Ragnar Tornquist On Video Game Storytelling 137
Ragnar Tornquist is respected as one of the best storytellers in today's game industry. He's done work on Anarchy: Online, Dreamfall, and upcoming MMO The Secret World. Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a lengthy three-part interview with Tornquist about how good stories are crafted, how they interact with other aspects of the games, and what his preferences are for building a compelling character.
"We had all these characters who were on a journey of faith, and we said how can we ensure that this theme is carried through, and have a clear view of how their journeys happen. So we said, every single major character had to fit into this model. Everybody starts out at the top. Faith can be anything — it can be religion, it can be a belief in yourself, in your abilities, in the work you do. As we face challenge, there's a process where we have loss of faith. It can be a minor thing: thinking one day, 'God, I suck at what I do. I can't do this.' And a lot of people after that point turn themselves around, face those problems, challenge them and they conquer them, and they say, 'Screw that, I am good at what I do.' I think most happy people live in this loop."
Re:Biff McLargehuge? (Score:4, Informative)
No, Ragnar is real. His work on The Longest Journey has made him a legend in the adventure gaming community. He's sort of the Sid Meier of adventure games.
Re:Biff McLargehuge? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Be like the squirrel (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Mixed feelings (Score:2, Informative)
You mean Zoe, not Chloe.
My feelings are mixed when it comes to Dreamfall. There were some really beautiful and emotional scenes that nearly brought tears to my eyes, but I have to agree that the story felt disjointed. I also didn't like that nearly everyone important ended up dead in the end with absolutely no resolution. The ending made the entire game feel redundant, as if the entire adventure was all for nothing.
Re:Who is Ragnar Tournqist? (Score:1, Informative)