Seria Ludo - Part One: Giving Players Authorship in Systemic Games: Return to Dwarf Fortress

Part One: Giving Players Authorship in Systemic Games: Return to Dwarf Fortress

03/18/21 • 55 min

Tim and Joel look at the way systemic games allow players to create stories. After a brief digression into the mechanics of character creation, we look once again at Dwarf Fortress, and its unique ability to generate story through its systems.

Games mentioned:

The Witcher 3
Mass Effect
ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery
Disco Elysium
Dwarf Fortress
Rimworld

Games mentioned:

The Witcher 3
Mass Effect
ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery
Disco Elysium
Dwarf Fortress
Rimworld

Previous Episode

Part Two: How Game Storytellers Collaborate With the Player

Following from last week's episode, Tim and Joel begin by looking at Kentucky Route Zero, which does interesting things with narrative interactivity - positioning the player as stage director rather than performer. We talk about the ways games suggest ways of playing through creative constraint, with reference to the stress system in Crusader Kings 3. Finally we talk about narrative reconstruction, wherein the focus of the player's experience is to put the game's story together, in Outer Wilds and The Flower Collectors.

Games mentioned:

Kentucky Route Zero
Disco Elysium
Crusader Kings 3
Civilization
Outer Wilds
The Flower Collectors

Next Episode

Part Two: Giving Players Authorship in Systemic Games

The systems a game employs to create a narrative or experience are an expression of the way the developers see the world. After looking in depth at Dwarf Fortress last week, Tim and Joel note the different systems in Stardew Valley and Farming Simulator, both ostensibly games about farming. We then move on to discuss The Sims and Crusader Kings 3, and how they use their systems to illustrate different aspects of human experience.