On Writing Games

hello, emotions? where are you?

In a way, those of us creating interactive narratives are neophiles.

We see interactivity as something positive, as a step in the evolution of storytelling.

llm storytelling in 2024

Every once in a while I like to do a review of the state of interactive narrative using LLMs.

In the past few months there has been some progress, but I’m still not sure if we are at a point where we can create unforgettable experiences.

second person

There is a maxim when one starts writing: do not use the second person.

I have heard this many times, and it is clear that there is a literary tradition that favors the first and third person.

sunday prompt #1 — memory swap

One goal of this list is to assist traditional writers in crafting interactive narratives.

Taking advantage of the serene Sundays, I’d like to propose prompts specifically designed for this purpose.

natural selection of translations

A third consideration (because we appreciate third positions in this list) is to emulate the book publishing industry.

We can regard the “number of languages the game was translated into” as a metric of success.

probabilistic foreshadowing

Something that particularly interests me about the foreshadowing technique is that it is a local element connected to the global story.

By “local element,” I mean that it is something that appears in the story momentarily with the aim of providing a hint…

iterative and incremental

Finishing a novel is a lot of work.

Very few people start and finish one.

That’s why it’s no surprise that even fewer people finish an interactive story.

intrinsic vs extrinsinc

In yesterday’s email, I mentioned that Slay the Princess falls into a case which I consider to be extrinsic…