@criticalcam said:
I would love you guys to check this out and give me feedback to improve my piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v8oZw8MLXA
Yes I know it's a fairly straightforward discussion and I don't really bring anything new to the table, as it's aimed at my tutors who won't be as aware of what these games are about.
Thanks guys, I'm not trying to promote here, just discuss.
Do you just want to discuss the content or also the presentation? You open your video with the questions: "What makes these stories so great? What makes them a necessary part of the overall gaming experience?" This might well be the result of personal interpretation, but based on those questions, the subsequent discussion is not what I expected. What I expected was a discussion about why narratives are important in videogames and why they work so well in videogames, as opposed (or compared) to other narrative driven media. You know, a discussion about interactivity, variable outcomes, actually being part of the story, agency, etc. The second question also made me expect some debate on why stories in videogames are important in the first place. Could we do without them or we do we always need some narrative outset, no matter how basic?
What I get, however, is a discussion of how narratives are implemented and executed in videogames, with only a few instances where you actually explain why stories are part of videogames and what it is that makes them work so well (when executed correctly). And some of these explanations (like providing proper backstory and, to a certain extent, creating a convincing and cohesive narrative space) can also be related to storytelling in general. They don't explain what sets videogames apart. Don't get me wrong, many of the answers to the opening questions seem implied when you discuss specific story implementations and how they relate to gameplay, but the opening questions do not seem to be the direct focus of the discussion. In my humble opinion, of course. ;-)
I don't know what the exact aim of your project was, but you could change the opening questions to something like "How are these stories implemented? What challenges do developers face when trying to incorporate stories in videogames?"
Log in to comment