quote:
Original post by dwarfsoft
They are sims or RTS... I am talking about RPG's... See the difference? I guess I am a little too RPG oriented. You just can't realistically have an RPG with no predefined story *sigh*... yet 
Yes, I see what you're talking about. But I'm not sure I agree (feel free to bash my head w/ logic, tho' :D) My whole point is that strategy and story are very similar in some respects.
A strategy game involves a bunch of players taking actions against each other to achieve some desired effect. The actions they can take break down into a kind of library (or action palette, as I prefer). When actions are taken is a matter of strategy, and is informed by motivations and the end goal.
How does this apply to story? Well, think about all the things a character can do (their action palette). Now think abou the game world not just in spatial and military terms (as you do in a strategy game), but also in terms of things like emotion and status. Just as a player can affect a city by bombing or improving it, a character can affect another character by taking some action. Why a character performs one action or another is a matter of strategy, or the end goal that that character is trying to achieve.
You mentioned predefined story. Let's say you let the AI fight it out in a strategy game, then started playing right at middle phase of the game. Let's say it's a game as rich as Alpha Centauri, where faction leaders have personalities and conflicting goals. Notice that now you are in the middle of a "story" complete with a prior history ("backstory"), and with a plot already in motion.
The major trick here is not to think in rigid terms. Think of the actions and events in your favorite stories (someone rescues someone, someone betrays someone, someone murders someone...). Define what a story is. I think it's a collection of events influenced by characters and setting(s), and vice versa, that move toward a final resolution. A strategy game is also a collection of events influenced by characters and setting, which all moves toward a final resolution (in this case, a victory condition). The major difference is that the action palette for a story is FAR MORE COMPLICATED and complex (and also more interesting) than that of a strategy game.
--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...
Edited by - Wavinator on August 14, 2000 10:12:21 PM
)
--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...
Edited by - Wavinator on 8/12/00 9:32:48 PM
