Author Topic: Any fiction out there?  (Read 52325 times)

Anvilfolk

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #15 on: August 18, 2007, 11:56:14 PM »
Thinking about it, I'm not surprised. Roguelikes lend themselves to short stories. REALLY short stories. A novel-length roguelike story? Wouldn't that be sort of the list of all monsters you killed, with some slight movement descriptions in the middle? Maybe a story-line, not too complex (get the amulet anyone?)

Actually, pick a D&D style story, like the ones who star Drizzt do'Urden. That's pretty much as roguelike'ish as it gets... I found the books appalling though, there was zero realism or even credibility. I was almost expecting something like:

"And with a final, quick slash, Drizzt Do'Urden finished off the two remaining bugbears, opening their throats. He went up to level 17, and spend his skill points on..."

I found it to be a bit too absurd so it doesn't float my boat.
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Lummox JR

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #16 on: August 19, 2007, 04:43:51 AM »
Quote from: Anvilfolk
Thinking about it, I'm not surprised. Roguelikes lend themselves to short stories. REALLY short stories. A novel-length roguelike story? Wouldn't that be sort of the list of all monsters you killed, with some slight movement descriptions in the middle? Maybe a story-line, not too complex (get the amulet anyone?)
I think the shortness of a lot of stories I've seen is just a lack of ability (or perhaps will) to inject the setting and characters into the writing, focusing mostly on the action. A good Roguelike story, I'm convinced, would need a healthy mix of those. Setting is one of the major keys to the genre, because it's all about the underground complex. Another is strategy, which manifests in what the characters bring with them or find along the way, and even inserting some odd discoveries can provide direction on how to fill in a plot. Items get lost or destroyed, new ones found or taken.

My story is actually the first I've written of novella length (I've done novel length before, and short stories aplenty), so there's definitely room to include a lot of story. But one of the major reasons was that I made one unusual choice: I included multiple characters. Most Roguelikes, I know, are single-player only, just you against the dungeon, but from the start I tried to inject some sense that the ruins could be a real place, that real people would live near and would be tempted to explore. It was sensible to me then that most expeditions would involve multiple people, and having multiple characters gives you the advantages of dialogue, intra-party conflict, and death to flesh out the story. I don't think most fan-fiction writers think to do that with Roguelikes because it doesn't seem proper, but to me it's always been about the setting and the strategy, both of which are easily included no matter how many characters you've got. I ended up sending in a party of 11.

That's not to say that multiple characters are necessary. I could quite easily see building a convincing story around the same plot as Larn, where a father goes to find the potion that will save his daugther's life. Lack of dialogue, though, means that other literary devices will be needed. It'll be rare for a lone character to talk to anyone, except maybe an intelligent creature living in the dungeons. A story like this one would benefit from following the protagonist's survival tactics, learning his state of mind, getting deep into his head.

From what I learned by writing in this genre, I feel quite confident that an entire novel could be built around it. And who knows, maybe a D&D story is the way to go to read more, though I would rather see something with "realism [and] credibility" than without. (One way to do that, I think, is not to limit the story to a specific game.) It's just such a rich trove for fiction, there has to be something good out there.

Lummox JR

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2007, 05:35:58 AM »
I've recently been reading a nonfiction book that suggests storytelling is a key ingredient to communication, and the communication I'd most like to foster is getting some ideas flowing for Roguelike development. So over in my guild at BYOND (Dungeon Crawlers), I've posted the first part of a serial story whose main purpose is to get people thinking about what they'd do in their own games. This part is really just an intro, and doesn't really offer much in terms of inspiration just yet except some set dressing, but we'll see how it goes.

Slash

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #18 on: September 05, 2007, 12:33:38 PM »
The duo team of developers of Dwarf Fortress stated on an interview that story telling is one of the main sources or inspiration for the game features; One of them makes stories, the other one implements them. Kind of a nice dynamic! :)


Anvilfolk

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #19 on: September 05, 2007, 10:13:14 PM »
Yeah, if you're the story-teller ;D
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Slash

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #20 on: September 05, 2007, 11:22:31 PM »
It is a different kind of satisfaction, two kinds of creation?

Some people enjoy generating ideas out of nowhere, including stories (If I remember correctly, they were talking about the possibility of launching a dwarf through the air by using a bridge... or something similar)? Some others take pride on landing these ideas into something almost physical :D

Those brothers are really lucky to have each other :')

Lavastine

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #21 on: September 06, 2007, 12:06:36 PM »
... (If I remember correctly, they were talking about the possibility of launching a dwarf through the air by using a bridge... or something similar)...

This is in the game already, people are making 'machines' to kill nobles by launching them into crazy Rube Goldberg devices with pressure plates and such.

Slash

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Re: Any fiction out there?
« Reply #22 on: September 06, 2007, 02:49:01 PM »