Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
So.
What is a storytelling game, and what makes them interesting to players?
In essence a storytelling game is one where the primary engagement comes from the players co-creating (or counter-creating) a story or stories together, often times with a series of rules or prompts to determine what kind of additions or subtractions can be made from the story.
This is probably one of the most creatively free types of games as players are tasked with creating narratives and creating (or expressly breaking) continuity. Often times in these types of games, the fun comes from the absurdity or interest of the story that's being told, with players "winning" by making their compatriots laugh or surprising them with the cleverness of their ideas.
These are great games for social situations as players are encouraged to really think about what kinds of stories everyone else is trying to tell, or at the very least, how to make their own story connect to the others. Additionally, the story has to be told in some way, which is an excellent chance for social interaction.
Perhaps one of my favorites is a variant on the game "Stupiduel" (mostly for nostalgic reasons) In this game, players draw cards with prompts on them and conjure up a way in which they destroy another player using them. For instance, a player draws a yoyo, the number 10,000 and a duck. They then point at a player and say "I destroy you by using my yoyo to hypnotize 10,000 ducks into stampeding all over you" The defending player must then then use their cards to conjure up a response (in this case a loud speaker, oxygen tank, and a sarcophogus). "I ward the ducks away with my loud speaker, buying just enought time to grab my oxygen tank and jump into my sarcophogus, protecting me from the stampede". The players at the table would then evaluate the attack and the response to determine who won.
In our variant of the game, everything would stay in play, meaning the player in the sarcophogus would have to contend with (or make use of) the 10,000 hypnotized ducks if they were ever attacked by another player. This lead to some rather ludicrous (and hilarious) stories as events compounded on each other exponentially.
This points shows one of the strengths of these games, as you can really create laughter and joy with strange the strange twists and turns some of these games create. On the flip side, because (at least in this instance) the game was arbitrated by the group, personal and group biases can come into play with players losing, not because their idea was bad, but because the group favored the other player. If a player thinks that this is happening (even if its not) that can create a negative play experience. This said, that's less a weakness of the format, and more an element of the audience engaging with it. If players enter with the idea that this is about the experience, and less about winning or losing, (consider "who's line is it anyway?") that particular "flaw" is eliminated.
This also the kind of game that is a little bit harder to digitize, as it relies heavily on the players ability to produce ideas, strange or otherwise. A digital format can be limiting in this regard as the game itself has to be able to understand and parse the concepts and ideas presented. In the current era, with AI making as many leaps and bounds as it is, this is a tricky but (theoretically) not insurmountable problem.
At any rate, I've personally found storytelling games to be tons of fun, being more of a Johnny type of player. I love flexing my creative muscles to see how much I can make people laugh while still making a modicum of sense. How about you dear reader? Have you had any fun or cool experiences with Storytelling games? Why not chat about 'em in the comments below?
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