9. Story, Characters & PacingΒΆ
Up until this point, we have focused about games from a purely ludological viewpoint. That is, we have looked at games as a system of rules, with the implicit assumption that the rules are the game, and that a narrative of any kind is just window dressing. (Any word with the root lud- or ludo- is referring to games; the root is Latin for play.)
But this is not entirely true. As mentioned when we talked about kinds of decisions, some player choices may have absolutely no meaning within the game system and yet they are still meaningful because they are emotionally charged. Where does this emotional charge come from if not the rules of the game? Often times it is the story and the player’s feelings about characters within the story.