May 25, 2011 by Susie | Category: 
As I have told you earlier, I have been (and still am, partly) working in book publishing industry. I have noticed that there are many similarities between developing a computer game and writing a book.
• It requires lots of time. And time. And more time. There is never enough time, it always runs out.
• It is all about the story. People love stories, it is deep in us. So the story should be compelling.
• You have to be prepared for re-making, refining and starting all over again. The process will always reveal flaws, inconcistencies and cliches.
• You have to pay respect to testers’/publishing editors’ opinions. They are the first real players/readers. If they say something does not work, people who will buy your game/book will certainly repeat their words unless you have done something about the problem.
• You can never be sure your game/book will be a success until it is ready and in stores.
- Susie
On most things I would agree.
But …
)
… story: Sport games won’t fit here. You try to be the best and like in TrackMania just have fun. Also there are games like Serious Sam were you have a story but won’t play it because of that instead just have fun getting everything down around you ^^
I wouldn’t say that I played Trine or Shadowgrounds because of their story. It was more of a challenging thing and especially with coop a fun factor.
Last games with me focusing on story were e.g. Cryostasis, Amnesia, Penumbra, Hellgate London, the Void, Second Sight. I also played e.g. Damnation, Counter-Strike, Xonotic, Ghostbusters and had fun without really carrying about story.
So to say there are types of games which need and contain good stories and other just make fun
(PS: There are also books like encyclopedias that don’t need a story
… publisher: I don’t like them. Most of them are business economists trying to get most money out of pure nothing. A game which is not for the big mass of people wouldn’t sell as good as one for it and for that wouldn’t be good for any publisher. So the game would not be created.
That’s why I like independent developers who get their game out on their own and bring fresh air instead of feeding the mass market.
… tester: Testers are good for finding gaps and holes. But you also need the right testers. And just because some testers won’t find a solution to given problems or puzzles should mean that you should take that out or modify that part. Braid e.g. has some stars inside I didn’t even notice the first time I played it. Just found out about it in some videos like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bJYEk-IXa8
Also the ways and places where they are hidden are just awesome.
… success: When is a game a success?
When press critics are high?
When player critics are high?
When you as a developer are (not high ^^) very pleased with the game itself?
I saw games getting high scores from the press but low ones from players and the other way round. I played games which had a not high scores from press and players but I had a lot of fun playing it.
So what is the success of a game? How could it be measured?
Comment by Urfoex — May 25, 2011 @ 11:13 am
First of all, thank you for your comment. You have many good points.
In my defense I have to say that I know what I wrote does not always apply. There are games and books that do not need “a good story”, I agree. But if you want to make a game/write a book, it is basically (not always) a good place to start. It helps a lot if a game maker/writer pays attention e.g. for the dramatic structure of the game/book. Not necessarely in the case of sport games and encyclopedias/dictionaries, I agree with you.
You also asked a very good question: “When is a game a success?” I meant mostly economical success–players want to buy your game, they enjoy playing it, and you get some money for the hard work you have done. But this is not the only way to answer your question. For example a book publishing house may decide to publish a book although they know beforehand that it is probably not going to make (any) money. But they see e.g. the cultural/historical value of the book and want to make it anyway. They want to cherish culture. And the book can still be a success in its own way. So there a r e many ways to define the concept of “success”.
Comment by Susie — May 25, 2011 @ 1:35 pm
That a game should be all about the story is just one side of the fence; one that happens to work well when the game is Trine. But even so make sure that you don’t forget your other players. Just take a look at this same topic, argued a different way, by What Games Are: http://whatgamesare.com/2010/12/tetris-is-not-the-answer-tetrism.html
Comment by Robert Massaioli — May 25, 2011 @ 2:04 pm
>> It is all about the story. People love stories, it is deep in us. So the story should be compelling. <<
It's not really. It's all about the sense of a world in motion, which may or may not superficially look like a story. Games are situational rather than sequential, which is why games that try to be 'all about the story' always come across as strangely dull.
Comment by Tadhg — May 25, 2011 @ 2:34 pm
Thanks for the comments! It is nice to find new point of views.
Ok, it is certainly not ALL about the story. But for me as a player (and I have to admit that I actually do not play that much…) a good story-or should I say “a compelling plot” instead?- is intriguing and important.
Comment by Susie — May 25, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good story and I only ever by games that I believe have a “compelling plot” attached to them. To me a game without a good story has no direction; games like Halo, Alan Wake and Trine all need their stories to continue giving the gamer a sense of purpose. When you look back on it Trine 1 had a good story but it was not a long or deep one. For example we never even knew much about the characters back stories. However, that did not matter because Trine’s game dynamic was amazing and engaging. I think that Trine 2 looks to be awesome because it seems as though Frozenbyte is making awesome improvements to the Game Dynamic AND improving the story as well. The fact that you seem to be doing both hand in hand is what has got me excited and put it on my buy list for the year.
Comment by Robert Massaioli — May 26, 2011 @ 12:59 am