Welcome to the cKotch.Com blog. I’m Christopher Kotcher, and this is Game Story. Time to discover lessons in writing found in gaming.
Lessons from Every Medium
All mediums of storytelling hold lessons for each other. Books have inspired filmmakers, films have sparked singers, and songs have led to books.
Videogames are no different. I’m a gamer as well as a writer. It’s only natural I would find a few lessons in one of my favorite storytelling mediums.
Now, when I’ve talked about videogames on this blog, I’ve typically talked about one game or series at a time. This is seen as early as my post on the game Octopath Traveler.
However, I want to do something different to start my official Game Story posts. I want to discuss a common feature across multiple game stories. I wish to praise simplicity.
Even if you’re not a gamer, you know what I’m talking about. Rescuing the princess, fighting robots, slaying monsters, saving the forest, all these are standard plots.
You accomplish your goals through some combination of running, jumping, exploring, and fighting. The story is told simply through instruction booklets, an opening movie, some dialogue boxes, and an ending movie.
Of course, videogame storytelling has expanded over the years. All kinds of tales can be told now, everything from the brutal struggles of war to paying off your mortgage.
Stories can happen as you’re playing the game. Characters can talk to each other as you run through the world, and levels and missions can feature impressive cinematic segments.
Still, many games stick to the classic, tired-and-true formulas with minor variation. Many tend to criticize these kinds of games for being archaic. Some say the story doesn’t matter at all in these cases.
I think that logic is a bit too simple.
You see, simplicity isn’t inherently bad. In fact, I’d say storytellers in all mediums should strive to keep their stories and their worlds as simple as possible.
I’ll discuss two game series here to show my point. Both have been with me my whole gaming life. They’ve given me many good memories.
Tales of the Purple Dragon
Last year, I ended this blog’s videogame month by talking about Spyro the Dragon, Gaming’s Greatest Dragon.
Spyro’s original trilogy on the first Playstation carries lasting memories linked to my gaming, my writing, and my family.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run through those fantastical worlds, collecting gems on floating islands, flying through rings, and chasing thieves across icy terrain.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve laughed at the same old gags. Reclaiming my hard-earned gems from that greedy bear Moneybags in Spyro 3 will always put a smile on my face.
I can’t tell you how many times my dad and I jumped for excitement when we uncovered secret areas or found that last item needed to complete a level 100%.
The games made these memories without any complicated time travel, convoluted body swapping, or contrived conspiracies. Stories were all about driving you to explore the world and care for the characters.
First, Spyro saved his home, the Dragon Realms. An ugly brute named Gnasty Gnorc had crystallized all the elder dragons and stolen their treasure to transform it into monsters.
In the second game, Spyro took a wrong turn in a portal and stumbled into the world of Avalar. Now he needed to collect magical talismans to defeat an evil wizard named Ripto.
The trilogy ends with Spyro rescuing dragon eggs from the dragons’ original home, the Forgotten Worlds. The resident sorceress wanted to clip the baby dragons’ wings. Apparently, she wanted to use them in an immortality spell.
These games are fairy tales about a feisty little purple dragon. This is a fantasy world where anything can happen. Only simple plots can really tie everything together.
I mean, the Autumn Plains region of Avalar alone includes a prehistoric glacier, an airship harbor in the sky, a raging volcano, and an Arabian palace among other areas.
When the series tried to mature with the Legends of Spyro trilogy, the story grew far darker and far more complicated. These was an evil overlord trying to revive himself. Spyro was questioning if he could really be the hero everyone needed.
Unfortunately, all this complexity wound up limiting the world.
I mean, in that trilogy’s second game, you’ve only got a swamp, a forest, a flying pirate ship, and two mountains. That’s it. That’s the whole game.
While I enjoyed the Legend games, the original trilogy is still what I most remember and most often replay today.
This fact likely rings true for most other players as well. Only the original trilogy has been remade for modern game systems. Everything else has been left to the side.
The Plumber, the Princess, and the Turtle
This guy needs no introduction. There’s a reason the crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate calls him Mr. Videogame Himself.
Let’s talk about Mario.
Everyone knows the standard Mario story. It’s been in place since Super Mario Bros. on the original Nintendo Entertainment System.
The evil King of the Koopas Bowser, a giant turtle dragon, kidnaps Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario saves her, sometimes with the help of his brother Luigi, sometimes with the help of a green dinosaur named Yoshi.
The story’s been repeated hundreds of times. Mario’s done everything to save Peach from jumping across platforms to fighting in lengthy turn-based battles.
The whole point of these characters is that they can be placed in any situation. The Mushroom Kingdom and its surrounding areas can be whatever the developers want it to be in each game.
When you play a Mario game, your focus isn’t wondering about a character’s tragic backstory or wanting new secrets revealed.
No, you play a Mario game to see how Bowser kidnaps the princess this time. You play to see what kind of levels you have to run through. You play to see how Mario and Bowser will face off this time.
My personal favorite Mario-Bowser encounter would have to be in Super Mario 3D Land. It’s just one long chase sequence, but there’s a lot going on to highlight the rivalry here. You climb a castle tower, dodge constant fireballs, and end it all with a final dash across a metal bridge.
Honorable mentions also go to Super Mario Galaxy where you fight inside a star and Super Mario 3D World where Bowser uses the game’s various power-ups against you.
Many times, Mario stories are so simple that they’re able to continue after the final fight with Bowser. Best example here would have to be Super Mario Odyssey.
In Odyssey, Mario befriends a hat spirit named Cappy. The two go on an adventure to stop Bowser from marrying Peach and using Cappy’s sister Tiara as the bridal veil.
After the final battle, Cappy stays with Mario so the two can keep adventuring. They even run into Peach and Tiara exploring the game’s various kingdoms. Everything culminates in Cappy thanking Mario for all the fun times as they climb a skyscraper on the Darker Side of the Moon.
(Bowser tried to marry Peach on the moon. Mario and Cappy explore only a small part of the moon at this time. They return to see more of it after Bowser’s defeat.)
Like I said, anything can happen in a Mario game. Developers can put forward any idea they want without any worry of breaking the complicated logic or lore.
Simple as Can Be
Now, not every story is a fairy tale. Not every series should feature worlds where anything can happen.
What I hope to highlight here is that simple stories can still be memorable adventures. You don’t need to explain every little detail in a stories’ world to make something impactful.
I don’t need to know some grand reason why Gnasty Gnorc’s spell didn’t crystallize Spyro. The little dragon ducked and covered his head. Now let’s go save the Dragon Realms!
I don’t need to learn why Bowser’s home life led him to start kidnapping princesses. He’s a big, fire-breathing bruiser who wants to conquer the world and has a crush on the princess in the next kingdom over.
Tearjerkers and think pieces have their place, but not everything needs to be a tearjerker or a think piece.
Sometimes, the simplest joy is finding a world that can just be, a world that can exist without having to explain every little detail to you.
This lesson can be applied to some more complex stories too. Over-explanation is often one of the heaviest weights which can drag a story down.
I mean, did anyone need the force in Star Wars scientifically explained through microscopic organisms? Did anyone need the architect to monologue in tech speak about the precise functions of the Matrix and the chosen one?
Be careful with what you explain about a story’s world. Unless that detail is needed for the story’s themes, it’s not an answer you need to give. There are some things better left in your notes.
Complicating a story lessens possibilities with its world. Always be sure that you’re willing to accept that trade-off.
Discussion Time!
Alright, time to turn the conversation to you.
What do you think of my thoughts on simplicity? Do you think I chose good examples in Spyro and Mario? What examples can you think of, whether good or bad, whether from videogames or anything else?
Kotcher’s Call to Action
If you like my content and wish to see more, you could check out my books Five Strange Stories and Good Stuff: 50 Poems from Youth on Amazon. They are enrolled in the Kindle Matchbook program, so anyone who buys the paperbacks can also get the eBooks for free.
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