Post by perfectgeneral on Jan 15, 2016 12:19:55 GMT
Microprose and Sid Meier brought us the joy of reliving history to our own advantage and the premise of Island in the Sea of Time offers pretty much the same experience, only as an observer.
So how do we bring engaging qualities to the narrative?
Dialogue
A story has characters, usually with multiple points of view. They interact and talk to each other. Their feelings and motives can drive the direction of the plot far better than a single narrated agenda from the author.
Conflict
They don't agree on everything. Some are directly opposed to others. Objects and natural events can be problems too. Like in a game the secret is to set the challenge at an interesting, but believable level.
Growth
We like to see projects develop, but people grow too. Emotional growth is a sophisticated concept to convey on the page. You need characters that have a psychology, transformational experiences and the corresponding new way of thinking.
Begining, middle and end.
A story should take the reader somewhere. Not just a tour of things that are made, but a reason for reading. To find out how things "turn out". Comedy, suspense and jeopardy are your friends here, although an overarching theme or quest to expound upon stops a longer tale splitting up into vignettes. This can be a growth journey too.
I'm no writer, but I like a good story. Something that you don't get in Civilization so much. This is the strength of a good ISOT.
So how do we bring engaging qualities to the narrative?
Dialogue
A story has characters, usually with multiple points of view. They interact and talk to each other. Their feelings and motives can drive the direction of the plot far better than a single narrated agenda from the author.
Conflict
They don't agree on everything. Some are directly opposed to others. Objects and natural events can be problems too. Like in a game the secret is to set the challenge at an interesting, but believable level.
Growth
We like to see projects develop, but people grow too. Emotional growth is a sophisticated concept to convey on the page. You need characters that have a psychology, transformational experiences and the corresponding new way of thinking.
Begining, middle and end.
A story should take the reader somewhere. Not just a tour of things that are made, but a reason for reading. To find out how things "turn out". Comedy, suspense and jeopardy are your friends here, although an overarching theme or quest to expound upon stops a longer tale splitting up into vignettes. This can be a growth journey too.
I'm no writer, but I like a good story. Something that you don't get in Civilization so much. This is the strength of a good ISOT.
