Tag Archives: paint

User Input in Comics and Videogames

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?viewpage=new

 

MS Paint Adventures is a unique comic in that the plot is determined by the audience rather than a single author. Andrew, the creator of the blog, makes some starting frames for a comic and then the rest story is continued based on comments by other bloggers. I thought this was interesting for two reasons. First, the comics are all related to some genre of gaming, such as RPGs and fighting games. The second reason this comic is interesting is the view it presents on the debate of narrative use in videogames. When reading this comic it is obvious that once user input determines a story, the story can take many unpredictable turns. According to Aarseth, videogames should also have unpredictable storylines in which user input is rewarded. In the end, I believe that videogames with good storylines are better, but more user input will make the game more engaging for me and also allow me to play the game more than once with a different experiences every time.