Storytelling

Regarding Murray's article about video games telling stories, I think that Fable could be used by the player in order to write a story despite the fact that their is a linear path the player must follow. The ability to write a story using the medium does not depend entirely on the open-situation that is created in games like The Sims but rather can be written through the experience of the gamer. In Fable the player is able to create the personality type, the physical appearance, and the motivation of the character you play. Ultimately, the player discovers why the character's parents had been murdered, what happened to his gifted sister, and that he can seek revenge for being orphaned. The interesting part of this game is having so many options for side quests and developing your character's life while reaching the ultimate goal of the game. Essentially, the player can write more of the story than he or she is initially given. With the new computer version of the game, the player can marry whomever he chooses, can talk with every other character in the game (which advances his status throughout the town, whether the others have missions for your character or not), and his profession leads to completely different experiences in missions and fighting against enemies.

The game allows the player to create a number of different experiences that appear to be more focused on the experience of the game rather than mastering it in order to beat the game. The player does not have to increase his or her fighting skills, but can steal money, raise a family, buy a town, or a number of other scenarios. Playing the game in different ways in order to simply explore levels or the limit to which you can mold your character gives a different meaning to playing Fable than simply playing games, which is completely possible as well. The gamer plays with the medium repeatedly, having different experiences with each profile which then can be shared among friends, online with video clips, similar experiences, etc. The game exists beyond the playing of it and takes on new meanings for the player as a means of "story-making" entertainment. I thought that Fable could be an example of a game that serves as evidence for Murray's point about cyber-drama but that was not completely open-ended like The Sims, so even tough games do have linear plots to get the player to the end of the game, the player can create as much of the story as he or she wants simply for the experience.