Corvus Elrod wrote a very thoughtful and well-argued post regarding a debate on the difference between experiencing a story and playing a game. Much of his argument hinges on his definitions of “story” and “narrative” and the distinctions between these two terms. He also makes the point that even a static story is always really two stories, the intended story and the experienced story. I completely agree with this point. Reader participation is active, not passive, and the meaning of any story - or any text at all - is always a co-creation of author and reader. This insight makes it more problematic to posit simple comparisons and contrasts between not only static and dynamic stories, but also between stories and games.

Other Posts Categorized as Games:

• Meaning and Action as Complementary Principles in the Quest Plot Form - April 9th, 2007
• Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition - November 30th, 2006
• The History of Tetris - June 25th, 2006
• GAM3R 7H30RY - May 28th, 2006
• The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google - April 16th, 2006
• Jim's Flash Bestiary - March 29th, 2006

Other Posts Categorized as Interactive Storytelling:

• Meaning and Action as Complementary Principles in the Quest Plot Form - April 9th, 2007