Games, Stories, and Freedom – Part 2

Last week, I rambled on about video games and the stories they help players create. If you haven’t read that piece yet, I’d encourage you to do so, since this week’s post is a bunch of sidebars and footnotes that one. Frankly, it won’t make much sense without the context. No? You just want a bite-sized summary of that piece? Fine, here you go:

If you give a player a unique experience, it helps create a great player story.

Still confused? Go back and read the original post. We’ll wait.

The Value of Player Stories

Last week, on the subject of player stories (that is, stories told by players about the games they play), I made two points.

One was strong and definitive, a rhetorical flag thrust defiantly into the peak of Mount Gamethink, and it was this: Games that Provide Freedom and Surprise Help Create the Best Stories.

The other was a sad, limping little point, little more than a bed-wetting first grader shyly raising its hand in the back of the class: If You Want Your Game to Help Create Stories, You Should Think About These Things.

See? Sad. I’m thinking of taking that whole paragraph out back and shooting it in the head, then replacing it with a link to this post. Because it’s here that I plant another flag:

Great Player Stories Sell Games

According to the NPD Group (probably the most-cited source for video game industry statistics), video gamers rely more on world of mouth than any other source when it comes to deciding which game to buy.

That makes sense to me. Gamers love to talk about their games. And if those gamers have great game stories (because of their unique experiences), they will talk more than if they have merely good game stories — and with each telling, they influence those around them to check out the game in question.

I’ll spare you the specific game examples (I’d just be comparing Minecraft and GTA to Half-Life and Mass Effect again), but consider this: It’s easier to tell someone your story if you don’t have to worry about giving away spoilers.

Do you need great, unique player stories to sell your game? Of course not. But if it makes sense for your game, and you can fit it in… Leave room for emergent game play. It can only help sell games.

Sidebar 1: Freedom vs. Surprise

On Facebook, one of my associates commented:

[S]urprise is more of an aspect of all gaming, not just creating player experiences. If there is not at least a little surprise in what you are doing you are not likely to do it very long.
[…]
In my opinion, player stories as you defined them are formed from freedom to act alone. The surprise factor comes more from “the devs let me do that” moments more than from surprise inherent to the content. Surprise is less of a contributing factor and more of a side effect of the freedom given to players.

He’s right, to a point. If the player has enough freedom to guarantee a unique experience, then the world in which he has that freedom doesn’t need to provide the surprise.

For example, Minecraft gives you a ton of freedom, but the world… Well, once you’ve played for a while, you’ve seen most of what it has to offer. Whereas a GTA game gives you less freedom, but many more things to do in the world.

Sidebar 2: Tabletop Games

When pondering unique experiences and great game stories, I’ll admit I largely ignored tabletop games. Not because I don’t love them (you know I’ll never abandon you, my precious polyhedral dice!) but because unique experiences are virtually intrinsic to the category.

Most boardgames pit players against each other, and those that don’t (i.e., cooperative games) provide some sort of randomizer to guarantee that the players aren’t facing the same challenges game after game. Ditto for card and miniatures games.

Roleplaying games are cooperative, but provide the very pinnacle of player freedom and a (GM-moderated) surprising world. If you’re bored and restricted in a tabletop RPG, it’s not the game’s fault — find a new GM, stat!