Recently, I was invited to give two workshops at the second annual Southwest Washington Writers Conference held in Centralia. I was very happy to accept the invitation, since I’ve felt for some time that the writing community in the South Puget Sound area often doesn’t get the kind of attention that it deserves. While the conference was just a one-day event, it was well attended and seemed to me to be a complete success.
As soon as I arrived at the conference, I felt very welcomed. Everybody from the bookstore staff to the event organizers were friendly, cheerful, and accommodating. It was clear that each volunteer had a passion for both writing and the local community. I was also pleasantly surprised that the event was carefully organized and scheduled. Workshops started on time, remained on topic, and even the keynote speakers were kept to a strict schedule. As a presenter I especially appreciated this. Too often, organizers will think that they are being generous when they let a speaker go over time without considering either the following speaker or the attendees that were especially looking forward to the next schedule block.
Speaking of presentations, I had a great time giving both of my workshops. There were plenty of participants for each, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed learning more about word choice and the four stages of writing a novel. We also spent some time discussing revision techniques and where to find good feedback, listing a variety of possible options as well as the positives and negatives of each. I’m always so glad when I can share insights to help to my fellow writers, and I hope that many of them take up my offer of a free, one-hour coaching consultation.
All in all, I have to say that I was very happy with my experience at this conference. The generosity and helpfulness of the organizers was amazing, and the conference offerings were on par with any of the big city events that I have attended. I look forward to next year’s conference, and hope that I will be invited to participate again!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Friday, September 11, 2015
Top Ten Reasons Why Writers Might Be A Little Crazy
10. We’re at our most successful when we hear voices in our heads.
9. No matter how much time we have alone, we still wish we could have more.
8. We will spend half an hour fixing one paragraph only to cut it and the rest of the chapter out the next day.
7. We work hard to get lost in our own little worlds.
6. We regularly ask for feedback without listening to any of it.
5. We go to classes to learn how to stop avoiding doing something that we love to do.
4. We agonize over pitching to agents and then ignore their requests for material.
3. We read every book that is similar to our own and then worry that our book sounds like everything else that’s out there.
2. We make people up and then ruin their lives to make them more “interesting”.
1. We measure success by how many strangers write short essays online saying how brilliant we are.
9. No matter how much time we have alone, we still wish we could have more.
8. We will spend half an hour fixing one paragraph only to cut it and the rest of the chapter out the next day.
7. We work hard to get lost in our own little worlds.
6. We regularly ask for feedback without listening to any of it.
5. We go to classes to learn how to stop avoiding doing something that we love to do.
4. We agonize over pitching to agents and then ignore their requests for material.
3. We read every book that is similar to our own and then worry that our book sounds like everything else that’s out there.
2. We make people up and then ruin their lives to make them more “interesting”.
1. We measure success by how many strangers write short essays online saying how brilliant we are.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Balancing Storytelling and Gameplay in RPGs
After recently playing the Mass Effect trilogy along with other story-heavy RPGs, I wanted to try something a little different. I decided on Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, having no prior knowledge of the game or the franchise other than constantly hearing that it had great combat mechanics, awesome loot, and a lackluster story. That was the consensus of nearly every review that I read before buying and playing the game, so while I was looking forward to the game, I was also mildly curious about this storyline which was supposedly the weakest link in the game.
After a couple of false starts, I played the game all the way to the end of the expanded campaign with a demon hunter, going as high as Torment III in my difficulty settings. I had a blast killing hordes of monsters, leveling up my character and equipping all the new goodies I was finding. And how about the story? It was minimal, certainly. In fact, I had considered at first doing a review of it, but to be honest there just wasn’t enough to really review. The characters are very minimal, the conflicts are clearly explained, and even the rare ‘twist’ is so clearly telegraphed that I was never even slightly surprised. But was that all a bad thing?
Not every RPG has to be a Final Fantasy or Star Ocean to be good. Ten minute cut-scenes and long periods of time spent “talking to villagers” don’t necessarily make for immersive gameplay or an engaging storyline. The truth is, a role-playing game needs a healthy balance between its mechanics and storyline. While one may be stronger than the other, a game needs both to be successful.
Last year I tried out a JRPG called Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. I still remember the evocative storyline and immersive world with its engaging characters and subplots. I never finished the game, and sometimes I still yearn to return to that amazing, fanciful world. But then I remember the gameplay. The combat was horrible. Every normal attack was a quick-time event, all mage characters were incredibly over-powered, and the leveling system was a convoluted mess. For me, this game’s engaging story just couldn’t make up for the terrible gameplay, and I put it away forever as a result.
So, what about Diablo III? Did the gameplay make up for its storyline? For me, definitely. While earlier versions may have had some mechanical issues, the Ultimate Evil Edition has perfectly balanced difficulty, engaging combat, and an addictive leveling system. Actually, my favorite aspect of the game is also the biggest break of the fourth wall. All earned gold, stashed equipment, and character progress above level 70 is shared between each of my created characters. Because of this, I started the game over with a new character just a day after beating the game the first time, something that I’ve never done with an RPG before.
I think the difference here is that it’s much easier for an RPG to be good with minimal storytelling rather than minimal gameplay. A perfect example is Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo. Look up any list of the best RPGs ever, and you’ll find this game as either number one or close to it. Because of the limitations of the system it was developed for, this game has to tell its story without the benefits of voice acting, lengthy cut scenes, or huge game worlds filled with dozens of NPC interactions. And yet the story is both beautiful and complex, with every line of dialogue crafted carefully for maximum efficiency.
I’m not saying that there’s too much story in all of today’s games. After all, one of my favorite series of games is Uncharted, which often feels more like an action movie than a video game. But no matter how good the story might be, a video game also has to still engage the player with its interactive elements, whether that’s combat, puzzles, or actual decision-making role-playing. In short, storyline needs to serve the gameplay just as gameplay needs to serve the storyline, and that’s often easier to do with minimal story telling rather than minimal gameplay.
After a couple of false starts, I played the game all the way to the end of the expanded campaign with a demon hunter, going as high as Torment III in my difficulty settings. I had a blast killing hordes of monsters, leveling up my character and equipping all the new goodies I was finding. And how about the story? It was minimal, certainly. In fact, I had considered at first doing a review of it, but to be honest there just wasn’t enough to really review. The characters are very minimal, the conflicts are clearly explained, and even the rare ‘twist’ is so clearly telegraphed that I was never even slightly surprised. But was that all a bad thing?
Not every RPG has to be a Final Fantasy or Star Ocean to be good. Ten minute cut-scenes and long periods of time spent “talking to villagers” don’t necessarily make for immersive gameplay or an engaging storyline. The truth is, a role-playing game needs a healthy balance between its mechanics and storyline. While one may be stronger than the other, a game needs both to be successful.
Last year I tried out a JRPG called Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. I still remember the evocative storyline and immersive world with its engaging characters and subplots. I never finished the game, and sometimes I still yearn to return to that amazing, fanciful world. But then I remember the gameplay. The combat was horrible. Every normal attack was a quick-time event, all mage characters were incredibly over-powered, and the leveling system was a convoluted mess. For me, this game’s engaging story just couldn’t make up for the terrible gameplay, and I put it away forever as a result.
So, what about Diablo III? Did the gameplay make up for its storyline? For me, definitely. While earlier versions may have had some mechanical issues, the Ultimate Evil Edition has perfectly balanced difficulty, engaging combat, and an addictive leveling system. Actually, my favorite aspect of the game is also the biggest break of the fourth wall. All earned gold, stashed equipment, and character progress above level 70 is shared between each of my created characters. Because of this, I started the game over with a new character just a day after beating the game the first time, something that I’ve never done with an RPG before.
I think the difference here is that it’s much easier for an RPG to be good with minimal storytelling rather than minimal gameplay. A perfect example is Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo. Look up any list of the best RPGs ever, and you’ll find this game as either number one or close to it. Because of the limitations of the system it was developed for, this game has to tell its story without the benefits of voice acting, lengthy cut scenes, or huge game worlds filled with dozens of NPC interactions. And yet the story is both beautiful and complex, with every line of dialogue crafted carefully for maximum efficiency.
I’m not saying that there’s too much story in all of today’s games. After all, one of my favorite series of games is Uncharted, which often feels more like an action movie than a video game. But no matter how good the story might be, a video game also has to still engage the player with its interactive elements, whether that’s combat, puzzles, or actual decision-making role-playing. In short, storyline needs to serve the gameplay just as gameplay needs to serve the storyline, and that’s often easier to do with minimal story telling rather than minimal gameplay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)