Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling

Chris is a great man, but this book is a real piece. I expected to be inspired to make games, but all I was inspired to do was stop reading. Don’t read, or even look at this book.

Here’s a discussion that makes excruciatingly clear how much ingenuity has to go into dealing with the inherent limitations of interactive programming.

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.