Comments on: MNB: Episode 8 (”Slouching Towards Innsmouth”) http://www.mmognation.com/2008/05/25/mnb-8-slouching-towards-innsmouth/ Wed, 25 May 2011 02:52:43 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Sok http://www.mmognation.com/2008/05/25/mnb-8-slouching-towards-innsmouth/comment-page-1/#comment-67203 Sok Tue, 27 May 2008 22:55:35 +0000 http://www.mmognation.com/?p=1077#comment-67203 I think a big issue with Horror as a genre (like Comedy, and unlike Fantasy or Sci-Fi or Espionage) is that Horror's attempting to evoke a particular emotional reaction from the subject. You can do this in something personal and targeted like a book, movie, or 1-player game, but when you have such a non-linear, deliberately unfocused setting such as an MMO, it's much harder to create evocative situations. As you state, you can manage "creepy" based on the graphics or perhaps a quest plot point, but nothing like the apprehension you get out of, say, Silent Hill. In a broader sense, I think MMOs are really bad mediums for creating/telling stories, at least when the story's handed down from developer to player. An MMO has to accommodate so many different possibilities that any emotional reaction outside of reacting to the mechanics – horror, humor, sorrow, joy – would be fleeting. In other words, despite the heritage from D&D, MMOs still play more like Monopoly. There may be a story going on when you play Monopoly, but do you really care? I think a big issue with Horror as a genre (like Comedy, and unlike Fantasy or Sci-Fi or Espionage) is that Horror’s attempting to evoke a particular emotional reaction from the subject. You can do this in something personal and targeted like a book, movie, or 1-player game, but when you have such a non-linear, deliberately unfocused setting such as an MMO, it’s much harder to create evocative situations. As you state, you can manage “creepy” based on the graphics or perhaps a quest plot point, but nothing like the apprehension you get out of, say, Silent Hill.

In a broader sense, I think MMOs are really bad mediums for creating/telling stories, at least when the story’s handed down from developer to player. An MMO has to accommodate so many different possibilities that any emotional reaction outside of reacting to the mechanics – horror, humor, sorrow, joy – would be fleeting.

In other words, despite the heritage from D&D, MMOs still play more like Monopoly. There may be a story going on when you play Monopoly, but do you really care?

]]> By: Garth Schwer http://www.mmognation.com/2008/05/25/mnb-8-slouching-towards-innsmouth/comment-page-1/#comment-66495 Garth Schwer Tue, 27 May 2008 04:57:48 +0000 http://www.mmognation.com/?p=1077#comment-66495 "Hi Micheal, I'm a long time listener, first time caller and I really love your show" Could you post some links for your discussion themes, I totally enjoyed the material and wanted to read some more in this line. thanks again, Garth “Hi Micheal,

I’m a long time listener, first time caller and I really love your show”

Could you post some links for your discussion themes, I totally enjoyed the material and wanted to read some more in this line.

thanks again,
Garth

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