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Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling (New Riders Games)
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Manufacturer: New Riders Games
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.81526
EAN: 9780321278906
ISBN: 0321278909
Label: New Riders Games
Manufacturer: New Riders Games
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2004-10-16
Publisher: New Riders Games
Studio: New Riders Games
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Editorial Reviews:
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As a game designer or new media storyteller, you know that the story is everything. However, figuring out how to tell it interactively-and in a way that keeps your audience coming back for more-can be challenging. Here to help you out (and to open your mind to ever more creative ways of producing those stories) is the man who created the cult publication The Art of Computer Game Design and who has devoted much of his career to that very topic: Chris Crawford. To highlight the path for future gains in the quest for a truly interactive story, Chris provides a solid sampling of what doesn't work, contrasting unsuccessful methodologies with those that hold promise for the future. Throughout you'll find examples of contemporary games that rely on different technologies-and learn the storytelling lessons to be garnered from each of the past methodologies. Within the context of interactive storytelling, Chris explores ways of providing conflict and challenge, the difference between low- and high-interactivity designs, the necessity to move beyond purely visual thinking (so that the player is engaged on multiple levels), and more.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Ahead of its time.
Comment: One day the games industry will look at Chris Crawford the same way the film industry looks at Joseph Campbell. He sets out the first few steps of a path that could revolutionize gaming - if only it is taken to heart. Some of his ideas are radical, some are controversial, but all are insightful. The only criticism I have of this book is that Crawfords brash and grungy tongue-in-cheek delivery might rub some people the wrong way (although, I personally found it refreshing). And that the book is too short.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Beginning
Comment: Crawford's take on Interactive Storytelling, that is the maturation of a medium which will become the dominant form on art and entertainment in the 21st century, provides a foundation upon which future efforts will either be based off of or at least reference in intellectual homage. The breakdown of the modes of human thought in the early chapters provides a sturdy, cognitive lense which game designers can use to understand challenge. This book focuses primarily on social reasoning and the challenge which could be derived from that important facet of human experience, so far unexplored in traditional video and computer games.
In late 2005 Mr. Crawford wrote an article for The Escapist, and online publication which is highly recommended to anyone interested in the cutting edge of the interactive medium. The article addressed appealing to the female demographic of possible players from the angle of utilizing social challenge to meet women on a common ground. The problem with this article was that it used a controversial science to make this point, and it was possible to infer a sense of sexism, where women are inherenlty social and therefore drawn to interactive soap operas, while men are inherently spatial and drawn to games similar to hunting. The real point is that social challenge will put games on a whole new playing field which both men and women can appreciate as art and popular entertainment. Thats the lesson taught by "Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling", along with some useful approaches to the design problems. Don't let politics stop you from glimpsing a revolution.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Additional comments
Comment: In the spirit of full and open disclosure, I have known Chris Crawford for over twenty years. We are close friends and colleagues. So instead of providing a review, I'd like to comment on some of the things brought up in the other reviews.
In two reviews, it is indicated that the book is not tutorial and doesn't provide specific examples. These are absolutely correct. "Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling" is a distillation and documentation of all that Chris has learned and created on interactive storytelling over the last thirteen plus year. He explores areas where none have gone before and he also explores areas where others have been adding insights that are new. There is definitely material here you won't find in any previously written book. However, this is a not a document of a completed journey. A couple of simple stories have been built-as proof of concept for the early working versions of the Erasmatron-but they mostly demonstrated the need for better tools. Interactive storytelling requires a new set of skills and tools. This book is heavy on theory and process, but light on examples because the theory and processes must precede the examples-and we're just getting a handle on the theory and processes. Expect to see examples in Chris' next book, which I expect he'll write once the Erasmatron is out the door and pumping out interactive stories. (I'm guessing here, Chris has never mentioned doing another book, but there will definitely be a need for a book on Erasmatron storybuilding and who better to write it than Chris Crawford and/or Laura Mixon?)
William Ogles comments on Chris' writing style, which is decidedly conversational. His writing style, combined with his strong convictions, often polarizes readers and the attacks against him can be as vicious as the praise is glowing. Chris was a teacher early in his career and lessons learned from those early days drive much of his writing and speaking style. He will present gray area subjects in stark black and white and he writes provocatively. This is his method for making a point and generating thought and discussion.
Indeed, it was his recent article about Women and Gaming in "the Escapist" (an on-line magazine) that provoked the single negative review of this book. The best clue to this is that the reviewer is complaining about Chris' views on women and gaming, yet that subject isn't covered in this book. Also the quotes are from his article, not from the book. Chris' point was that sales of romance novels (especially of the "bodice rippers" genre) and soap opera show that women were the primary customers and that they were immensely popular and that games that appeals to the same needs would be more successful with women than "Doom" clones. It appears to me this is rather obvious-the trick, of course, is figuring out what such games might be. The reviewer's characterization of the above as "blatant gender stereotyping" is a hard trail to follow and suggests that Chris triggered a hot button for the reviewer.
Also, unlike Chris' other book "Chris Crawford on Game Design", this book is not for aspiring "game" designers-it's for aspiring "interactive storytelling" designers (of all ages) or for game designers that want to move into an entirely new and exciting field.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An inspirational manual from the topic's greatest thinker
Comment: In this book, Chris Crawford presents his teachings, thoughts and feelings on Interactive Storytelling, the topic that he has courageously committed the last thirteen years of his life to researching, understanding and developing.
This book struck many chords with me and opened up many avenues of thought, presenting me with inspirational ideas that kept me thinking about Interactive Storytelling for the many months that followed. I own a reasonable collection of books on game development and related academic topics, and I believe this to be the single most important book in my collection. Many of the ideas within are worth the price tag alone.
I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anybody even remotely interested in Interactive Storytelling, and especially designers and developers within the games industry. It simply deserves to be read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Just a Must-Read, It's a Must-Study.
Comment: This book opened up a whole new pattern of thinking for me. The information Mr. Crawford conveys in this publication is invaluable to any writer seeking to break into new areas-particularly gaming and other applications utilizing interactive storytelling. Writing for this genre requires a whole different mindset from traditional genres and Mr. Crawford succeeds at moving the reader towards that mindset. Time and again I see in game reviews how a particular game has "awesome graphics and great gameplay but the story and dialogue" were severely lacking. With Mr. Crawford's extensive experience in the gaming industry, he very capable gives aspiring writers every tool he or she will need to get a very good start in the industry. Throughtout the book, he stresses how important it is for the "artsie" thinkers (the writers & artists) to work together with the "techie" thinkers (the programmers) and I think this is a valuable lesson that many current game producers have yet to learn. Mr. Crawford reminds the entire programming industry that one sector of development cannot succeed without the other. He more than adequately investigates and chronicles how the different development teams can work together and bridge the "communication" gap between the "artsies" and the "techies." This book, while not exactly a tutorial piece, offers many examples and exercises to move the writer along in thinking like an interactive storyteller. The only real drawback may be the detail Mr. Crawford goes into. While I personally don't have a problem with this, I work with several young people who, while they are very keen on gaming development, probably wouldn't spend an adequate amount of time studying the information contained in the book unless it were required reading in a course. Personally I feel that any writer who wants to pursue and develop stories for interactive programming should study this book. It's not enough to read it through once, twice or even three times. This is a book which needs to be worked through section by section, until writing for this relatively new genre becomes second nature. This book will have a permanent home in my library; it is very rich in information-hats off to Mr. Crawford for producing a very timely manual.
-Adaera-
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