Comments on: Video games and writing

By: Excuse Me While I Kiss My Bride

Excuse Me While I Kiss My Bride — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:39:53 +0000

[...] If you’re anything like me, you play video games for the story even more than the gameplay, so I like how Robert looks at some of the best game narratives in recent years. [...]

By: Dragon Age: A Worthy Tale? | Chronicles of a Writer

Dragon Age: A Worthy Tale? | Chronicles of a Writer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:58:56 +0000

[...] a story), this might have the most replay value out of them all. Yes, there are the occasional Final Fantasy X fan or Halo nut who can enjoy the game without it being any different, but Dragon Age: Origins [...]

By: rkuang

rkuang — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:32:26 +0000

HAHA, I have to say that is quite epic!

By: Tesh

Tesh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:50:59 +0000

I’m a big Chrono Trigger fan. I love the music for both Chrono games as well. (I’ve purchased not only the OST CDs, but also the sheet music for CC. Nerd++)

By: rkuang

rkuang — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:02:25 +0000

VI is many people’s favorites. VII is redundant now (I feel). I’d say it’s a tossup between IX and X. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross aren’t bad either. Ack, nerd overload!

By: Tesh

Tesh — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:22:44 +0000

I’m partway through XII at the moment. It’s very much “play, story, play, story”… and I don’t like the MMO feel of the thing. It’s not bad, just not as good as X or IX. (And I don’t like Viera, but that’s another topic entirely.)

I still think VI is my favorite, though. Multiple “main” protagonists make me happy.

By: rkuang

rkuang — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:56:38 +0000

I thought FFX had a solid story so for me the series ended there rather than at FFIX (another favorite). Agree with you about FFXII, though. I tried really hard to like it, but as you said, the story was too political and straight forward for me.

By: Professor Beej

Professor Beej — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:59:50 +0000

I hope that FFXIII gets back to that old “I live in this world” feel that X-XII have lost. I couldn’t stand XII and I really hope the next installment really does better to make the game *not* feel like a single player MMO. The story wasn’t even intriguing enough to get through the narrative. Maybe I didn’t get far enough to care, but VI-IX were the highlights of the FF series solely because of the way they handled the narrative. Gameplay was phenomenal, yes, but it was the story that kept me playing, and if XIII wants me to actually buy the game after my rental weekend, it will, too.

By: rkuang

rkuang — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0000

As a writer, I would enjoy a story with a beginning, middle and end. So, I would prefer the structure, I think. Trying to compensate for all the possible outcomes in a freestyle game is very difficult, especially storytelling-wise. However, I enjoy playing both equally, and if I were a game creator I would create a story with lots of opportunities to explore the world while still having a solid mission objective.

In the olden FF days, you could fly airships and explore the world? I loved that.

By: Tesh

Tesh — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:27:34 +0000

So, as a writer, which interests you more? Which would you rather create?

I dabble in writing, and would find them both fun, albeit for different reasons. Interestingly, while I’d prefer to *play* a game that allows me more creative control and decisions to make, I’d prefer to *write* more in the FF vein, where I can really knuckle down and make a strong narrative.