What does it mean for a theme to be “played out”? When is a game’s story boring because it’s just rehashing a theme we’re all familiar with? In this essay I explore two radically different stories – Aeschylus’s Oresteia and The Last of Us Part II – to talk about the theme of revenge, and some problems of media criticism.
Tag Archives: Storytelling
On Storytelling: Pathologic 2
You are fated to play a game called Pathologic 2, and then to come back and read this essay. You cannot escape this fate.
On Storytelling: Dark Souls III
A final essay on the themes of the Dark Souls games. In this one I look at Dark Souls III, and the problem of stagnation. What does the ending of the series mean not just for us as players, but for the developers themselves?
On Storytelling: Dark Souls II
When games give us various objectives, how does that impact our relationship to the game? I explore the theming of Dark Souls II to examine how it raises an important set of questions about us as the player when we play: what are we doing, and why are we doing it?
On Storytelling: Dark Souls
This essay will look at the thematic structure of Dark Souls through the lens of “perseverance.” What does it mean to persevere, and should we do it? I will be looking at the various components of the game to illustrate how they all work together to pose a serious question to the player: is it worth it to keep going?
On Storytelling: Outer Wilds
Themes in video games are something we tend to talk less about, although almost all games explore some theme in one way or another. As a way of encouraging more direct investigation, I focus on a particular game – Outer Wilds – and explore the theme of loneliness as presented through its various elements.
On Storytelling: Online Games and the Holding Pattern
With the latest Destiny 2 expansion, this seemed like a good time to step back and look at some issues relating to storytelling in online games. When a game is designed around players continually repeating content endlessly, how does that impact the narrative that players are told?
On Storytelling: Meta Gaming
When you play a game, you’re always controlling a character. You know that, but how often does any player really think about that fact? In what ways could a story remind a player of that fact? In this essay I explore how video game narratives can incorporate a player’s interactions in a form of meta-storytelling that can go beyond the constraints of mere plot.
On Storytelling: Conspiracies
Conspiracies are a fairly common tool to come across in stories. They help build a sense of intrigue and drama in otherwise cut and dry narratives. But conspiracies as a tool for writing are subject to a lot of problems that we normally don’t think about. In this essay I explore how conspiracies work as a way to examine good and bad practices for using conspiracies in storytelling.
Worldbuilding and Overload
Worldbuilding is a complex task, and an easy trap to fall into is to overexplain things. In this essay I explore how it is possible to overload a player with information, how it can occur, and the effect this overloading can have on players.
Abstracting Games 