There might just be a fundamental difference between those to whom gaming is relaxing/unwinding after a long day (and nothing more) and those to whom gaming is an artform.
Yeah. I never really got that "story versus gameplay" conflict. I hate how people complain that (Japanese) video game stories are too complicated, when they aren't, and this is actually my idea of a whole package - nice, deep gameplay and an engaging story and characters. I sometimes wonder if the general gaming community considers something else a good story. Take Child of Light, for example. It was a really cool game gameplay- and artstyle-wise, and the characters were endearing, if minimalistic, but the story really didn't stand out, as it was essentially a fairy tale with expected fairy tale simplicity and sensibilities. Which, again, is not a bad thing in its own right, but it was a bit too simplistic for my tastes. And the gaming public said what? Best story in an RPG ever. No needlessly convoluted plot twists. What the hell does "needlessly convoluted" even mean?
Ooh that hits close to home. Visual novels are often treated the same way, especially with their pornographic background only adding fuel to that fire. At least we know better, huh?
Not saying they aren't there In fact, most games I play do that. But the general consensus seems to be "video games are like porn - we expect the plot to be there, but it's just there to give you context because nobody comes into them expecting great stories"
I wish more games put as much effort into their stories and characaters
Yeah, I think so too. It's just that I thought maybe one of my stories could work as they are now. But looking closer at it, I'd say they all need rewrites. That said, I could expand Bauer Island to novel-length and just submit chapter one as my entry (they get the rest of the manuscripts later), but the problem is, the premise itself isn't too original, and originality is one of the criteria they're looking for. Granted, I have 1-3 pages to write a description, so I could emphasize what makes it different, why Ram is an atypical detective, etc., but I'm still kinda worried it won't work, and forking over $40 at this exact moment over what is effectively a gamble is kind of too risky. Still, I'm glad I know this exists. I may try next year.
A Rough Week could work, but yeah, it'd work as a pilot / introduction rather than a standalone work. I suppose if you're willing to expand/rewrite a bit, The Wedding could work too. I was just under the impression that you wouldn't have the time to do rewrites with the impeding deadline.
Ah, remember A Rough Week? The one with the vampires. That story was also kinda open-ended and could work as like the pilot of a TV show. That is, I would have to explain the entire premise in the notes I attach to them . And I'd probably need a rewrite too, because I wrote it so long ago... Oy vey. This is way too late/
It doesn't help that I'm sick now and will probably be unable to do anything constructive after work
Hmm... Sounds good, but both Evie and Chuck and Bauer Island would need work, I think. I think Franco is workable, but kinda not open enough to expand on it, if they wanted to. It could work as a short film or something. I'll give it all some more thought, but it may actually be too late. There's always next year, though!
