Tag: Storytelling

Posted on

Game of Thrones: A cultural icon for a reason

 

Game Of Thrones - Wallpaper | Game of throne actors, Got characters, Game of thrones facts

Over the past few months, I’ve been watching a show called Game of Thrones.  For those of you who don’t know, Game of Thrones is a show based on the book series, “A Song of Ice and Fire”, written by George R.R. Martin. It’s a medieval fantasy epic that follows several powerful families in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, showing kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, and honest men, all fighting for their spot on the iron thrown. Game of Thrones was released in 2011 and ran for 8 seasons, and since then it’s been a cultural icon of television, becoming immensely popular. If you haven’t seen it you’ve at least heard of the name. I didn’t know much about the Game of Thornes series before watching it, however, after six seasons I completely understand the hype of the show, and can say that its one of my favorite shows I’ve seen, and I wanted to take some time to express my love for the show in hopes of getting some of yall to check it out.

The Worldbuilding

The Game of Thrones universe is packed with so much detail and history, it feels so lived in, it’s crazy to think it came from one man’s mind.  The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros is such a large place, and with each season you learn more and more about the culture and rules of the land. Characters will bring up small things about a region or house, almost seamlessly having you learn about the world until they use that information for something else later on, and since you already heard about it you understand what’s happening.

Amazon.com: Game of Thrones Map of Westeros and Essos TV Show Cool Wall Decor Art Print Poster 36x24: Prints: Wall ArtI know the map may seem overwhelming, but I assure you the show takes its time in developing its world, slowly immersing you into The Seven Kingdoms and the world of Game of Thrones, with amazing world-building.

The Characters

Not only is the world of Game of Thrones so interesting, but the characters that live in this world and the conflicts they endure are so captivating as well. Game of Thrones has such a large and diverse cast of characters, it’s hard to even say who the main character is since the show spends its time with so many different characters and their stories. As I said, the show follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, and honest men, all trying to either survive the harsh world of Westeros or try to become rulers with the game of thrones. A large part of the show is following the great houses of Westeros and their families, including the Targarians, the Starks, the Lannisters, and many others. With such a large and detailed world, I love how the show follows characters from every profession and lifestyle, all contributing to the greater story, even if in the beginning they don’t seem very important.

Game of Thrones: 15 Things You Didn't Know About House Stark

Characters from completely different storylines from season 1, come together to fight in season 6, and it makes to take a step back and realize how much has happened in order to get these characters to interact. Also, Game of Thrones doesn’t shy from killing off its main characters. Even in season 1, characters you think will play a huge part in the story die. This keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat, knowing that none of their favorite characters are safe from being taken out of the show. These major deaths also take a toll on all the other characters, making for some amazing character d development as you see how each person deals with it.

The Season Finale

For me, a show is only as good as its finale, a great finale that wraps the whole season or shows together can make a good show amazing, while a bad finale that drops the ball on its conclusion can ruin an entire show’s reputation. I’m happy to say that every season finale of Game of Thrones is very satisfying. Game of Thrones in general is a slow burn of a show. Not every episode is going to be as action-packed and exciting as the others. However, it never fails to deliver an amazing payoff in its finale, finalizing and plot-twisting storylines that have been building up for the whole season, sometimes even stories that have been building up for two or three seasons. These make for some excellent episodes of television.

Heavy Is the Crown for Dean-Charles Chapman's Tommen — Making Game of Thrones

The Battle of Blackwater, The Red Wedding, and Tyrion Lannister’s trial are all events that take place in the finales of each season. The season 6 two-part finale, “The Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter” are some of the best episodes of any show I’ve seen. The finales shock and captivate viewers that have been following the show for the whole season, and leave the show in a place where the viewer is dying to know what happens in the next season.

I’ve really enjoyed my time watching Game of Thrones, that being said there’s a reason I haven’t finished the entire series. The show follows the books they’re based on a pretty spot. However, after the sixth season, the rest of the books in the series weren’t finished written. So, for the seventh and eighth seasons, the showrunners decided to take the story into their own hands and write the ending of the show with the help of George R.R. Martin. Without the book to base the show on, seasons 7 and 8 are very poor in their quality, and the consensus among fans is that it feels very rushed, and is considered the worst two seasons of the show. As I said I believe that the finale of a show can make or break the show in its entirety, so to know that the last two seasons miss the mark and that I’ve seen the best the show has to offer is very sad to hear. However, I’m set on finishing the show and developing my own opinion of the finale. Perhaps if I have enough to say about then I can write my next blog post about them. Until then I appreciate you taking the time to let me rant about this amazing show.

 

Posted on

Mass Effect: Immersive Storytelling

Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition - EA Official Site

Over the last few months me and my roommate been laying a game called Mass Effect. It is about a distant future where humanity and other alien civilizations have colonized the known universe using technology left behind by advanced civilizations that have now been wide out. You play as a Commander Shepard, a lieutenant commander for the space capital. You spend the game assembling a team of highly trained aliens and humans as you uncover the mystery of a threatening alien race. There are three mainline games in the series, currently, I’m on the second game, Mass Effect 2, and I’ve been loving every minute of the match, particulate the story. Mass Effect has a unique way of telling its story, as it puts the player in Commander Shepard’s shoes and uses many different narrative techniques to make you feel immersed in the game’s story and lore. I wanted to share some of my favorite parts that Mass Effect has to offer when it comes to the way it immerses the player.

Dialogue Wheel

In many video games, when a cut scene plays out, it usually feels like you’re watching a movie everything plays out a certain way, with very little freedom for the player to make decisions and take control. In Mass Effect, whenever Commander Shepard is about to say something in a cutscene, the game reveals a dialogue wheel, with 2-6 dialogue options, depending on the conversation, that the player can choose to make Commander Shepard say.  The player chooses how the cutscenes play out since they have full control of what the main character says. This makes talking to characters in the game so much more interesting, as you can find out as much as you want. If you disagree with a character’s decision, you have a dialogue option to call them out on their behavior. However, if you agree with them you have another option to support their decisions. This makes the story so much more compelling since you have a say in most of it.

9 Amazing Video Game Features You'll NEVER See In Anything Else – Page 5

Some dialogue options may just give you different answers from characters, however, sometimes the dialogue makes drastic changes to the story, like making you choose which member of your team will have to sacrifice themselves. This raises the stakes since almost everything in the game is on you, the good and the bad, naming your choice of words is very important. At times I feel like I’m Shepard like I’m there commanding my team or discussing with the enemy. The game has several options of dialogue for different play styles. If you like talking your way out of situations, at times if you say the right things you can talk your way out of fighting the enemy or saving a person’s life. Or if you like immediately causing chaos, you can cut the conversations off short and just start shooting people. This freedom of choice makes me feel immersed in the way I play since I’m not only playing during the combat segments but in the cutscene segments as well.

Shepard’s Team

Your squad plays a very important role in the Mass Effect games. Throughout the three games, find characters that over time slowly fill up your squad. Your team is comprised of several different alien species, coming from all sorts of different backgrounds, such as assassins, scientists, soldiers, and more. You pick members to go on missions with you, helping you eliminate enemies and get to your goal. While in other games you have merely allies that are always with you, Mass Effect takes it a step further. Over time, taking certain members of your team on missions more and more will increase their trust in you, making them fight better for you in missions. You can also talk to your members separately on your ship, They have scattered around between missions. Talking to your members will give you a backstory on where they come from and what their desires are, increasing their trust in you and building their loyalty. I enjoy this mechanic since it makes me spend more time with these characters, and over time you begin to care about them since you know their traits, desires, and struggles throughout the series. There are certain members of my team that I like more than others, and the freedom of choice that Mass Effect gives me allows me to build loyalty with the ones I like.  These things are essential because you want your squad to like you. There will be moments in the game where situations get heated, and if a member of your team doesn’t have enough loyalty, they may turn on you.

Mass Effect 3 Companions Guide - SegmentNext

Also, if one of your team members dies, they don’t come back. They don’t respawn, if a member dies in your party, they won’t show up in the rest of the games, since your story continues through the trilogy. This adds stakes to your missions and decisions, you could have a strong bond with one of your squad mates, just for them to die. You feel these deaths more emotionally since you may have taken the time to build loyalty with them.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with Mass Effect and its immersive storytelling. If you have an interest in video games, I would greatly suggest playing the Mass Effect trilogy and getting yourself invested in the lore, characters, dialogue, and story these games have to offer.