Why do I find comic-style storytelling more powerful than the animated-and-scripted-in-game storytelling? Right now I have only played two games that use comic to tell the story: Freedom Force and Max Payne 2 (haven''t played Max Payne 1), and somehow they add more depth to the story and more dramatic. So, here''s my analysis: 1. Comic is good in expressing certain things like human emotions. Expressing emotions using in-game objects (3d models) is harder and sometimes not accurate enough. 2. Player will have their own interpretation/imagination of the scene. For example: a picture of a house appears, it was dark, the only lightsource came from a room with two dark figures standing. and the narrator said "I was in her room. She was standing there beside me. We couldn''t said a word. The room was silent until we heard gunshots from downstair." Where they both stood, what they did, what they wore, is unclear. The door was not mentioned or displayed, even the room atmosphere was not described enough. It is up to the player to make their own scene. So I think that''s why it has more depth in it and more powerful. What do you think of comic-style storytelling? Do you have different opinions?

I think its just a style of storytelling. Its not better or worse than any other styles, except in context. It all comes down to what fits your design.

If you like comic style storytelling, then I recommend that you track down a book by Scott McCloud, called "Understanding Comics" and its follow-up, "Reinventing Comics". McCloud has a very good grasp of the strengths and capabilities of the medium, and does a fine job describing them in both books. If you''re interested in comics, then you''ll invariably enjoy the books, and if you''re trying to use the medium for a project, you''ll find them to be an excellent resource.

Understanding Comics is a great book (graphic novel? instructional comic?) Even if you aren''t into comics it covers a lot of aspects of storytelling that apply to any visual media, especially things that use stylized non-photorealistic visuals, like games and animation.

I think it would be interesting to take the comic story idea even further and build it into the gameplay. Although it would probably end up being just an interesting visual trick, I think it would be cool. XIII and Comic Zone do some of this, but I think it would work well in a game with turn based combat or as part of a dialog tree.

comic books are good at conveying a mood, whether dark and mysterious or bright and breezy.. or anything else.

http://www.thief3.com/artwork/12.jpg

http://www.thief3.com/artwork/08.jpg

do you mean something this?

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek.cgi?regexp=%5ERed+Hawk
ta-da!

yup! that''s right, sir - not just comic art, not just graphic art, but PRIOR ART too!

(just in cases that SCO et.al happen''d to be a''reading this this thread - you can put away them patent forms...)

actually, a cool game from ''86 - interesting style of game, but it *was* little more than a gimmick.

that said, i think it is a good idea and something that i have looked at as well - specifically, using animated comic-strip type story-telling as part of the narative.



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craig(at)cod3rz(dot)net

The idea of picking up a paper booklet and flipping through pages of cells is going to have a different feel to it. The edge of the art in the pictures, the slight inflections of the expressions on their faces, body posture, etc. all balance out to a point of most effective story telling. There is a certian way it needs to be done for it to work.

Video games also can tell stories effectively, except the player is using a mouse and keyboard to move the action forward. Whatever translates best to that will have the best effect.

quote:

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Original post by Waverider
The idea of picking up a paper booklet and flipping through pages of cells is going to have a different feel to it.

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You could do that, but Max Payne has in-game ''cut-scenes'' where Max narrates, and you see a cell, when he gets to a certain point in his speech the next cell appears, I thought it was a cool effect.. ''multimedia''.