like mostly everyone else... StarCraft Series and Warcraft Series.. is Company of Heroes a RTS..?
Okay, awesome then. I've seen a lot of people hold the, "It's only good interactive storytelling if it's all about player control," which simply isn't how it works. Guess I jumped to it on that one; sorry about that. But yes, the concept you speak of is certainly a valid one, and it's being studied in the course.Draech said:[snip]
I just thought it worth highlighting because like you say it is unique gaming.
I wasn't trying to diminish the value of a established story, just trying to highlight the unique aspect of game.
As others have said, Homeworld would be a good candidate. It doesn't have the character focus or development that literature usually has, but it presents a story of galactic exploration, loss, hope, and triumph through the levels you're pushed through, the way you're presented in them, and how difficult the game can be for new players. The actual characters are little more than voices, but you as the player represent the last hope of an entire species, pitted against a galactic empire with power that is enormously greater than your own. As you progress through the game your species' past is slowly revealed, you gain allies in unlikely places.Thaius said:Tomorrow I start my teaching job. One of the classes I'm insanely excited to be teaching is Video Games as Literature (the study of video games as a storytelling medium). I have a pretty good setup for the course, I think, but I have one friend who constantly laments the fact that I have no RTS games in the course. The reason I didn't include any is pretty simple; I have never (in my admittedly limited experience with the genre) played an RTS with a story worth studying in a literature course. Not even close. I've barely ever even heard story mentioned in relation to the genre; with very few exceptions, the mechanics and strategy seem to be all that matter.
But I certainly would be interested to see if there is an exception to this perceived rule. So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
Yes, this. The C&C Tiberium storyline is one of the most fleshed out in all of GAMING, not just the RTS genre. I mean, holy hell, they hired MIT to write out a real-life report studying the exact method of operation of the fictional crystal in the game. Doesn't get much more in-depth than MIT pretending your 100% sci-fi lore is real long enough to write out a fucking whitepaper! And from a story point of view, even C&C4 is pretty good. The only real issue there is the game itself was a train wreck, but the lore is awesome throughout the entire series, and if you pretend that C&C4 was just a book while all the others were games, the series remains probably the best RTS of all time. (Yes, I know, opinion.)008Zulu said:Command & Conquer series (but not number 4) had a cool story to it, and to a lesser extent the Red Alert spin off series.
Spot on, The Return to Kharak segment and the following stages intro is a good example .Apollo45 said:Out of all the RTS games I've played, Homeworld does storytelling the best in my eyes, and it does it through gameplay as much as it does through exposition, which can be unique in the video game world.
Then, my friend, might I suggest you give Homeworld a play.Thaius said:The reason I didn't include any is pretty simple; I have never (in my admittedly limited experience with the genre) played an RTS with a story worth studying in a literature course. Not even close. I've barely ever even heard story mentioned in relation to the genre; with very few exceptions, the mechanics and strategy seem to be all that matter.
But I certainly would be interested to see if there is an exception to this perceived rule. So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
Starcraft absolutely has interesting characters who grow throughout the course of the game. Starcraft II is a little more focused on individual characters, who do grow and change, but ehh... it's a bit cartoonish. 1 was a lot more serious, 2 is kind of silly.Thaius said:So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
The thing about time travel is you won't remember the original war(s)chuckdm said:Yes, this. The C&C Tiberium storyline is one of the most fleshed out in all of GAMING, not just the RTS genre. I mean, holy hell, they hired MIT to write out a real-life report studying the exact method of operation of the fictional crystal in the game. Doesn't get much more in-depth than MIT pretending your 100% sci-fi lore is real long enough to write out a fucking whitepaper! And from a story point of view, even C&C4 is pretty good. The only real issue there is the game itself was a train wreck, but the lore is awesome throughout the entire series, and if you pretend that C&C4 was just a book while all the others were games, the series remains probably the best RTS of all time. (Yes, I know, opinion.)
As to the Red Alert lore...well...let's just say that it was intended to be very, very wacky, and it's well written. The only major issue there is really the use of yet another time machine for each new game (because, idk, nobody thought to ban those damn things after the colossal war from hell resulting from the original one, I guess?) Sadly that issue kinda ruins it. It could be useful in your class for studying how retcons are bad, or at least, how NOT to retcon shit if you must retcon it.