"Nobody cares about your stupid story"

Ken Levine's 08 GDC talk (no prize for guessing who he looks like ;D) Nobody cares about your stupid story helps explain why many players in Granado Espada (GE) knows little of the background story behind the game. Levine, who is also fond to be known as one who not design games but design experience of play, say that storytellers have to keep in mind three kinds of gamers, and to strike a balance in providing details of their narratives and in ensuring no disruption to the enjoyment of play of all different kinds of gamers. According to him, there are casual gamers who have no interest in the narrative found in games. Then, there are also those who additional details of the narrative are necessary as part their enjoyment of play, and finally the hardcore who just adore everything about the game title and make it their habit to know more about it beyond game play. While technology advances afford complex and sophisticated narrative to be implemented in games, Levine advises to keep the narrative simple.

So far from my readings of blog posts related to game design, I conclude that behind every games you will find a storyteller spinning his story. While some storytellers may be Hollywood scriptwriters, it seems storytellers who themselves are avid gamers and are conversant with gamers' taste can cook up an interesting story and are flexible enough to accept changes to their story in allowing the need for interactivity. In 10 Game Design Process Pitfalls, Ian Fisch includes allowing the story to control game design as one of the 10 pitfall in game design process. I also sense that maintaining what Csíkszentmihályi calls flow in game play is important in keeping players, who are interested in the story behind game, hook onto the narrative. Adam Saltsman shares four Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) systems he found in games that help keep players' frustration below affective filter (Gee, 2008).

Back to GE The background story behind GE (click here to hear the narrative in GE trailer) is set in a mysterious and dangerous continent, and is inspired by Europe’s exploration and conquest of America. I am sure there are the three kinds of gamers in GE, and many players I have chatted with have the least idea of what the background story in GE, except for one hardcore gamer I have met. He seems to be online all the time, has so many alts and does a lot of fanart of the game. His version why so many martial characters (and I feel the same can be said of other collectible characters too) require mystery powders (MPs) because they are all substance abusers. He likens MPs as drug and these characters fight better if the get enough of MPs to get high. :D

Then, there is my son too. Yesterday I asked him why he was not playing GE anymore, and he told me that most of his factions mates are too busy to squad up with him. He hates playing alone. It has happened to me before. There was a time I feel so pointless playing when you are playing alone. No fun. The again, my son is not a vet yet and I guess this could be why his faction mates refuse to squad up with him (assuming that they have high level characters). I guess when talking about players' state of flow, designers have to look beyond DDA systems and design games that requires a fair bit of collaboration, even between noobs and imba. Else, many players may retire early and not play long enough to reach the end of the game narrative.