While designers often come to us because they want to compete with top-performing puzzle games, we think the real competition lies elsewhere––on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO. Here’s a scene from Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Unlocked.ĭoes it matter that we're playing on the phone now instead of PC? I don't think so. We think there’s a missed opportunity for much edgier content.ĭarker-themed games are still being released, warning labels and all, but sadly, the mystery/thriller genre––which is incredibly popular in all other mainstream media––hasn’t really been embraced by casual mobile developers. While the HOPAs I worked on 4-5 years ago were at times dark enough to require a warning label even though they were still casual fare, most narrative on mobile today falls squarely in the cheery camp. Those games had me on the edge of my seat, and the jump scares at least in one case actually made me jump––in the middle of a cubicle pod at work. Personally, I have yet to see the dark, edgy content in casual mobile games that was a regular feature of the hundreds of hidden-object puzzle adventure (HOPA) games I worked on at Big Fish back in 2011-2016. And there's something worth noting in the differences between the two.
CASUAL GAMES 2015 DOWNLOAD
My best comparison is actually between PC/Mac download and mobile. You asked about the differences between console and mobile games in your question above, but I'm not the person to compare those two platforms. So the story must revolve around, support, and provide motivation for that activity.
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For example, in Disney Frozen Adventures, the player's primary interaction is to redecorate rooms in the castle or shops in Frozen's fictitious town of Arendelle. Lisa: Storytelling for film/TV, books, or any other non-interactive medium is very different from all game storytelling because they don't have at their core a game to consider. Om: Is modern day storytelling in mobile games different? (From console games or television) We're living in an age in which "binge-watching" is part of our lexicon. It's not the set design that keeps people up late at night, unable to quit Netflix. So why or whether storytelling is important seems like a foregone conclusion to me.
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I've managed two full teams of storytellers, first at Big Fish and now as head of my own company, Brunette Games. Some context: I've been a full-time storyteller in the game industry for about 13 years, and for all of that time, I've focused solely on mainstream (what we label "casual") game development, starting out first on console games (Nintendo) and PC/Mac download (Big Fish Games) and then migrating to mobile when the industry took that turn around 2012. For example, take a look at these two mainstream game titles and the conflict embedded in them: We've also played games that used only a few words to brilliantly convey conflict.
We've played text-heavy games that are nonetheless lacking that one thing that gives story its storyness: conflict. I think the idea to question storytelling in games comes from the habit of conflating "story" with "text." But adding more words to a game doesn't automatically give it a story. Lisa: Ha, ha, I've actually seen game conferences that bar this question as a presentation topic because it's considered too basic! It's a given in most, if not all, cultures that human beings love story our survival might actually depend on our ability to imagine characters, worlds, and plots. Om: Why is storytelling important? What draws people to stories, the narration or the characters?
Now that we have looked at the trends and insights for the popularity of storytelling, it’s time to talk to our storytelling expert, to know more about the craft of storytelling in blockbuster casual games!
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