Storytelling for Gameplay-driven SimLit?

Morningstar · October 2018

Hello lovely Simmers

I'm interested in starting a fresh discussion about storytelling for gameplay-driven SimLit. As a starting point:
1. Thoughts around 3rd person vs. 1st person storytelling for gameplay-driven SimLit?
2. Have you read/written stories that you think balanced 'challenge progress reporting' with engaging storytelling well? (Any format/approach) Tell us about it

3. What are the elements of a SimLit story that you find most engaging? What do some of your favourite SimLits have in common? (Can be plot-driven or gameplay-driven, but if you know which it is or if its a mix, let us know!)

Jmaraa · October 2018

Hey there @Morningstar Interesting questions you've asked there...

Personally,
1. I find it easier to write as a narrator so 3rd person, but I have done some dialogue focused stories where then it's 1st person.
2. Whenever I am writing my blogs I take a natural game play approach. Meaning I just play the game as if normal or with following a particular challenge then I snap pics to post along later. Kind of funny looking back how creatively random most of my stories are. I know a lot of people who pre-plan their story so then model their sims to do some sort of poses; that's a bit time consuming for me. I like game play more than creation. How about you?
3. Oh wow well i've seen hundreds of different stories throughout the years even since sims 3, the most engaging I are those collaborative stories. I haven't made anything that involved engaging reader's activity but I find the stories I make regarding popular challenges like Not so berry or Drifter challenges, are the ones that get most responses.

I think i've mixed my answers up a bit, but you get my brief idea haha! Cant wait to read what everyone else is thinking!

CathyTea · October 2018

Morningstar wrote: »

Hello lovely Simmers

I'm interested in starting a fresh discussion about storytelling for gameplay-driven SimLit. As a starting point:
1. Thoughts around 3rd person vs. 1st person storytelling for gameplay-driven SimLit?
2. Have you read/written stories that you think balanced 'challenge progress reporting' with engaging storytelling well? (Any format/approach) Tell us about it
3. What are the elements of a SimLit story that you find most engaging? What do some of your favourite SimLits have in common? (Can be plot-driven or gameplay-driven, but if you know which it is or if its a mix, let us know!)

Hi, Morningstar!

1) I really love both first and third! First can provide an intimate look into the narrator's experience--or, with an unreliable narrator, it gives us the pleasure of exploring the differences between narrator's perception (or story) and what's really happening. I love that!

With third, I like the external view, especially with omniscient narrators or with outsider narrators.

I really like second person--and that can work, even with game-driven stories!

I also love when the narrator is the Simmer, sharing her experience and insights with us, and musing about the stories of the Sims' lives and their motivations.

2) Yes! Pretty much all of the Ambrosia challenge stories I've read fit this approach. They're very much stories--but it's clear that there's a challenge that is structuring the plot. That's really awesome.

I know some of the writers, like @RipuAncestor and @ra3rei , have separate challenge-saves and story-saves, but when I read their rich stories, the structure of the challenge is very apparent. @CitizenErased14 did an amazing job with that challenge--it's inspired by her Ashes to Ashes.

3) For me, I love stories where the writer's love of the Sims shines through... I also love stories where I can feel how engaged the writer is, that it's a work that she's thinking about in spare moments, that's driving her, and that is something that's inspiring her and bringing her joy or meaning. That always comes through a story, and, really, it's what motivates me to read--to be able to share in the writer's discovery and joy.

How about you? What are your answers to these questions?

Morningstar · October 2018

Thanks so much for your responses, @Jmaraa & @CathyTea !

Like @Jmaraa I enjoy playing and seeing where the story takes me more than pre-planning the story and trying to "act" it out with my Sims. My recent return to the SimLit community is largely because I find that writing alongside the gameplay enriches both experiences: playing gets the stories going in your imagination, and writing the story gives you ideas for how to play the next part. It's a bonus for me that it exercises different parts of my creativity

At the same time, this approach is exactly why I wanted to start this discussion! For SimLit generally, find 1st person is often more engaging as a reader because it can make you feel more connected to the characters. But for gameplay-driven, I think it's tricky to fully tell the story without using at least some 3rd person, because of the nature of the game/challenge and funny things that happen that you want to share along the way.
(So that's my short answer for 1. Thoughts around 3rd person vs. 1st person storytelling for gameplay-driven SimLit?)

2. Have you read/written stories that you think balanced 'challenge progress reporting' with engaging storytelling well? (Any format/approach) Tell us about it
I'm excited to check out those recommendations, @CathyTea ! I haven't really sought-out challenge-based stories, I just sort of check out whatever I come across and see if it catches my interest. Of course, a lot of Legacy, Baby and Disney challenge stories come up this way, but I've found the majority are 3rd person and/or Simmer-as-Narrator. I still love reading them, but am always interested in seeing other authors approaches!
Right now I'm reading @Karilan 's How To Live with Grace series (hoping to catch up in time to vote for the next heir!) and I am really enjoying her approach to 1st person storytelling despite that it is gameplay-driven (and of course, her husband's curve ball choices!).

3. What are the elements of a SimLit story that you find most engaging? What do some of your favourite SimLits have in common? (Can be plot-driven or gameplay-driven, but if you know which it is or if its a mix, let us know!)
Interesting characters are really important for me as a reader, which I think is part of why I've found it difficult to write an engaging story based on gameplay after-the-fact. In my head, they're interesting enough that I'm a bit attached to my main Sims, but I find it difficult to translate that into the story with how I've been writing (3rd person) so far.
I also really enjoy seeing different perspectives in stories. Novelist Steve Berry does this well with 3rd person storytelling, primarily following the main character, but switching to other characters as needed to show their thoughts, feelings and other plot points. In SimLit, the best example I've come across recently is @LadyLobster 's Fangs series, where each chapter is from a different character's 1st person perspective.

After a lot of thought, I'm planning to scrap and relaunch my story with a different approach - since I was rusty I wanted to just dive in and get practice and feedback. Now that I've been reading more SimLit and having wonderful discussions with Simmers like you (

), I'm going to try a new format where each chapter/episode is based around a certain lot. Since it's a Build A City Challenge, I think this could be a cool way to focus the story on the town's growth, play with story elements like how our lives are so tightly linked with our homes and public places, and develop the characters through meaningful moments rather than reporting on nearly everything that happens. I'm excited to try it out!

Karilan · October 2018

Thanks for reading @Morningstar and thank you for your comment!

You've got some interesting questions here, I'm going to come back to them.

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Storytelling for Gameplay-driven SimLit?

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