It’s not easy. It’s not easy to build something that is on this planet, and yet I’ve tasked myself in trying. I’ve spent most of my life writing stories. I like how you can, with simply words, grab someone’s imagination and take them on a trip anywhere in the universe. You can introduce new people to those they’ve never met, and worlds they never known.
Storytellers of old
That’s the power of STORY. When cavemen sat in front of a fire, at the mouth of a cave, there were some that regaled the group with stories of their day, like newsmen on television. The other cave dwellers sat around him in rapt attention.
Later, books dominated the storyteller’s box of tools. Followed by radio, television, movies. Almost anything could be used to tell a story. The only thing that was vital was the story. A terrible story would make a terrible movie, television show, radio show, etc. The story had to be of such quality that it enthralled the patron. It had to grab them by the heartstrings, and give them a believable protagonist that fought against a superior foe, and through perseverance, endurance and a dash of luck, the hero would come out victorious.
And then a new medium appeared out of nowhere. I found it first by playing a game call THE LAST OF US. A game that pulled on the heartstrings as well as scared you motionless at times. It grabbed you by the throat and never let go. And suddenly I understood something that I never knew before. The one major obstacle for writers is the main character. The arc of the main character, his or her story. Sometimes it would take days, months, years to develop this character that could run the spectrum of emotions and have some facet of their personality engage your patron to take them on the journey of the story.
But what if you didn’t have to do that at all? What if you can give the patron a story and let them fill in the protagonist? What is more personal, more visceral? A hero on the screen scratching his head, or you scratching your head? And that was when I had the story. That was when the germ began to spread in my mind. Faster and faster it grew, and I, being a writer, blasted through the first draft of the story. Then I went back, making a first pass, cleaning up the story-line, making it tighter, filling in the holes of the story, building the back-story of the characters that the players interact with called NPCs (Non Playable Characters). Then I branched the story out, fast moving roots cutting through the mossy earth in all directions. Another pass, and another, building a more complex story with each pass.
Because this is where entertainment is going. I see the stirrings now, with THE LAST OF US now coming to television as a series on HBO. I have so many ideas for the players, for the viewers, for the story.
I’m ready to blow minds. I’m ready to take us all to the next level of entertainment.
Hold onto your hats.