Games That Tell A Story

Michael’s post on Monday left me feeling a bit nostalgic about my video game roots. I grew up gaming on a ColecoVision. The classic system boasted a stunning 16-color display at 256x192 resolution and was powered by a whopping 3.58 Mhz processor and 1 whole KB of RAM! Okay, that’s pittance compared to today’s machines, but in the early 80’s that was all we needed to play classics like Lady Bug, Mouse Trap, and Donkey Kong.

It wasn’t long, though, before my family upgraded to a Nintendo Entertainment System and I became captivated with Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy, and The Legend of Zelda. From my first taste of those latter two titles I was hooked on role-playing games. While I loved the simple, puzzle solving aspect of the single-screen games on the ColecoVision, it completely blew my mind that a video game could also tell a complex story! I invested hours in Final Fantasy and Zelda not just because the game play was fun, but because, like a good book, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next!

This is one of the many things that excites me about our upcoming game for the Nintendo Wii U, Of Mages & Pages. It’s going to be a beautiful blend of the puzzle solving aspects I loved in classic arcade games along with the rich story telling we find in the RPG genre.

Plus, there’s one thing you won’t find in Of Mages & Pages that has always bothered me about RPGs: heroes walking into houses uninvited just to chat with random strangers who are seemingly unfazed by home invasion! And with that gaming flaw in mind, I leave you with this hilarious strip about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: http://9gag.com/gag/arpwbgp?ref=fb.s

Until next time,

~Steve