Here is an example of a bad story:
Once, there was a frog that wanted a bowl of cereal. The cereal he wanted was expensive, but he had no money because he was frog, and frogs are staunchly anti-capitalist. He stole the cereal, and had a great time eating it, but a tiny marshmallow got caught in his throat, and he died. The lesson? Crime is cool, but careful with the marshmallows.
To rinse the awful sensation of that terrible story from your brain hole, here are 6 genuinely good game stories from the IGF 2018 Excellence in Narrative Category.
Tacoma
When we reviewed the latest offering from Gone Home developer Fullbright, we praised its characters and concepts, but found that the short length stifled story development. Tacoma was generally well received though, and Fullbright are known for their focus on compelling narratives.
Attentat 1942
Supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture, the educational, comic-inspired Attentat 1942 was described by John Romero as “The way kids will learn in the future”. Approaching its subject matter with accuracy and respect, the title features interviews with survivors of Nazi occupation.
Where the Water Tastes like Wine
Where the Water Tastes like WineDimbulb Games describe Where the Water Tastes like Wine as ‘a bleak American folk tale about traveling, sharing stories, and surviving manifest destiny.’ If early 2000’s emo bands taught us anything, it’s that the longer the title, the more important the art. On that count, then, we should be in for a good one.
Night in the Woods
Butterfly Soup
When we covered Butterfly Soup for our sister site New Normative, we said
“There are three main things you have to know about Butterfly Soup, 1) It’s very, very gay, 2) It’s also very, very bi, and 3) it knows how to do representation very, very well.”
An excellent addition to the visual novel genre, Butterfly Soup has been gathering praise for its writing across the board.
Tooth and Tail
I was playing Tooth and Tail last night, and kept slamming my fist into my leg every time I heard the revolutionary victory music, rabble-rousing as it is. I also got the overwhelming urge to get a large mug of beer and slam it against my desk, though decided against in. In retrospect, this feels like the right choice. Tooth and Tail‘s Russian revolution meets Watership Down world is nothing if not involving, and certainly one of the most unique worlds of the year.
Looking for the rest of our IGF 2018 coverage? You just passed the link.
