Kindle Book: Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling

Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling is the second book my friend recommended to me on game design. Unlike A Theory of Fun, this one seemed a lot more technical and harder for me to get through. I am not a programmer and have never programmed anything, so the chapters on designing an interactive storytelling engine were especially tough for me to get through.

But with that disclaimer aside, Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling is a valuable book for game designers to read (and for game writers as well). Crawford details exactly what interactive storytelling is and how it is different from the stories present in games. He talks about the importance of verb thinking, how verb thinking is difficult for English-speakers, and how traditional games still give players the same few choices over and over. His book is difficult to wrap your head around in ways (especially if you are like me and lack certain frames of reference) but it is still worth reading.

About part way through, I came to the realization that I will benefit from rereading this book in the future. It's given me a lot to think about (and has made me want to try interactive storytelling), but I need to go off for a bit (and maybe learn some basics of scripting languages) before I come back to Crawford's theories.

Library Book: Mirror Mind

A friend of mine at the library recommended Tory Woolcott's Mirror Mind. This is the story of Tory growing up with dyslexia. When it was discovered that she couldn't read, the other kids in school started making fun of her in very hurtful ways. She was eventually sent to a different school that was supposed to cater to kids who need a little more help. Unfortunately she had a rather mean teacher. It was only after she was tutored by someone who was really patient and caring, and later got a teacher who understood dyslexia, that Tory was finally able to show the world that she simply sees things differently from most people.

As someone who has always been an avid reader and never had to deal with dyslexia, Mirror Mind is very eye-opening. This is definitely worth reading whether or not you have struggled with dyslexia.

Thanks for sharing your journey, Tory!

Library Book: Prince of Persia: the Graphic Novel

I was at work a few days after finishing my first play through of Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time and I went looking to see if the library had the music from the game. Instead I stumbled on Prince of Persia: the Graphic Novel.

Prince of Persia: the Graphic Novel is a really unique story. It is actually a tale of two centuries, where two stories are intertwined. Two separate princes (one an actual prince, and one a man who eventually marries a princess) confront the corruption of the ancient city of Marv.

The first prince, Guiv, is almost drowned by his brother Layth. His sister convinces Layth to forgive him. But while he was under the water, he received visions of the palace in flames and a child with a sword. So even though he is forgiven, he leaves the palace in an effort to discover what the visions mean.

The second story is more about a princess than a prince. She sets out to discover what her teacher has cryptically riddled about. She disguises herself as a boy and heads to a tree marked with a symbol near an old well. There she discovers a mysterious man who hides in the ruins.

Prince of Persia: the Graphic Novel is quite a feat of storytelling. A little hard to follow in places, it is nonetheless worth reading if you are a fan of the Prince of Persia series. And don't forget to read the afterword by Jordan Mechner! That alone has made me want to read both the Arabian Nights and the Shahnameh (although it may be awhile before I have time to get to either of them!)

Library Book: JLA: World War III

A friend recommended JLA: World War III to me the other day. He said it was a really good book. So I put it on hold and got it once he returned it to the library.

World War III is the story of a super weapon, Mageddon, speeding towards the Earth. Mageddon causes anger and rage, making people fight those they once considered friends. It leaves only death and destruction in its wake.

The JLA gets attacked in their own headquarters on the moon by Lex Luthor and a new Injustice Gang right when they discover Mageddon is coming. They try to warn Luthor that Mageddon is influencing him, but he refuses to listen.

Meanwhile, the world itself is going crazy. Countries are declaring war on one another andlaunching nuclear warheads left, right and centre. Those JLA members who were not on the moon have their hands full trying to save the world from itself.

World War III was a pretty good story, but isn't one of my favourites. I don't really like it when there are tons of superheroes whom I don't know. Yes, I recognized most of them (particularly the main ones), but there were just as many I wasn't familiar with. And with so many superheroes present in the JLA, there's no way to give them all screentime. But if you like the JLA, and having tons of characters throughout a story, you will like World War III.

Kindle Book: A Theory of Fun for Game Design

I've been reading Ralph Koster's A Theory of Fun for Game Design on and off for the last few weeks. A Theory of Fun was recommended to me by a friend. I was excited to find it on Kindle, which meant it was a lot easier to bring this book along with me. :)

A Theory of Game Design is not a book I would have picked up myself right now without my friend's urging. I've been focusing on books about writing video games, while this is theory about game design. That being said, Koster's book is an extremely good read. He breaks games down and starts a theoretical discussion on both games and players. He uses everyday language, making this book easy to understand. If you are remotely interested in game design, you should definitely give this book a read!

Gwenhwyfar: the White Spirit

It's been a long while since I have read a Mercedes Lackey book (in fact it's been even longer than I thought- the last one I read was The Snow Queen, back in 2008 when I started this blog). I've been hoarding The Sleeping Beauty, which is the fifth book in her Five Hundred Kingdoms series (side note: I just found out the sixth book is coming this fall! I'm excited!) But my copy of The Sleeping Beauty is hard covered, so I didn't want to bring it out to camp. But then I discovered that Gwenhwyfar was also on the List. And so, since my copy is soft-covered, Gwenhwyfar accompanied me out to camp.

Gwenhwyfar tells the story of Arthur's third queen (by a twist of fate, all three have the same name). Gwenhwyfar is the third of four daughters to King Lleudd Ogrfan Gawr. As a child she has Power, and assumes she will follow in her mother's footsteps by joining the Ladies of the Cauldron. But there is another fate in store for her. For Gwen is also blessed by Epona, the horse goddess. On the advice of her hero, a female chariot driver named Braith, Gwen finds herself training to be a warrior. She falls into this life with a passion, determined to become one of her father's war chiefs.

But it is only after she has achieved all that she dreamt of that fate conspires to make her Arthur's third wife. As the daughter of a king, she always knew that such could be her fate, and so she bows to it. But how can a warrior turn her back on the life she loves?

It took me a bit to really get into Gwenhwyfar. But once I did, it was well worth the read. Gwen is a wonderful character who I really found myself empathizing with, especially when she was required to become more womanly as the High Queen. While I am not a warrior, I understood what she felt when she was confined within the palace. Someone like her will never be happy, no matter how comfortable and pretty the cage is. She needs to be free.

Something that Arthur says near the end beautifully summed this up: "I tried to make you - what you were not. I took a warhorse, and tried to fit it to a plow" (397). Gwen tries - and fails - to be what she is not in order to please everyone else. And in the end this fails because she is not meant for ploughing.

Gwenhwyfar was a beautiful book, especially for anyone who has ever struggled with trying to be something they are not.

The Faerie Locket

The Faerie Locket is the companion novel to the Dungeon's and Dragons A Practical Guide to Faeries. I found it at the Bookshelf and thought it sounded rather intriguing. While it is written for a younger audience (and it's very obvious about this as soon as you start reading it) I thought it was an entertaining book overall.

Twelve-year-old Jade finds a faerie locket, which transports her to the Feywild. Once there she is transformed into a Pixie. She finds herself at the heart of a war between the Ice Queen and the Summer King. Despite having lost her trove of power, the Ice Queen is trying to conquer the Feywild by freezing it and thereby killing the summer fey. As a desperate last hope, the Summer King has sent the locket to a human girl in the hopes that she will fulfill a prophecy and end the war. There's just one problem: the locket was meant for Vira, Jade's older sister. Can Jade do the impossible and stop the war within three days? Especially when almost everyone doesn't believe she can?

The Faerie Locket is a really quick, light read. I read it in one night while I was at camp. Keeping in mind that this is a story meant for a younger reader, The Faerie Locket is an all around fun story. At its heart it is the story of Jade becoming a hero, even when all the adults dismiss her because she is too young (and later for also being a pixie). My one problem with it came from a misunderstanding: when originally reading the plot synopsis, I thought it was a girl from "our" world that is brought to the Feywild. Instead it is a girl from a fantasy world who is transported to the realm of faeries which exists alongside her realm. Once I got over that, I found the book extremely enjoyable.