by Phoebe Quinn
The worst has happened: you don’t want to write. You’re bored or you’re saturated or you just plain don’t have the energy. You need something to kick you back in gear.
I have the solution for you: video games.
No, no, hear me out. Video games are often dismissed as mindless entertainment – or worse, as promoters of violence. Of course, the same accusations were lobbied at TV when it emerged as a new popular technology (the famous Bobo doll experiment, for example), but the damage has been done, and is only just starting to reverse.
I grew up around video games, from Lemmings on my first Acorn computer to locking a pixelated butler in a freezer in Tomb Raider 2 to the mesmerising open-world RPGs of today. Video games are interactive stories, and while for a writer it’s no replacement for reading, I’ve found them to be a source of inspiration when my head feels saturated with words.
Here are my favourite video games that inspire me to write better stories (with example gameplay videos linked):
1. Skyrim
If magical fantasy is your genre, the latest edition of the Elder Scrolls series is surely your game. A wholly open world where you choose the story, without limitations. You pick your character, you decide your quests, and you choose your story.
You can kill no one or everyone, become an outlaw or an outstanding citizen of the Empire. You can assassinate the Emperor or lead the revolution. The week after I finished full-time studying I fired up the Xbox for the first time in months and played on Skyrim for twelve hours straight.
Plus, there’s loads of dragons, which is always a bonus.
An indie puzzle platformer that almost made me cry, Thomas Was Alone is simple only in appearance. The story takes place within a computer mainframe, and it is the player’s job to get newly-sentient AIs Thomas and his friends to safety. Thomas is represented by a red rectangle, and his friends all take on similar forms, each with a different style of movement.
But it’s the characters that are the compelling part of the game – featureless shapes with no voices of their own (all the story is supplied by Danny Wallace’s superb narration) become almost real, the emotional investment becoming stronger as the game progresses. It is an ode to minimalism, reminding you that a story doesn’t have to be complicated to be compelling.
3. Assassin’s Creed series
I’m taking this as a whole, rather than focusing on the part, because the point I want to make is using the same frameworks to tell very different stories. Assassin’s Creed games always switch between the present-day storyline and the ‘memories’ of ancestors from hundreds of years ago. While each game is much more linear than the others in this list, following the same basic structure and standard gameplay, all the storylines are different.
This game always encourages me to think of different ways I could tell the same story – what if I tweaked this aspect, or that, would it improve the story overall? It reminds me that, if I’m stuck on a scene or aspect of the storyline, I don’t have to overhaul the entire thing – maybe just one component needs changing to make it fresh.
4. Proteus
Don’t be put off by the appearance of Proteus – high tech it isn’t, but immersive it is. You appear just offshore of a procedurally-generated island, with full reign to explore. The only sounds are produced by your interaction with the landscape, creating a dynamic music experience of your choosing.
The player goes through four seasons, each with their own aural atmosphere, and while there is an end, the end is not the goal. This isn’t a long game and can be completed in about half an hour, but I used to play it before bed to relax. I found it useful as a form of meditation, allowing my mind some breathing space between intense projects.
5. The Sims 4
So, this is where I lose my credibility somewhat. But how could I not include the world’s most famous life simulator? When you’re becoming frustrated with your story, when you just need to vent, The Sims 4 is ready for you to do whatever you want with it.
You don’t have to kill them in a myriad of imaginative ways, though that is certainly one use for it – you could create your story’s characters and have them live out their plot, or you could examine how the dynamic might change if they divorced or died or gave birth. It could even help with visualising your characters: the Create A Sim section is so flexible that almost any looks are possible.
Take a screenshot and save it in your project folder to refer to later. Tell yourself it’s still writing.
Guest post contributed by Phoebe Quinn. Phoebe is a writer of fiction with a collection of short stories to be released in 2016.
I can’t play the sims anymore. I can’t remember which one it was, but I remember sitting there having the virtual version of me write books. The more books I made him write, the better her got it. So made him write more and more and more.
Instead of spending my time writing real books and getting better in real life, I was making fake me better at writing fake books.
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Nice list. For me, my go to relaxing game is Forge of Empires.
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I’ve never played a video game, could be interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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Skyrim usually is my go-to for my relaxation therapy. I would also suggest the Kingdom Hearts series, if you’re into fantasy and RPGs.
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Great list Phoebe. I’m glad Skyrim is at the top. I can’t tell you the amount of hours I put in playing the game then creating a 300,000 work epic fanfic piece based on the game!! Fun times.
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Civilization Revolution is my favorite. Sometimes I play it when I need a break from thinking too hard, but it could be useful for story-writing. Maybe if you are writing about exploration, politics, or culture.
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I still have my Super Nintendo and N64, and a handful of actual computer games. Sometimes it’s the crazy puzzle to tackle or the fun colors that make my brain work a bit better (Donkey Kong Country 3 still has some of the best graphics and color saturation I’ve ever seen in a game).
But sometimes I play “The Game of LIFE” against the computer avatars to come up with some random possibilities for what happens in my character’s life, like a sudden lotto win, impulsive buy, bankruptcy, job loss, etc. There aren’t infinite choices, but just something to jar a thought loose usually.
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A game that might get you thinking (perhaps too much) would be Bioshock, the series get really deep, philosophical and explores great themes and tells stories on the same level as movies. Plus they are just really fun to play
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Thanks for sharing!
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I like your list! Skyrim had a huge influence on my writing. It’s funny how creativity can transcend mediums. Fallout and Halo were/are go to games for me as well.
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Reblogged this on Pen and Joystick.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Nice way to seek inspiration, that’s also what I like to do. Just wondering though, what are your thought on playing game that relies on storytelling? Like Vanishing of Ethan Carter? Or any of the Naughty Dog games?
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Actually I would suggest the Metal Gear Series and the Uncharted series. Both have epic dead stories. I’ve never played Skyrim-but I agree with Assassins Creed.
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Typo on ‘dead’.
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Plus they are just really fun to play I like your list!
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It’s funny that Skyrim is number 1. I sold this game twice and recently bought the GOTY version. Favorite game, just never noticed it til last year. What about the BioShock Games? The story in those games is crazy. Tons of nostalgic, post apocalyptic themes and the story in Infinite was a hell of a twist.
From what I’ve heard. Infinite is based somewhat on a book.
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The Telltale game series are ever growing in popularity and super story driven.
I am a big fan of Rocket League myself but I think that inspires me to write more about what my buddies and I discuss while smashing cars into a ball trying to score a goal lol.
Thanks for the great post!
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Great idea! Kind regards Julian
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Reblogged this on Love Is The Game.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for the great post! Also it appears in Five Video Games to Play For Writing Inspiration by theryanlanz and Where do ideas come from?
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The Assassins Creed series is one of my favorite games to play. I haven’t thought about it being inspiration to writing until now. I always love the switch between story lines, it makes the game so unique to others.
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I totally advocate using video games as inspiration for writing! Great list of games and great post overall!
~Ryan from Games with Coffee
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