonic the Hedgehog etc. where the only story is beat the level to save the girl. I enjoy them from time to time, but there is nothing like being immersed in a fantastic narrative; the stakes are higher, the losses felt more keenly, the victories greater in the celebrating. They make playing as much fun as reading for me (and reading is so much fun). I get the same "lost in another world/time" rush from playing video games with excellent stories as I do from reading fantastic fiction.
For this reason, I tend to prefer RPGs (Role Playing Games, not Rocket Propelled Grenades) to almost any other genre of video game. Stracraft was so brilliant because it was not an RPG, but a strategy game, much like the Civilisation series, and it was a strategy game with an incredible story. I remember feeling genuinely upset when Raynor lost Kerrigan to the swarm (those who know the game will know). I had become attached to the characters and the story really drew me in.
Never mind that I'm terrible at strategy games of all kinds, and I frequently had to acquire help from my little brother.
I absolutely adore Skyrim for the same reason. Not only are there dragons (massive bonus), but the story-telling is extremely compelling. I've recently gotten into playing Assassin's Creed (holy complicated controls, Batman!), and so far I find it absolutely fascinating for the same reason. The Myst series is another example of extremely excellent story-telling, this time in a puzzle game. I love puzzle games. So much. Ahem...
There really isn't a point to this ramble other than to say that good story-telling is good, no matter the medium. Video games are as a legitimate vessel for fantastic narrative as books are, and should be respected as such.
A lot of people turn their noses up at video games. They really shouldn't.
Alright, I have to go do actual work now.
Ciao
PS - thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. The discussion has been really interesting. I know some really thoughtful, clever people, I must say!
PPS - Here's a bonus Starcraft image for you:
They're from a video game called StarCraft, which I used to love to play. I'm terrible at video games (and hopefully I'll soon get to show you just how terrible), but I love playing them; particularly if they have a really good story.
I don't much like playing your games that don't really have any depth to their stories; your basic side-scroller like Mario, Meat Boy, Sonic the Hedgehog etc. where the only story is beat the level to save the girl. I enjoy them from time to time, but there is nothing like being immersed in a fantastic narrative; the stakes are higher, the losses felt more keenly, the victories greater in the celebrating. They make playing as much fun as reading for me (and reading is so much fun). I get the same "lost in another world/time" rush from playing video games with excellent stories as I do from reading fantastic fiction.
For this reason, I tend to prefer RPGs (Role Playing Games, not Rocket Propelled Grenades) to almost any other genre of video game. Stracraft was so brilliant because it was not an RPG, but a strategy game, much like the Civilisation series, and it was a strategy game with an incredible story. I remember feeling genuinely upset when Raynor lost Kerrigan to the swarm (those who know the game will know). I had become attached to the characters and the story really drew me in.
Never mind that I'm terrible at strategy games of all kinds, and I frequently had to acquire help from my little brother.
I absolutely adore Skyrim for the same reason. Not only are there dragons (massive bonus), but the story-telling is extremely compelling. I've recently gotten into playing Assassin's Creed (holy complicated controls, Batman!), and so far I find it absolutely fascinating for the same reason. The Myst series is another example of extremely excellent story-telling, this time in a puzzle game. I love puzzle games. So much. Ahem...
There really isn't a point to this ramble other than to say that good story-telling is good, no matter the medium. Video games are as a legitimate vessel for fantastic narrative as books are, and should be respected as such.
A lot of people turn their noses up at video games. They really shouldn't.
Alright, I have to go do actual work now.
Ciao
PS - thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. The discussion has been really interesting. I know some really thoughtful, clever people, I must say!
PPS - Here's a bonus Starcraft image for you:
Oh Kerrigan. I'm still sad about it all. Image courtesy of sc2teams.com. Click for link.
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