"
I love stories. My chief hobby is reading. I was formally trained as a writer, not as a game designer (there wasn’t really any formal training for game design I got started, but that’s another story). I think most game stories are not very good. And I quite enjoy games with narrative threads pulling me through them. When I find a game with a good story, I frequently prefer the story to the actual game! So please keep that in mind as you read: I love story."
Narrative in a game is not a mechanic. It’s a form of a feedback, by Raph Koster
posted by codacorolla
on Jan 23, 2012 -
10 comments
The Metaphysics of Morrowind: an essay series that looks at the deceptively deep lore that surrounds one of the best-loved open world games ever made, and incorporates not only the plot elements of the game world, and the supplementary books scattered for the player to find, but also the meta-narrative of the gameplay itself, including the player character and the construction kit. Parts
1,
2,
3,
4.
posted by codacorolla
on Nov 16, 2011 -
92 comments
It's All Games Now: The Convergence of Games and Social Media (video, 61 minutes), is a talk given by Raph Koster, one of the lead designers of the MMO Ultima Online, at the 2011 Game Developers Conference Online in Austin Texas. In it he looks at how digital games have changed as a social experience from MUDs to World of Warcraft, where they are going in the future, and the bleed between games and the real world. Koster has posted a summary
here on his site.
[more inside]
posted by codacorolla
on Nov 7, 2011 -
15 comments
In 1987 the first Castlevania was released. It was followed by Simon's Quest in 1988. The difference between the two games is stark. Although they both have the same basic plot lines (kill Dracula) and setting, Simon's Quest introduced an open world and RPG elements, giving eventual rise to the genre known as "Metroidvania".
Sequelitis looks at the difference between these design decisions and shows that maybe Metroidvanias aren't quite as much fun as you might remember.
posted by codacorolla
on Nov 3, 2011 -
66 comments
"Rather than adopting the popular perspective on gaming as a way of escaping life, engaging in violence or being antisocial, the film focuses on the gamers’ pure joy in their hard-sought achievements, the thrill of high-level competition, the significance it gives their lives, and the communities they create."
Jon Rafman's (
previously, and
previously) Codes of Honor.
Text and
Video.
[more inside]
posted by codacorolla
on Oct 30, 2011 -
8 comments
wow, high level play from both players here, really close. the cookie chains were knit tight, like yarn in a yoshi sweater. on the sweater, yoshi is eating a cookie. absent-mindedness or perhaps careful alteration of the "Yoshi Eats Cookie Sweater" pattern makes yoshi take on a more pensive expression, looking at the viewer with a pensiveness that reflects the lives of the men lost in gycl06, like a puddle of water in a battlefield, opaque with blood and mud, its glory hours long passed. A video, with commentary, of the Yoshi Cookie Eastern Conference Finals. SLYT.
posted by codacorolla
on May 22, 2011 -
41 comments
Terraria is a recently announced game that is currently in closed alpha. It is similar in play style to the Internet favorite
Minecraft (
previously, and
previously-er, and
previously-er), except it operates in a 2D, sidescrolling world. Players harvest resources to craft items and structures to defend themselves against enemies. A teaser trailer is available
here, and a more extensive gameplay trailer is available
here. The developers are currently uploading "let's play" videos on to their youtube account:
part one here, and
part two here.
[more inside]
posted by codacorolla
on Apr 23, 2011 -
46 comments
What do you mean you don't remember Olegco Gaming? They were like the best developer for the Atari! They had classics, like Cool Beens, and Ghost Garden Man. Don't tell me you never played Baron of the SkeleBone Zone! Well, you take a look at all of their games
on their archive site. Now try to be a little more knowledgeable before we talk about video games again... thanks.
posted by codacorolla
on Mar 14, 2011 -
18 comments
