The Elements: Part[3] = Story;

Read Part 2 HERE, and Part 1 HERE

            Story is what happens in the game that does not technically effect the game. The story of a game brings purpose to a game, also it opens up doors to creativity. A game with a story is almost always better than one without. The story generally refers to the part of the game that is more like a book. Most of the time dialogue and chatting to used to reveal the story.

            In lots of linier games you will tend to find good stories. Simply because it is a lot easier to make a story that won’t have a lot of options. Games such as Call of Duty are easier to add in a story than a game like Minecraft. Obviously Call of Duty is a linier game, there aren’t many (or any) options that change the game. Linier games are simply much easier to add in story.

            Sandbox or Open World games can be much harder to add in a story. Most Open World games tend to have a small main story (or none) and provide lots of mini quest to do. Mini quest are really great to have in games and I would recommend adding them in. The game Runescape is a good example of this type of game, it doesn’t actually have much of a main story, at the beginning it sets up the game and gives information, but otherwise it’s a completely open world game with lots of quest to do. I would recommend trying it in your spare time.

            Games use stories to draw people in, and when well written will keep the player coming back until he wins. Stories should be clever written to be understandable, but clever so that the player will not know what would happen next. Most games with deep written stories will have moments in the game that build the story up in a climax, or reveal some dramatic fact (I am your father), these are commonly referred to as Story Arcs.

            Having a good story has definitely shown to be immensely important in a game. And it can really add a lot to your game just to have a small story. Stories are definitely important, but are they important enough to be the Fifth Element?

Hope you enjoyed,
Nikc-Nack

Part 4 Coming soon...