Thought for the day: Sim stories are like serial comics

[strangetomato]

Remember how I said I thought sim stories were more like graphic fiction than novels or movies? No? Well, I did. I think they're often sometimes like television shows too, in their serial nature, but the format speaks more to the comic medium (if we're talking about text and image sim stories, and I am).


The latest issue of Bitch magazine came in the mail today, and I was reading the review of Alison Bechdel's The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For (a GREAT read, in my opinion - you should check it out). At the end of the review, they quote her as saying, "A comic strip, like life, is a novel that never seems to get anywhere." It really reminded me of sim stories, especially mine. They just soldier on, perhaps with an end in mind, perhaps not, and that's just what I like about it. That's why I enjoyed DTWOF too. I came to really feel for the characters, and I was content to see them going through their day to day dramas, or even just cooking dinner (laced with politics, which makes it even more interesting). With sim storytelling, I'm writing (and playing) instead of reading, but I enjoy the feeling of following a set of characters as they gradually grow. Is it the same for you when you play and create? Or read, for that matter?

Of course, if I'm going to compare my story to a specific comic, I'd probably lean more towards Strangers in Paradise, which does have a plot, but it's really not nearly as important as the ongoing development of relationships between the characters. I love that series, but it's introspective to a fault, just like S,HWC is. It's obviously something I enjoy. In fact, when reading SiP, I often find myself going "yeah, yeah... crime stuff, plot... where's the next scene where the talk about that awkward kiss they shared?" Yeah, I may have a problem (I'll look into getting the help I need). SiP even ocassionally features pages and pages of lyrics, which is something a lot of us sim storytellers indulge ourselves in (it's super indulgent in the most teenagery kind of way - I know this, but still I just can't resist at times).

Anyway, I just wanted to share my musings. Feel free to add your own two cents or three.

(Is this what they call a meta? A baby meta, maybe?)




 

Comments

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree. I was thinking about that when I was writing up my notes- how some stories progress and watch the characters grow and become more than they originally were, while others tell a specific story and that's it. Your story is definitely one of those, we're content (well, I know I am) to just watch the characters live their lives, and watch them change and evolve.

I was going to say that my story does have a definite end (it's actually VERY short- it's looking at 6 chapters, with the epilogue) so it won't continue. As much as I love the characters I'm writing about, I couldn't do it for as long as you (and others) have.

That's all. I feel like I should say more (but as you know, I'm not an in depth commenter. It's all surface for me.)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I've been comparing sims stories to comics for a long time. Comics are one of the places where there has been consistent serialized storytelling, which is what most sims stories are.

I don't know that I agree with the description that a comic never gets anywhere. There are plenty like that, but there are also plenty that have set durations and end after they're done. It's all a matter of what the author/artist is looking to pull off.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what a meta is. :P I've heard the term several times but I've never been able to quite figure out the meaning.

I totally agree with you on the long-running comic = long-running sims story. Sometimes they have little sub plots, etc. but it keeps on keeping on... and as long as the author is still enjoying it I think that's wonderful! :D

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Good God, I love SiP.

Also, I agree with everything you said. The Sims itself is a game of the day-to-day with a large focus on relationships between characters so it's not surprising that the stories coming from the game are largely episodic and relationship-based.

I love character driven stories. I love getting emotionally invested in fictional people and their plights. On the other hand I myself am a huge plot driven writer. I love writing things with points and clear beginnings/endings. They can be huge, epic sorts of stories, but if I don't nail down all the details ASAP I go crazy.

I love the pace of your story though. It's slow, but it FITS. I want it to go slow! I want to just read billions of silly conversations between Ripp and Johnny and coo at all the romantic scenes between the characters. <33333

WARNING : rambly

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Shit, I thought the SAME THING when I read that article (love me some Bitch mag--shame I devour it so quickly).

And I'll add, I think the way you (in the collective sense of the word, meaning "sim story writers") come at a sim based story depends a LOT on your background. (forgive me if I oversimplify here) You (the personal you) come from a visual art background so you see your story more as a comic or movie, a very visual medium. I'll use myself as a comparission. I've never thought of my stories as comics even though I'm one of those "gotta have a good mix of pics to words". I've always thought of them more as lazy short stories (lazy meaning I let the pictures "speak a thousand words" so I don't have to type so much--or the pics spare me from having to describe a character's physical appearance). Since the pictures are more a bridge between the words, I don't labor to set up detailed sets (meaning half the time my houses don't even have damn curtains!) and such. And since I lack the compulsion to make really detailed pictures, I end up producing a more convoluted and "plotty" story (and do goofy shit like laboring over making titles that encompass both the A and B storyline in each update and fretting over making sure I have an A and B storyline AND having a good bridge should I have to break a title into multiple parts, etc).

Shit. . .I lost my own train of thought. Eh, must not have been that great then.

[muslemura.livejournal.com]

It's a very good comparison, I think :) The "crime stuff and plot" bits I enjoy the first time around but what makes me watch/read a book/episode/chapter again and again (and sometimes again) is always the characters and their relationship with each other. Getting to KNOW them, their faults and thoughts and feelings and to see them evolve and grow.

[simsnowcherry.livejournal.com]

Weird, just some days ago, me and my best friend talked about this exact same thing, and yesterday, I read Strangers in Paradise the first time of my life, and enjoyed it very much. (I became interested of it through the character profiles you posted here, so maybe I can thank you for introducing it to me :D) And I can totally relate to that "yeah, yeah... crime stuff, plot... where's the next scene where the talk about that awkward kiss they shared?" - thing. I'm exactly the same. :D

[simsinthecity.livejournal.com]

My personal preference is to follow a few characters and develop them, while also featuring others who affect the main group. Which is what I see you doing in S,HWC.

I'm not sure where I stand on plot vs. relationships. I guess I'm inbetween?