NotM : X-COM UFO Defense-Introduction
Friday, April 25th, 2008Welcome to the third entry in the Narrative of the Moment feature. This ongoing, and somewhat irregular, series of posts explores the storytelling techniques of video games and other media. The current Narrative of the Moment is the classic turn based strategy title, X-COM: UFO Defense.[1]
In 1993 Microprose published a turn based strategy (TBS) game [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld-Final Thoughts
Friday, February 8th, 2008I’ve spent the last five NotM posts discussing Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW) in the rosiest of glowing terms and it is certainly worth the praise. The highlight of the design is, as I’ve touched on, in the systemic approach to designing a storyworld that gives the impression of not hinging solely on the [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld-The Plot Unfolds
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008We turn our attention now to the plot of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW) and how the ludic and textual elements work together to compel the player to explore deeper and deeper into the ruined corridors of one man’s failed dream.
A ghostly visitor appears to you in a dream, warning that Britannia is in [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld-Mapping Progress
Friday, February 1st, 2008Continuing our examination of the ludic components of the narrative Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW) leads us to two very simple storytelling devices. Despite their elegant and immersive nature, very few modern videogames have taken advantage of the these powerful tools, preferring to use mechanics that force the player to turn their attention away [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld-Runic Magic
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008Having covered the presentational, visual, audio and musical components of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW), it’s time to move on to the components that do the bulk of the storytelling work–the ludic and textual components. I realized that attempting to explore all the ludic components in a single post was foolhardy (and not a [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld–Sights and Sounds
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008Welcome to Narrative of the Moment feature here at Man Bytes Blog. I’m starting the year by taking a look at Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW), an older DRPG that is often, I feel, overlooked by the narratology crowd and exploring the game’s narrative components. Today’s post discusses the Visual, Auditory and Musical Components.
Visual [...]
NotM: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss–Introduction
Monday, January 14th, 2008Welcome to the second Narrative of the Moment feature here at Man Bytes Blog. I’m starting the year by taking a look at some older games that are often, I feel, overlooked by the narratology crowd and exploring their narrative components.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (UW) is one of the first games I played on [...]
NotM: Lost Girls - The Afterward
Thursday, December 27th, 2007This post is very personal. Personal enough that I hesitate to post it. But I think it’s important that I do for at least two major reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, I have learned that silence is rarely a useful response to pain. Secondly, this post is focused on my fabula, that is–the personal story [...]
NotM: Lost Girls-Alan Moore
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Read that title again. NotM: Lost Girls-Alan Moore. Honestly, do I even need to write any more about the textual components of the Lost Girls narrative? If the thought of beautiful, dreamy erotic retelling of three classic children’s stories didn’t er… get a rise out of you, then the mere mention of Alan Moore’s name [...]
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