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Chalk Talk – The Art of Storytelling

December 22, 2012

August 17, 2012 6:19PM PDT

This weeks Chalk Talk assignment focused on the art of storytelling. We asked GameSpot members to discus video game literature as well as its effects on the games mythos and hisotry. We asked them to consider whether or not gamers had a postitive or negative impact on the game in question as well as to consider if games needed the explination or if it was better to leave story telling to the gameplay.

DraugenCP: Literature, is much more than mere entertainment. It is not just the core structure of a novel that makes it interesting, but especially its ability to transmit complex ideas, themes and topics. When a novel is set in a world with many predetermined characteristics, it is already much harder for an author to approach whatever theme he has in mind in a natural way. read more.

adam1808: The problem I have with videogame fiction is much the same to my issues with “books of the films” or the Star Wars Expanded Universe, namely that it can at most be complementary to the original story. The idea of a videogame-based novel is that it fills in aspects of the game’s fiction that were left out of said game because it by its very nature, it had to be a game.read more.

vguy555: Avid fans of certain video game franchises can definitely appreciate some of these novels, as some actually provide an insightful look into the game’s universe. Yet, some of the information in these books should also be taken with a grain of salt.read more.

WTA2k5: Video game literature, at its pinnacle, reaches a middling level of significance, at best able to be deemed throwaway fun or solid-but-needless filler. It can get much worse from there, however. A number of books have infamously contradicted the narratives of the video games they’re based on read more.

zinoalex: Do video games enhance the overall gaming experience or do they deter from it. I find the prequels to be most interesting because they tell the back-story of the game. They can provide the reader, the gamer, background info that the game does not have time to delve into. read more.

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Sometimes a good blog is simply a good blog, and these GameSpot members deserve recognition for their efforts and contributions:
– Storytelling in Video Games By: lim_ak
– Favorite game Original Soundtracks By: Witchblade13
– Impressions: Sleeping Dogs By: Uesugi-dono.

David Cage calls on industry to ‘grow up’

December 21, 2012

| Games

Speaking to Gamasutra at Gamescom this week in Cologne, Germany, Quantic Dream boss David Cage said he is fed up with the industry’s unwillingness to embrace more mature subject material.

“I think we should have more courage in our industry and take more risks, because I think this is what the industry needs now,” Cage said. “I mean, how many first person shooters can you make? How many monsters/aliens/zombies can you kill in games? There’s a moment where we need to grow up. We need to grow up.”

Cage claimed the industry is currently plagued by the “Peter Pan syndrome,” a reluctance to mature as embodied by the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. He said this mentality should not be allowed to persist.

This is not the first time Cage has called on the industry to branch out. Last month, the developer claimed the industry would die without innovation, further noting that while shooters will “always be successful,” new ideas will benefit the business.

Cage is currently working on Beyond: Two Souls, a new narrative-focused PlayStation 3 game that he claims will be emotional, mature, and unique. Juno and Inception actress Ellen Page will provide the voice and likeness for the game’s mysterious young woman, Jodie Holmes.