Sit by the Bonfire


So I have recently been playing, reading and watching a lot of Dark Souls and it has amazed me just how amazingly well written the game is, so much so that almost nothing is directly told to the player, yet all the information is there to find.

I find this way of indirect story telling such an amazing way to tell a story, and to me proves in more than one way that Video Games really have finally found that unique way in which they can tell a story. The ability to interact directly with the world gives us a way to explore and discover on our own.

So come join me at the bonfire, and tell me:

  • Have you experienced Indirect story telling?
  • Have you played a Video Game that really made you stop and think?
  • Have you fallen in love with pixelated characters that exist within the digital realm?

Or do you think I am just a crazy dude that likes Video Games way to much :laughing: perhaps you just wish to talk about games, I’m always up for that.

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I’ve played Dark Souls and other games like that, but I’ve found many more games that present all their lore to the players and don’t have a whole lot of information to find. I think finding out information can be really enjoyable and rewarding.

Gonna tag @ChaoticDeluge cause I bet he’s got some thoughts about this :eyes:

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I think one thing that is very interesting about Dark Souls Lore and story is much of it is left up to the interpretation of the player. Enough information is provided to create an opinion, but you always feel like you are not getting the whole story.

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What exactly is indirect storytelling? :eyes::eyes::green_heart:

Indirect story telling is a form of storytelling where you don’t give the Player / Reader / Viewer any information on what’s happening in the Plot or Lore directly. But instead have it all come from indirect sources. This can be intem descriptions / Rumours / Character Converstation, but the story itself will no direct the character to find this information.

Exampled from Dark Souls:
After you wake up in the Undead Aslym (Tutorial level) you have no idea where your are, what you are doing or what the goals of the game are, and if you don’t speak to Oscar (Who is hidden off in a side room) the game will never tell you. It is only by speaking to Oscar that you find out there is a story about the Chosen Undead and you Need to ring the bells of awakening.

Now this piece of information can be found later by speaking with another character. But the game itself will never tell you this, nor will it point you to it. You must work out where the bells are from conversation and item descriptions.

On a really basic level, it is a situation where the Player must seek out any and all information on their task (and indeed the world) as the game will not directly hand them anything.

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Ooo, that sounds rad :eyes::eyes::green_heart:

It kinda bothers me when games just throw information at me all the time, because it makes it less interesting to me.
This sounds like a good method to make people want to continue, because you won’t find out anything otherwise and it also feels more realistic. :eyes::sparkles:

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It is one of the things that makes the Souls games harder however. People have been come so used to being handed all of the information. But it is this that also makes the souls serious loved not just by the gamers who love the challenge, but also those who want to look around and find out all the lore they can.

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Sally Face just all around messed with me. I sadly haven’t played it, but I’ve seen playthrpughs.

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I’m not a fan of point and click or the horror genre, But I know the type of game. Horror is a genre that usually is very good at indirect story telling, as it adds to the sense of fear.

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It’s really good. I just got a laptop, so I’m going to download it and play it myself.

Hope you enjoy it :smiley:

I will. I loved watching playthroughs.

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Will admit I have watched a few playthroughs of games I knew I wouldn’t enjoy but I love the reaction of the person playing them. Most of those are horror games.

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But doesn’t watching playtroughs of games with indirect story telling elements kinda ruin the game for you if you ever decide to play it yourself? You’ll probably know most of the stuff already before you start the game, so there won’t be much left to discover, so the game will probably get boring really quickly :eyes::eyes:

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True, I just really wan to play it for myself. I also skipped some of the video because it was really long.

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I tend to watch playthroughs of games I know I am never going to play, or games that I have already played.

But at the same time, if the indirect storytelling is well done, and constructed correctly unless the player is going around looking for all the story and the lore they are unlikely to find it. I mean it took a whole community to piece together most of the Lore from Dark Souls.

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I don’t think indirect storytelling when done well is actually an issue, because then it’s not important

That’s a way bigger issue when the story is built on suspense or a mystery and you already know what it is

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Added some tags :sparkles:

@WolfGamerGirl37 I just realized the OP has the same title as you :star_struck::sweat_smile:

Probably this but inna good way because I’m not much of a video game player really. :joy_cat:

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Oh wow! Then how did I get it?

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