Presentation
These rules to narrative gaming are timeless; they cover the past, the present and the future. The StoryGame™ recommends a game focused on character interpretation, fluidity and freedom of action, character development, dialogue and relations between the protagonists of an adventure. There is no intention to simulate anything or claim a high degree of “realism”. If the story touches, moves, worries or stirs the curiosity of participants, the goal is reached, the enjoyment shared.
Why a game?
The spontaneous interpretation of characters in an interactive fiction has all the advantages of reading, and the added one of the encounter. Each player is at the same time listener, viewer and actor. He will alternate between phases where he enjoys the context of the story, others where he imagines the scene, and has the power to jump into action, by interacting through his lines, which my unravel a plot, raise suspense or change the course of events.
These rules to narrative gaming are timeless; they cover the past, the present and the future with only 9000 words !
The StoryGame™ recommends a game focused on character interpretation, fluidity and freedom of action, character development, dialogue and relations between the protagonists of an adventure.
There is no intention to simulate anything or claim a high degree of “realism”. If the story touches, moves, worries or stirs the curiosity of participants, the goal is reached, the enjoyment shared.
Why a game?
The spontaneous interpretation of characters in an interactive fiction has all the advantages of reading, and the added one of the encounter.
Each player is at the same time listener, viewer and actor. He will alternate between phases where he enjoys the context of the story, others where he imagines the scene, and has the power to jump into action, by interacting through his lines, which my unravel a plot, raise suspense or change the course of events.
Play it for free !
The StoryGame™ is free download, printable, high resolution, under Creative Commons License. We consider this engine as a manifesto to campaign for storytelling, and a tribute to many GM who pick up here and there what they need to rely upon their narrative skills to achieve great game sessions.
The StoryGame™ will unite both fiction fans and former role players.
The StoryGame™
Welcome all in the fascinating world of interactive fiction.
Mankind has for ever been inventing and sharing stories. What reader, spectator, has not once dreamt of replacing a line with his own: “I would say this!” Or “I would do that!” The StoryGame™ is intended for fans of fiction and imagination by reviving the oral tradition.
Introduction
Historically the oral tradition has insured the transmission of tales and narratives. We know that The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, was a corpus of stories conveyed by storytellers, long before they were ever written. We believed that this transmission mutated the contents, but recent studies have shown in a disturbing way that some tales, drawn from different periods and different countries, compared closely in their later written versions.While the overabundance of means of communication kills communication, a narrative game renewing with our collective and emotional memory, of oral tradition, becomes a new way to share a story, in an interactive and spontaneous way. Establishing such a vector of fiction has already been attempted, in particular with role playing, born in the late 70s. Founded by practitioners of tactical war-game, the narration wasn’t devised and the statistical aspect, rather encyclopaedic, of the simulation game remained in contradiction with the narrative flow as with the emotional intensity. It would be difficult to explain why role playing didn’t overcome this, despite a wealth of creativity, and the “lack of time” due to the adult lifestyle doesn’t explain its decline. How many hours amateur athletes dedicate to their clubs? At least as much as what is required to play a game. It is probably because a certain maturity accepts less the paradoxes of simulation that the groups diluted over the years. By erasing the simulation to focus the narrative game on the story, both fiction fans and former role players can satisfactorily relate to the gam
The StoryGame™
Welcome all in the fascinating world of interactive fiction.
Mankind has for ever been inventing and sharing stories. What reader, spectator, has not once dreamt of replacing a line with his own: “I would say this!” Or “I would do that!” The StoryGame™ is intended for fans of fiction and imagination by reviving the oral tradition.
Introduction
Historically the oral tradition has insured the transmission of tales and narratives. We know that The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, was a corpus of stories conveyed by storytellers, long before they were ever written. We believed that this transmission mutated the contents, but recent studies have shown in a disturbing way that some tales, drawn from different periods and different countries, compared closely in their later written versions.While the overabundance of means of communication kills communication, a narrative game renewing with our collective and emotional memory, of oral tradition, becomes a new way to share a story, in an interactive and spontaneous way. Establishing such a vector of fiction has already been attempted, in particular with role playing, born in the late 70s. Founded by practitioners of tactical war-game, the narration wasn’t devised and the statistical aspect, rather encyclopaedic, of the simulation game remained in contradiction with the narrative flow as with the emotional intensity. It would be difficult to explain why role playing didn’t overcome this, despite a wealth of creativity, and the “lack of time” due to the adult lifestyle doesn’t explain its decline. How many hours amateur athletes dedicate to their clubs? At least as much as what is required to play a game. It is probably because a certain maturity accepts less the paradoxes of simulation that the groups diluted over the years. By erasing the simulation to focus the narrative game on the story, both fiction fans and former role players can satisfactorily relate to the game
The StoryGame™
Welcome all in the fascinating world of interactive fiction.
Mankind has for ever been inventing and sharing stories. What reader, spectator, has not once dreamt of replacing a line with his own: “I would say this!” Or “I would do that!” The StoryGame™ is intended for fans of fiction and imagination by reviving the oral tradition.
Introduction
Historically the oral tradition has insured the transmission of tales and narratives. We know that The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, was a corpus of stories conveyed by storytellers, long before they were ever written. We believed that this transmission mutated the contents, but recent studies have shown in a disturbing way that some tales, drawn from different periods and different countries, compared closely in their later written versions.While the overabundance of means of communication kills communication, a narrative game renewing with our collective and emotional memory, of oral tradition, becomes a new way to share a story, in an interactive and spontaneous way. Establishing such a vector of fiction has already been attempted, in particular with role playing, born in the late 70s. Founded by practitioners of tactical war-game, the narration wasn’t devised and the statistical aspect, rather encyclopedic, of the simulation game remained in contradiction with the narrative flow as with the emotional intensity. It would be difficult to explain why role playing didn’t overcome this, despite a wealth of creativity, and the “lack of time” due to the adult lifestyle doesn’t explain its decline. How many hours amateur athletes dedicate to their clubs? At least as much as what is required to play a game. It is probably because a certain maturity accepts less the paradoxes of simulation that the groups diluted over the years. By erasing the simulation to focus the narrative game on the story, both fiction fans and former role players can satisfactorily relate to the game.
