What Makes a Good Digital Story?
My favorite answer to the interview question; ‘What is your favorite leadership style?’ is ‘integrity’ because it is all encompassing of everything I believe a leader should be. In the same way, I could no more pin down ‘what makes a good story’ because as soon as I decided on a set criteria I would think of some other vital component that did not fall within any of the criteria I’d laid out. As I am finalizing my first full novel, I read often that there is no one way to write a story. By the same logic, there is no one way to define what makes a ‘good story’ as different stories speak in different ways to different people.
I think of my novel laid out in note cards taped above my writing desk with the plot outlined, an inspired idea I stole from Jane the Virgin. I’ve seen similar arrangements on the walls of marketing departments mapping out websites. This, in some form, is how all stories start out. What is the rising action? What is the falling action? What is the endgame? That is all well and good in storytelling, but what sets digital stories apart? What are the challenges specific to digital stories that may not be present in traditional forms of storytelling? To explore this I will use traditional concepts of storytelling that I believe are the most important and illustrate them using digital stories.
Characterization
This may seem extreme, but the only reason that I digest the story of any media is because it has at least one LGBTQI+ character. To me, diversity is key to telling a good story because I want to be able to see myself in these characters and, for it to be believable, the cast must reflect reality. This does not mean that I condone the token queer character or falling into the ‘bury your gays’ trope. I have fallen prey to many a queerbaiting show. No, if you are going to diversify your story with LGBTQI+ characters they must be properly and respectfully represented, but they must also contribute meaningfully to the story. Otherwise, they are just there to give the impression of diversity.
I believe that the Dragon Age franchise from EA/BioWare does this increasingly well. The Dragon Age games are based in a country called Ferelden where there are fantastical threats, the greatest of which is the blight-a horde of demon like creatures from varying fantastical races (for example dragons are ‘arch demons’). In Dragon Age Origins your character—no matter the gender—has options for romancing both female and male companions. In Dragon Age II there are even more bisexual options, but in Dragon Age Inquisition the storytelling is at it’s best and I firmly believe that can be largely contributed to the diversity of the cast. There is an exclusively lesbian companion, an exclusively gay companion and, while un-romanceable, there is a trans-masculine character in the game who are all part of the story contributing to creating a believable world.
The highlight of my experience playing through the story of Dragon Age Inquisition was fighting a duel for Josephine Montilyet’s honor. This bisexual Spanish diplomatic adviser and emissary from a noble family, who my avatar had romanced, is as clearly fleshed out as a character can be. What interested me about Josephine was her backstory. She came from a Spanish background like me, though in game the nations are called different things, (Antiva is modeled after the Spanish, Orlais is modeled after the Italians and French etc.). She is intelligent and the conversation options to unlock parts of her backstory or her thoughts on the action occurring in game is insightful. These responses really flesh her out as a character with her own thoughts and experiences that you only learn by talking with her as your character. Josephine’s story drew me in because good storytelling pulls from a diversity of experiences, not just one background or culture.
Point of View
The protagonist of choice for most authors is a flawed hero because that experience is more relatable to the audience of mere mortals who can recognize themselves in the flaws. Such a hero is accessible and easier to believe, but what if you could be the hero? Instead of imagining yourself in the position of the protagonist, what if you could create the hero that most represents you? This point of view is what the most compelling digital stories offer.
This creation of avatars is perhaps why the Sims franchise is so popular with their customizable characters that you can model exactly like you and the people in your life along with shaping their environment to reflect your own. Why else would someone spend hours on a game with no real plot (unless you count collecting things through quests), because they identify with the world and characters they have placed in it. It is your own digital story that you create and earn life achievements for. I think one of the greatest things about digital storytelling is that you can be inserted into the story as completely as a virtual world will allow. While reading first person point of view helps with that placement, the visual aid inserts you fully into the story.
In stark contrast to self selected avatars within role play games are input style games like [TEXT] A Summer Story which I discussed in my blog Visual Novelization. In these style games you are still seeing the world in first person point of view but the scenery is not moving right or left as you look around. While you are still the main character, it is up to your imagination what you look like. For many children with an imagination this is not hindering, but for us adults who have been conditioned out of such thought it can be more challenging to be drawn into the story if you cannot identify with the character from that point of view. Taking this impediment to an even greater extreme is the ‘Colossal Cave Adventure’ that I discussed in my blog Why I’m Not a Real 90’s Kid. In this game there are no colored graphics and you are only awarded minor pixelated inputs if you follow the right path. You have no concept of what you or the world around you looks like visually. Text is your only insight into the game with varying rates of success at that.
Interactive Setting
Utilizing the digital technology available to the best of its ability makes for the best story. As graphics have evolved the capabilities of telling stories and putting the one experiencing it deeper into the story than ever before has set the bar high. With virtual reality games the experience is as complete in the real world as possible.
My only experience with virtual reality features are through PokemonGo. This game swept through the world compelling downloaders of this App to face the real world that much of the audience otherwise wouldn't dare to. Unless you are one of the nerds that has followed the brand from the beginning through TV shows, video games and other media there is no story in this particular game. So, what is the audience following? The story is not laid out neatly in a plot. Instead, it is a write your own adventure story, forcing the virtual characters to move through the virtual world collecting virtual things through the real individuals behind the screen facing the real world. There are in game prizes for hitting pedometer milestones, battling other players or taking over a gym, but there are also in real life (IRL) health benefits to this game. The use of a cellular phone App which can go wherever you go was perfectly suited to this gameplay. By bringing the real world into a grid for interaction with a virtual world mirroring our own only with fictional creatures to collect created a sort of alternate universe. This setting drew players in because they could relate to and reach this otherworldly place while remaining in their own world.
In Conclusion...
As I was writing this blog and going back over to edit it, I realized that all three of these concepts mention one thing; relatability. In order to be drawn into a story I feel that I must relate to: the characters, the point of view and the interactive setting. As a character in these games I come with my own experiences and backstory, therefore, in order to be drawn into these alternate worlds they must possess elements which I can relate to my own experiences in some way. All of these elements enhanced by their digital formats or not, as described above, convey a story. How compelling that story is to the one experiencing it is determined by how well all of these elements are used and to what capacity.
Citations
Dragon Age Inquisition. Play Station 3, 2014.
Johnsen1972. “Dragon Age Inquisition ♥ Complete Josephine Romance With Final Scene ♥.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Nov. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhQJEcDeOc.
Electronic Arts. The Sims™ Mobile. Google Play App Store. Version 13.0.2.250301. (2018).
Niantic, Inc. Pokémon GO. Google Play App Store. Version 0.137.1. (2016).
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