On Stage

Imagine God walking on stage. He needs no spotlight because the glow from his body illuminates the dark room. Sitting down in a black, comfy chair, he glances over at the stack of books on the mahogany table. He crosses his fingers and grins. “I won’t be needing those,” he gestured.



Before reading the words of Chris Crawford, I have thought of God as a creator, a force to love and fear, but not a storyteller. Does he control our every move? Is there freewill?

“Every event that takes place in the universe happens according to His benevolent design. There are apparent evils in the universe, buy they are all part of God’s greater intentions…a terrible disaster is an “act of God,” but so is a murder.”

If a murder was an “act of God” and all living beings are ruled by the concept of determinism, are we solely responsible for all forms of punishments?
After reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, I find the relationships between the author and his/her more complicated than just the mind of one individual producing the realm of the others. “Like some omnipotent god, the story builder decides their actions and predestines their fates. Conversely, the history of the universe is nothing more than a huge story written by God that we act out.” There is a saying in Chinese that the pen is more powerful than a sword. Sure, with a sword, a warrior can slice through ogres and disable a fiery beast, but with a pen, an emperor can end thousands of lives by signing a single execution document.
I find that playing the game of “interactive” storytelling with children is the most fun, because like Annie, they are “forgiving audiences.” Similar to Annie’s grandpa, I enjoy my younger brother’s interruptions. I “come in with basic principles of storytelling, and then…makes up the story…in response to,” my brother’s, “needs and interests.” However, I can understand why designers of games, writers, and authors would want to hold the reins of the story.

“If the story is to be truly interactive, the player must be able to change they story, but if the player changes the story, the artist cannot control its development, and the player will likely ruin the story.”

If players or fans could contribute their ideas to the storyline Friends, would the success of the show increase or decrease? Instead, would the story just branch out like a tree on hormones and then tumble down because of all the weight?
In a recent post, I mentioned the games Soulcalibur III and Ark the Lad Twilight of the Spirits. Both are constructed around a constipated story. True, the games are not truly interactive, because like a movie, there is more reaction than interaction. However, despite this flaw, I enjoyed the games. After leaping through the “hoops” by fighting ridiculously strong villains and/or searching for more than half an hour for an item, the short clip is a worthy reward. Dissecting this concept further, I find the relationship between the game designer and player much like a trainer and his/her animal. For performing the correct task, the animal receives a reward. The animal anticipates the reward and the trainer can keep the animal “on its toes” or entertained by making the rewards random (not following a pattern). Would a designer make a game show a clip only every five complete task? Would that make the player lose interest or keep them playing because they know when the video will show? Should each clip only last a certain amount of time? Think of a trainer giving a lion only beef. What about the other meat varieties?



Source: Chris Crawford on interacting storytelling