It's Evolution, Baby

I spend a lot of time thinking about storytelling in games. Probably too much. Even when considering other aspects of a game's design, I'm always thinking about how they serve not just the storytelling, but the underpinnings of a user's sense of immersion, which is critical for telling a solid story.

 

While trying to explain this to the Trophy Khaleesi the other day, I accidentally defined it well when I explained that one of the best things about games that present choices is that the user shares in the story's authorship.

 

By this, I mean that when I choose to just let Morrigan walk away or not through the Eluvian, I feel like I've helped write the story.

 

*By the way, if you choose NOT to let her just walk through the Eluvian ... just WOW*

 

And, yes, this ties directly into the concept of player agency.

 

The idea of the player taking on at least part of the authorship of the story is something that lured me away, rather quickly from being a JRPG nut. I guess it also helped that, starting with Final Fantasy X, my favorite JRPG series stopped being fun. Or maybe I grew up. But that's another post.

 

Either way, it's great seeing developers like BioWare, CD Projekt Red, Inxile, Bethesda, and Obsidian continue to iterate and expand on this concept.

 

For me, though, the holy grail is getting this right in the MMO space. BioWare took a decent stab at it with Star Wars: The Old Republic. I've played that game more than any other ever. I had a really great time for a long time in that game, up until about a year after they shifted their focus from more content to making new hats that can be bought through microtransactions. And, as happens when a game goes F2P, the community became toxic. I'm probably letting my sub finally lapse, by the way.

 

Elder Scrolls Online has done some very interesting stuff in this area. While the choices here aren't so obvious or seemingly grand as in SWTOR, they are there and provide some interesting results. Additionally, the developer, Zenimax Online Studios, are working toward making the game world even more immersive, as seen below.

 

 

Where it seems like all modern MMOs go wrong is trying to be everything to everybody. They have to squeeze as much return on investment as possible from their product, and in the modern gaming scene, that's just not possible. The locusts swarm to one title, feed on it, abuse the developers, and then in a succession of groups, swarm to the next one.

 

I'd love to see an MMO that provided annual full expansions that were packed with story-based content. In between, they could drop little bits of end-game content. Yeah, they would have to be an ENORMOUS studio, but surely someone like Blizzard or EA could fund that, right?

 

I loved what SWTOR started out as, which is a HUGE single-player RPG that you could play with friends, if you wanted. Now, all the new content is forced-grouping, so there's inevitably some asshole screaming into group chat when people don't skip the story scenes.

 

All of this reminds me that I need to go back and look more at Secret World and Guild Wars 2, as well. I'm told repeatedly that they both do really interesting things with story.

 

I just really want one game that I log into play most of the time, without hearing that nagging voice in the back of my head that's insisting that this game actually kinda sucks.

 

I want a Dragon Age MMO that focuses on story, gets annual expansions, gets new endgame content every two months, and is subscription-based. Okay, fine, it can have some element of PvP, but I don't want that to be much of a focus.

 

Ya know, I really wanna try true roleplaying in an MMO some time. It's always struck me as something interesting, and I've never tried it.

 

What about you? How much of an emphasis do you put on storytelling in games? In MMOs? What's your perfect MMO? How much do you value choice in games?

 

-Blaine

 

About That

This blog has taken on many different themes and purposes, and now, I think I finally know what to do with it.

 

Just write.

 

I'm not someone that forces things. Probably to my detriment, a bit, but I've never been someone that does something he doesn't want to do. It's caused me problems, at times, but it's also cleared the deck for me to focus on things that actually matter to me.

 

In any case, I guess I was gonna write a lot about writing here, before realizing that I get bored with that subject very quickly. Besides, my process is far less interesting than most others' processes. In life, and in writing, simpler is better, and the fewer constraints you place on yourself, the freer you are to soar to new heights, or glide gracefully to the crouch with a laptop and just write.

 

So, while I may still write about writers writing, I'm opening this blog up to be about everything that I care about. This includes gaming, baseball, football, technology, software/web development, and just whatever takes my fancy.

 

Some posts will be quite length, while others may only be a few sentences. Some may even be video posts (WHOAH.)

 

I've added my Twitch feed above, as well as a 'current' section in the top left. Feel free to engage me on anything you see there.

 

Production

My day job is now as a C# developer. It's a great job, and I really like the challenge of developing a new skillset, plus I'm part of a great team, and the work is more than satisfying.

 

Outside of that, I'm developing what I think might become a web 'TV' series. I've worked in technology for quite a while now, and want to start telling some stories that have sprung from that life.

 

Right now, I'm envisioning an initial six-episode 'first season,' and I'm considering just producing it myself. I might Kickstarter it, I might not, but I need to get them written first.

 

Aside from that, I'm always dabbling with modding games, but I've been frustrated, because I keep changing what game, what engine, and I probably need to seek out some advice on how to get started. I'm thinking, more and more, I need to bang out a rough story, and then make my decision that way.

 

Further down the road, there's another novel and another rock record. Actually, a few novels. There's another Endless Wars book that has some real meat to it, but that I keep walking away from, as well as a very weird start to a space merchant novella series.

 

The space merchant novella series is an experiment, in which I do a 'season' of novellas that each tell a story within a larger arc, and I'll release each one for something like a dollar, or even less. We'll see. I'm still trying to work out how that would work. Maybe I'll just release each 'episode' for free, then sell the complete collection at the end of the 'season.' I dunno.

 

Regardless, I wanna get the six scripts for the IT web series done first, then start talking to some folks about the next move there.

 

And, yeah, I really wanna make a story-based mod for Dragon Age, or maybe Divinity: Original Sin, or maybe Skyrim, or maybe the upcoming Wasteland 2 and/or Pillars of Eternity.

 

Consumption

It's been a reeeally slow year in music. REALLY slow. Granted, all my bands dropped new records either last year or the year before. I've been jamming to the new Robert Plant, as well as the new Slash record, and Asteroids Galaxy Tour is releasing a new record next week, and I'm expecting that to be my favorite record this year.

 

It's been too good a year for science fiction on TV. There's so much that I've actually started dropping shows or telling some that I'll be back with them later.

 

However, my two favorite so far this year are not science fiction. True Detective and The Bridge have both knocked me out with how well-written, beautifully acted, and really well-shot they are. Both of those shows are the complete package.

 

The Strain, though, comes close to that level of enjoyment. I enjoyed the first two books (third is in the queue), and absolutely love the show.

 

Reading-wise, I'm still reconciling Disney's declaration that all books, games, and comics before 'A New Dawn' are null and void. It's hard to imagine a Star Wars without events from the 'Old Republic' era being part of the canon. Same goes for the X-Wing series, and a lot of the books from the Clone Wars era, which featured some of my favorite Jedi.

 

In any case, the new novel, 'A New Dawn,' is a solid read thus far. It sets up a couple of the characters that will be featured in the new animated series, 'Rebels.'

 

Gaming-wise, after a HUGE push through the Elder Scrolls Online, I'm taking a break from that series, and finishing my third playthrough of the Dragon Age series, in preparation for Dragon Age: Inqiusition on 11/18.

 

Last on the gaming front, Destiny. A little game from a little developer known as Bungie.

 

It's an MMO FPS, and that's exactly what it is. It's a blend of Halo, WoW, and Diablo. I really like it so far, but it's weird playing a console shooter. I hope this comes to PC eventually.

 

Going Forward

I'm not locking myself into any format here, but I would at least like to post everyday. I'm going to play with the content, and please let me know when something is good or bad.

 

Has there been anything I've done on here before that you really liked? (as if anyone is listening yet)

 

-Blaine

 

Should I Be Ashamed of My Reading?

I read. A lot. I always have 3-4 books going at once, and always make a point of stealing back at least part of my badly-raped* and beaten personal time to gaze upon my NookColor or iPad and consume the written word.

* - as opposed to 'well-raped?' Methinks this will not be a phrase that catches on with society at large.

My reading also goes through phases. Before I doused my brain in the Fiction Writing program at Columbia College Chicago, much of my reading was made up of Stephen King and some WWII non-fiction. While at Columbia, I stretched my boundaries a bit to include some of the required reading there. To say that I overdosed on so-called 'blue collar fiction' would be an incredible understatement. While some of it ranks among the greatest literature on which I've ever laid eyes, much of it was little more than a ticket for an undergrad student to name-drop, much in the way that those in the punk community compete to name-drop bands that no one else has heard of. During that time, I fled back to science fiction in a hardcore way, and rediscovered my love for Asimov, my complicated relationship with Heinlein, my deep respect for Clarke, and my torrid love affair with Herbert. All that haughty dislike for genre fiction and nose-in-the-air New Yorker shit drove me back to what fiction means to me, which is a temporary escape in which one can find themselves.

I don't want to read about what I can go outside and do. I want to read about history, I want to read about speculative ideas, I want to be transported to a world other than this.
Don DeGrazia's book, to my right, takes place in real world Chicago, but it's a life few ever get to experience. Best book by a CCC grad ever. Read it now.

Phew. Anyway.

After college, I settled down and got back to a lot of the non-fiction that I'd so enjoyed before. I absolutely buried myself in WWII for a while, and really came to learn at the foot of a lot of great military and world leaders. General Patton, in particular, came to be a hero of mine.

I eventually began to meander and my narrowed tastes began to diffuse again a bit. Spec fiction, straight sci-fi, horror, and that urban fantasy fiction thing began to creep back in, and I even stretched my non-fiction to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

Now, though, I've been binging on licensed fiction, and I'm not sure how to feel about it.

I've been enjoying the books, namely the Star Wars and Warhammer 40k novels, but the Columbia College Fiction graduate in me is ashamed. I think that, maybe, a lot of these creative writing programs teach genre writers the same thing that bible camps teach homosexuals.

'We can help you. You're a sinner, and you should hate yourself, at least until you accept Christ / Tom Robbins as your savior. You don't really want to (write about space ships / have sex with butts), you want to fall in line and not upset the herd.'

I guess that's a little unfair, actually. It's not the genre I'm ashamed of, it's the fact that it's licensed fiction. Actually, no, it is fair, based on the looks I used to get when reading work aloud.

Maybe this is a rebellious phase. I spent a bunch of years reading some really serious shit, and it's been fun to just enjoy this stuff. And, the Star Wars label employs some damn good writers, too. These aren't bad books, they're just ... tainted.

Hey, but I'm having a great time, and that's what counts, right? It's not like I'll be walking down the street, only to be confronted by a bunch of ironic Mac-toting haughty jerkoffs, one of whom points at me and yells, 'That's him! He graduated from a creative writing program and read a prequel book to the Star Wars prequel films! FUCK HIM UP!' I sense that they'll beat me to death with Cormac McCarthy and Malcolm Gladwell. Fuck, that's depressing (actually, McCarthy's a great author, and I would feel honored to have my brains and blood spattered on a copy of 'The Road,' especially if it was autographed.)

Anyway, what say you? Should I be ashamed? Anyone out there read William Gibson? If so, where should I start with him? What else should I read?

Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you're looking for a good read yourself, check out my first novel (paperback & ebook direct from publisher), now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

-Blaine

Frakkin' Friday

I've been underground all week, working on actual offline, book-ish writing, so that's why I haven't posted. I've been editing one large piece, and writing something all-new, which has been invigorating.

On Writing

I'd never written a masturbation scene before, let alone one that goes badly, but it was actually a lot of fun, even if it did try to make me a little self-conscious, which is the death of any writer. It's probably the filthiest thing I've ever written, but it's not gratuitous, and the extreme of the activity in the scene contrasts nicely with the outcome. I was pretty pleased with it, but I think, tonally, it's a little too oppressive and dark, so I may need to go back and pepper the first chapter with a little more humor.

Editing, though, is tough. There's one section left in the other book that I'm still trying to elevate to the quality of the rest of the book. What's funny is that it's my favorite section, and it is the one that is most lacking. I love the actual story in this section, but the writing is kinda juvenile and crap (most of it is from 10 years ago, so I gotta spank my 20-year old, immature self at times) in some parts, and the tone just doesn't fit with what's happening to a character, and the transformation she's going through.

Man, I can't wait to be able to be more specific about all this. Soon, I hope.

On Exercising

So, I had never been to a YMCA before our dance class last Friday (and, yes, I really enjoyed it, as it's a fascinating challenge to me), so I had no idea that it was a place that you work out. I had always assumed it was a place that homeless Catholics stay and teach weird shit like the rumba, which we're learning now. My assumption had been that it would be some derelict building, covered in rot and pro-hate Catholic messages.

I was wrong.

It's a beautiful facility, first. Second, its sole purpose seems to be fitness. I don't know if that's normal or not, but I've had a lifetime membership for a while, and had never used it before last Friday night, when we went to our first dance class.

Since then, we've been back every other day to work out, and it's been great. They have a bunch of cycles there that I really like, and I've been doing 4-6 miles each time while either rocking out on my iPod, playing my PSP, or chatting with my wife, who is always on the stair-thing next to me. Gonna try reading on it soon, too.

What's nice about the cycle is that it doesn't murder my knees, which I ruined while playing catcher in baseball in high school. Every other exercise machine I've tried just kills my knees. I think I can stick with this.

Oh, and the on-site child care is awesome.

My goal is to drop 100 pounds in a year, and to stop being the punchline to the great American joke.

On Reading

Inspired by Trevor's recent post over @ 1UP, I thought I'd take a moment to share what I've been reading.

I've been kinda slumming it lately with my books. I've been reading a lot of Star Wars/Warhammer 40k fiction, but most of it has been surprisingly good. In particular, I really enjoyed the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series and the Warhammer 40k: Horus Heresy series.

This is speaking as someone who tends to look down his nose at crappy novel cash-ins for established sci-fi franchises.

Legacy of the Force is a nine-book series set about 25 years after Return of the Jedi, and follows the rise of a Sith in the unlikeliest of places. I tend to despise these spin-off books, but this series is actually really good. The movie characters actually speak and act the way they should, which I find is the thing that bothers me the most about novel tie-ins to these kinds of series. It features a lot of the familiar characters from the classic Star Wars trilogy, as well as a lot of cool, new characters.

Horus Heresy is the origin story of the Warhammer 40k universe, and it's told through an interesting and fragmented structure throughout the books. It's cool, because the first 4-5 books tell a central story, and then the subsequent novels show the fallout of that event all over the galaxy. Warhammer 40k has always had a cool fiction behind it, even if it gets a bit derivative at moments. The presentation and execution has always been pretty solid.

To satisfy my obsession with all things war/political, I've been reading William Manchester's WWII memoir, Goodbye Darkness, and just finished it last night. It was FANTASTIC. His account of Okinawa is one of the most harrowing things I've ever read. The book is incredibly gripping, and Manchester, truly a wordsmith, held me rapt as he retraced his steps through the Pacific Theater of Operations in WWII. At times it was laugh-out-loud funny and other times I was so sickened by the conduct of the Japanese that I wanted to punch somebody. Ultimately, though, Manchester transports you there, and puts you right next to him as he gives a very frank account of his thoughts and experiences.

The book starts out very slow, and will have you wondering where it's going during the first couple of chapters, but if you stick with it, you will be swept away to another time and another place.

Otherwise

- played some Jade Empire: Special Edition and Company of Heroes; both games still rock my world
- watched Fanboys and LOVED it; great for anyone whose taste is good enough to allow them to love Star Wars
- I am SUPER-hyped for True Blood to return Sunday! Best new show of last year!
- I downloaded Final Fantasy VII, Medal of Honor, and Medal of Honor: Underground on my PSP this week; GREAT memories from my late-teens/early-twenties; should be perfect for the cycle at the Y
- gonna grab the new map pack for Call of Duty: World at War today; double XP weekend this weekend, too; I actually really like the multiplayer in this game
- gonna jump back into the Uncharted 2 beta this weekend, too; tried it when I was fucking hammered last weekend, but really liked it; wanna try it sober

How is life for everyone else? What do you have going on this weekend? Anything gaming or anything exciting in the meatspace?

See ya on Monday!

-Blaine