I’ve been trying to come up with new and interesting ways to explain and describe games. I find traditional ways of describing games (ie. genres) increasingly insufficient – and also I am very bored. This time around I want to introduce the NCb model, which categorizes games based on the delivery style of their narratives and worlds.
In this model games are categorized in either ‘Novel’ or “Comic book” styles.
1. Novels games are realistic, logical (no matter how absurd the logic) and overall NOT SILLY. These are games like Planescape: Torment, the original Fallout, The Witcher series, or Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The worlds in this type of games operate in predictable, logical manners, with their elements always having proper explanations behind them. This is not to say that the game worlds are “like our own material world” but rather, while able to be completely fantastical, they are still governed by logical equations that make sense for those worlds. Characters in this type of game are almost never stereotypes or categorical. They are complex beings with complex motivations and agendas. Stories themselves are often serious, tackling mature themes and motifs. Many RPGs belong to this category.
2. Comic book style games in contrast are often illogical, silly, and cartoonish. The game worlds are unrealistic, naïve, and simplistic. Characters are often stereotype of certain themes and revolve around one or two main motifs. They often have very simple motives, like “always doing good” or being “evil for the sake of it”. There is usually not much explanation behind the world’s elements, and contradictions and exception to rules can be common. Examples of this type of game are the two first Tomb Raider games, the Freedom Force series, and recently Druidstone.
So what do you think?
Can you think of another category that complements this system?
Can you think of any games that don’t fall into either of these categories?
What category would place the following games in? Diablo (series), Fallout 2, Divinity: Original Sin (series), ECHO.
In this model games are categorized in either ‘Novel’ or “Comic book” styles.
1. Novels games are realistic, logical (no matter how absurd the logic) and overall NOT SILLY. These are games like Planescape: Torment, the original Fallout, The Witcher series, or Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The worlds in this type of games operate in predictable, logical manners, with their elements always having proper explanations behind them. This is not to say that the game worlds are “like our own material world” but rather, while able to be completely fantastical, they are still governed by logical equations that make sense for those worlds. Characters in this type of game are almost never stereotypes or categorical. They are complex beings with complex motivations and agendas. Stories themselves are often serious, tackling mature themes and motifs. Many RPGs belong to this category.
2. Comic book style games in contrast are often illogical, silly, and cartoonish. The game worlds are unrealistic, naïve, and simplistic. Characters are often stereotype of certain themes and revolve around one or two main motifs. They often have very simple motives, like “always doing good” or being “evil for the sake of it”. There is usually not much explanation behind the world’s elements, and contradictions and exception to rules can be common. Examples of this type of game are the two first Tomb Raider games, the Freedom Force series, and recently Druidstone.
So what do you think?
Can you think of another category that complements this system?
Can you think of any games that don’t fall into either of these categories?
What category would place the following games in? Diablo (series), Fallout 2, Divinity: Original Sin (series), ECHO.