Storytelling game

Type of game

A storytelling game is a game where multiple players collaborate on telling a story. Some games primarily feature spoken storytelling, while others primarily feature collaborative writing. In some storytelling games, such as many tabletop role-playing games, each player represents one or more characters in the developing story. Others involve more third-person narrative.

## Collaborative writing games

[edit]

Main article: Collaborative fiction

Collaborative fiction is a form of storytelling which uses collaborative writing as the primary medium. A group of authors share creative control of a story. Exquisite Corpse, a Surrealist parlour game, is an example of a collaborative writing game.[1][2][3] The parlour game Consequences is similar.[4]

## Storytelling card games

[edit]

In storytelling card games, players use cards containing narrative prompts or plot details to tell a collaborative story. Examples include Once Upon a Time[5] and For the Queen.[6][7]

## Tabletop role-playing games

[edit]

Main article: Tabletop role-playing game

Storytelling TTRPGs take various forms. Some require one participant (a gamemaster or narrator) to describe the setting and take supporting character roles, while others distribute this function among multiple players. White Wolf Game Studio's Storyteller System, which is used in World of Darkness role-playing games such as Vampire: The Masquerade, is a well-known TTRPG described as a "storytelling game."[8][9] These use a narrator. Other storytelling TTRPGs distribute narrative authority equally among all players. Examples include The Quiet Year,[10] Fall of Magic,[11][12] and Companions' Tale.[13]

In contrast to improvisational theatre and live action role-playing games, TTRPG players describe the actions of their characters rather than acting them out, except during dialogue or, in some games, monologue.

## History of storytelling TTRPGs

[edit]

Main article: history of role-playing games

Matrix Game (c. 1988) by Chris Engle was an early collaborative storytelling game not based in simulation. In this system, a referee decides the likeliness of the facts proposed by the players, and events happen or not according to a dice roll. Players can propose counter-arguments that are resolved in a dice rolling contest. A conflict round can follow to resolve any inconsistencies or further detail new plot points.[14][15][16]

In 1999, game designer Ian Millington's Ergo offered a collaborative role-playing system. It was based on the rules of the Fudge universal role-playing system, but eliminated the need for a gamemaster, distributing the responsibility for the game and story equally among all players and undoing the equivalence between player and character.[17][18]

The coin system in Universalis (2002) relies less on randomness and more on collaboration between players.[19]

Starting in the mid-00s, storytelling TTRPGs based upon historical events began to emerge in indie role-playing game design communities. Examples include Grey Ranks (2007) by Jason Morningstar, which takes place during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising,[20] and Montsegur 1244 (2008) by Frederik Jensen, in which players tell a collaborative story about the Cathars.[21][22]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Breton, André (7 October 1948). "Breton Remembers". Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2019. Exhibition catalogue, Le Cadavre Exquis: Son Exaltation, La Dragonne, Galerie Nina Dausset, Paris (October 7–30).
2. ^ Brotchie, Alastair; Mel Gooding (1991). Surrealist Games. London: Redstone Press. pp. 143–144\. ISBN 1-870003-21-7.
3. ^ Kochhar-Lindgren, Kanta; Schneiderman, Davis; Denlinger, Tom (2009-12-01). The Exquisite Corpse: Chance and Collaboration in Surrealism's Parlor Game. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-2781-1.
4. ^ Brandreth, Gyles (1986). Everyman's word games. Dent. p. 76\. ISBN 0460047116.
5. ^ Gascoigne, Marc (2007). "Once Upon a Time". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 224–226\. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.
6. ^ Wieland, Rob. "Darrington Press Brings For The Queen Back To Her Throne". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
7. ^ Robinson, Tasha (2024-05-23). "For the Queen's creator on the new edition, her many copycats, and her balloon-kink RPG". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
8. ^ Shannon Appelcline (2007). "A Brief History of Game #11: White Wolf, Part One: 1986-1995". RPGnet. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
9. ^ Shannon Appelcline (2007). "A Brief History of Game #12: White Wolf, Part Two: 1993-Present". RPGnet. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
10. ^ Jackson, Gita (14 August 2016). "How the Quiet Year Brings People Together". Kotaku.
11. ^ Robinson, Tasha (2021-03-30). "How handmade components put Fall of Magic on the map". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
12. ^ Harrist, Josiah (2016-05-06). "Fall of Magic turns everyone into a gifted author". Kill Screen. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
13. ^ Spears, Jessica (2022-02-21). "Black History Month is for Gaming". American Library Association. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
14. ^ "Matrix Gaming Rules". Archived from the original on 2008-10-10.
15. ^ "Engle Matrix Games". Bloomingpedia.
16. ^ "Engle Matrix Games".
17. ^ "Places to Go, People to Be Issue 20: Co-operative Roleplay". www.ptgptb.org.
18. ^ "Ergo". Archived from the original on 2003-08-27.
19. ^ Bell, J B. "A review of Universalis at RPGnet".
20. ^ "The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming". www.dianajonesaward.org. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
21. ^ "Thoughtful Games - Montsegur 1244". thoughtfulgames.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
22. ^ Jensen, Frederik (2023-04-06). "The story of Montsegur 1244". Thoughtful Dane. Retrieved 2024-10-09.