If you’re into RPGs (the tabletop or computer variety), or video games in general, you’re probably already familiar with Shamus Young and his blog, Twenty Sided. You’re probably also familiar with his excellent webcomic series, DM of the Rings. You certainly should be.
But, if you’re more of an interactive fiction person than an RPG or FPS person, maybe not.
Shamus does a great job with his blog, and I really enjoy his writing. There are only a handful of blogs I enjoy following because of the writing, and his is one of them. Whether it’s a skillful disemboweling of a popular AAA title, a recounting of his role-playing experiences, or his tireless raging against the evils of DRM, it’s always an enjoyable read with the right mixture of insight and humor.
I’ve always suspected he had a soft spot for text games. He’s spent some time [More...]

Musings
Question: Can high drama be produced from a wide-open simulation?
Creating a game that tells a story is one thing. Creating a game that tells a dramatic, moving story is quite another.
Can you really get a dramatic, moving experience from a game that is not tightly scripted or linear? Can high drama truly emerge from an open, unbounded simulation-style game?
Everyday life is a wide-open sandbox. Clearly, there is high drama in real life. But, as mentioned a while back on rec.arts.int-fiction, “Most people’s lives are not filled with high drama all the time. Some events will be dramatic, but creating a dramatic story from those requires editing out all the mundane parts.” (greg)
That editing, in game terms, is what I imagine is the scripting, restriction, or forcing of linearity onto the game narrative.
Isn’t high drama really the product of the manipulation of people’s emotions through selective [More...]