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

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess I should be clear that I'm talking about ongoing serial stories, but so many sim stories fall into this category, I didn't bother to be specific. It seems to me that sim stories either go on and on, or are dropped without being finished. A short series or one-off seems pretty rare in these parts, though they're out there, for sure.

I'm thinking it's the way the game is set up that plays a role in this. It's a game about playing the day to day lives of simulated people, with no specific purpose or ending. It only makes sense that many stories would follow that trend too, right?

It's nice to have a clear layout when writing a story, like you are. It feels good to know you'll finish something too. With my story, though, I'm pretty happy with the aimlessness. One day I'll just call it off, and that'll be that (hopefully at some point that gives some small amount of closure, at least).

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Legacies MIGHT fall into that category, since they're so rarely featured, but I personally don't put them there. The ones that are stories seem to go somewhere, so they don't count.

That's an EXCELLENT point about the game though, it's SO TRUE. People are just... more "biased", I guess, to like those sort of stories, because we're all Sim players-- we're used to seeing them in the everyday grind?

Yeah. I have a definite ending in mind, so I don't worry too much about it.

NO DON'T EVER DO THAT. :( :( :(

(I'd be happy with closure. That was me being dramatic.)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, legacies are much the same, really. Commentary legacies are a lot like comic strips in their focus on humour and the regular format and sequential episodes. It could work. And story legacies are very much serial stories.

The game is about domestic life, so maybe that does appeal to many sim storytellers. It's also a shell for customization, so this obviously doesn't apply to everyone. Some people use it as a tool to create very different things.

I can and will end the story at any given moment. ;) Haven't you heard the sage advice to "leave a party while you're still having fun?"