Stories

Only 9 posts in April. That's not enough posts for my liking. I actually have plenty to write about. I'm not sure why I didn't write more. The mood just wasn't there.

Anyway, the theme for today's post is "stories".

If I could just dictate my posts for these last 2 weeks instead of typing them out I would have many stories to tell. Good stories.

Talking about good stories, I watched one on Saturday night.


No need for any long winded description or review or comment or whatever. Ironman is so good words aren't necessary to describe it. Just go and watch it. It's excellent. You WILL like it.

And still talking about good stories, over the weekend I played a game I just got recently. It's not often that I feel driven to keep playing a computer all the way to the end more for the story than for lush graphics or gameplay. I think the last game that did this for me was Baldur's Gate 2 Shadows of Amn.

Nothing came close since then story wise. These days many games rely more on flashy graphics and presentation instead of a compelling story.
Assassin's Creed isn't one of those games. I mean yeah, it's got all the bells and whistles of a contemporary computer game. It's got amazing graphics. It's got good movie style sound effects. It's well animated and many times while I was playing it, it didn't feel like a computer game.

In addition to that, it had a good and well scripted story.

I won't be talking much about the story. It involves things like cellular memory and old legends and religion and climbing tall buildings and lots of very, very awesome sword/knife fighting. The story itself is quite long and there's nice twist at the end.

Oh yes, it's also screaming out for a sequel which I eagerly await.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone. It's enough for me to say that the game's plot is the main thing that drives the game forward. Not the flashy parts.

I wish more game developers would devote more effort to tell a good story with the technology they have at their disposal. I'm not alone when I say that. I've read articles that say the same thing.

If more games told stories the way Assassin's Creed did maybe then people will finally recognize the medium as a legitimate art form.

I look forward to the day.

Another game that is sure to have an engaging plot would be GTA 4. Too bad I don't have a PS\3 yet. However, I know someone with an Xbox 360... I'm contemplating splitting the cost of the original game among ourselves.

In other news, I have other stories to tell. I've had many interesting conversations this week. About life and people and the kind of trouble one could get into without realising it. I've also had quite a good deal of reminiscing, only this time it's from a different, older perspective.

But those stories are for other days...