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Struggling with making story a central element

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Thu, 04/28/2016 - 15:48
ArmouredRat
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Joined: 04/24/2016

First off, hi there! Thought it would make more sense to dive in with some proper discussion instead of starting another welcome thread.

Sorry if this post comes off as confused - I'm just starting out really.

I've recently been thinking a lot about story in card games, and ways to really mesh it with the mechanics, and bring it to the forefront. I've even been thinking of game systems which might forgo more mathematical underpinnings altogether, replacing them with something more story based. Perhaps, for instance, units of 'narrative logic' which might replace raw numbers? I'm put in mind of 'fantasy fighting' books wherein you decide the outcome from multiple choice events.

Are there any games that try to do anything like this? Furthermore, any that are competitive?

Any and all discussion in this area would be greatly appreciated!

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Thu, 04/28/2016 - 16:57
#1
ElKobold
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Plenty. Story-driven gameplay

Plenty. Story-driven gameplay seems to be the latest trend.

Above and below, 7th continent, all those legacy games.

Welcome to the forum!

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Thu, 04/28/2016 - 18:49
#2
ruy343
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Hmmm...

Well, I see products hit the market all the time that tend to be more story/creativity driven, ranging from the traditional (D&D and other pen/paper RPGs) to the legacy games (Pandemic Legacy tells an awesome story; I hear that TIME stories does so as well), and the silly products like Story Cubes, Superfight, and Dixit. Also, social deduction games, like werewolf and The Resistance have stories of their own which unfold as they're played. All of those games target the more creative side of the market.

The trick is the "competitive" aspect that you mentioned. While social deduction games are able to add a competitive aspect to it, other games struggle with it. SuperFight, a game where you create superheroes to fight each other (using the debate between players) is decided by a vote among the players as to who would win, which invariably leads to a certain sense of fiat, which sucks the fun from the game.

That said, I'm working on an idea that basically amounts to a one-time adventure story that's played out with the cards in the box, which become unlocked as you play through the story. However, this still doesn't hit on the competitive piece that you're looking for.

I hope I've at least given you some other games to look at which might spark some ideas though...

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Thu, 04/28/2016 - 21:56
#3
richdurham
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Examples

Some annotated examples:

SAGA system RPGs use cards to drive the game.

Winter Tales - competitive team game set in a dark Alice in Wonderland world. Card + board, with light mechanics, and reliance on players to craft the story. Kind of not received well. Likely the audience thought they were getting something more mechanic-driven since it was published by Fantasy Flight.

Classic games like Once Upon a Time - continue the story in order to play a card. Pretty straight up.

There are a number of variations on card games like that.

Aye, Dark Overlord! comes to mind. Also by Fantasy Flight games.

Then you get your heavier games like Arabian Nights, co-op games like Agents of SMERSH, and the upcoming monster-hit Seafall. Plus games mentioned in above posts.

Good luck with your story game!

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Fri, 04/29/2016 - 10:07
#4
ArmouredRat
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thanks for all the replies. A

thanks for all the replies. A lot of games to research now.

As for competitiveness - that seems to be one of the central problems. There seems to be a contradiction between a game being both highly competitive and also story based for some reason, at least in terms of what's already out there.

I envision a game with the immersion of an rpg, but the competitivenenss of a strategy game. Allowing the player to both be extremely into both the theme and the mechanics concurrently.

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Fri, 04/29/2016 - 17:52
#5
Corsaire
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Another way to think about

Another way to think about story...
The best recent story game I've played is Specter Ops. I could recount almost every move and the series of dramatic moments, near gotchas, and face palms in each game of that which I've played.

It has action, movement, unknowns, tight enough mechanics, power swings, a just rich enough setting, sub-objectives, and critically: a binary outcome. All that without being a sandbox and with leaving the heavy lifting with the players rather than an AI deck or gamemaster.

It really depends on what you want story to do for the players. Study what makes a story great and try to create a context for those moments.

Do you have an example of where you see mathematical underpinnings distracting from story?

Here's another game I was very impressed with by how it's plot felt: Legendary Encounters.

Early in the game, you are weak and the danger keeps mounting, you scramble for resources, the aliens are winning and invading the base. Then someone is strong enough to make some inroads, others make inroads, you achieve your first objective and it all looks super doable, and suddenly nastier beasts show up and it feels hopeless. You are still floundering, but make it to the second objective, now you feel there is a chance. The game ends and win or lose, you feel like there were a couple of turning points near the end where you might've won or loss.

Build your game with a way to get those sorts of elements, give enough luck that reversals might happen, and the story can emerge naturally for the players.

Here's a decent article on story structure:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point...

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Sat, 04/30/2016 - 15:18
#6
ArmouredRat
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thank you very much, really

thank you very much, really useful post.

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Sun, 05/22/2016 - 07:58
#7
Dravvin
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Battlestar Galactica has

Battlestar Galactica has choices on some of it's cards, which although isn't hugely story driven, does use a mechanic that may be of interest to you.

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Sun, 05/22/2016 - 14:09
#8
polyobsessive
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Holmes

There's one game that comes to mind as interesting in the sense of being competitive and based (sort of) on narrative: Sherlock Holmes the Card Game (also published as I Say, Holmes!). I used to play this quite a lot, back in the day.

The basic principle is that each card has a type: it might be move, a location, a clue, a character like a police inspector, something happening like a telegram arriving, and so on. Each card also tells you which types of card are legal to play next. So after playing a move card you need to play a location, or an inspector gives the next player an opportunity to make an arrest or move, and so on.

The actual game is about villain cards and you are trying to use arrest cards to uncover them in other players' hands, or get rid of all the cards in your hand apart from villains. That isn't really the point though: through the basic mechanism, a narrative emerges. It may be a little weird at times with long periods of driving around London in a cab, or going backwards and forwards to the countryside, but I think it is an interesting mechanism that could be developed in interesting ways. (Actually I am working on something based on it.)

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