Stories are essential nourishment for our heart and mind, as water is for our body. To share a story is to share something of yourself, no matter how small or trivial it may seem. As a storyteller, I want to share feelings, lessons, and memories with my audience. As a reader, I believe it is vital to celebrate the stories of others.
I have been crafting worlds and stories for as young as I can remember. I would often sit in a hammock and let the breeze wash over me as I gazed into the sky and dreamt of other lands. As I grew older, I found it a requirement to share these visions with anyone who would listen. I latched on to the feeling of shared moments, being able to tell a story alongside friends and family. I soon found myself enamored with the wide world of games, physical and digital. Games made it clear that interacting with a narrative was not only a common want but a near-limitless medium of variety.
I choose to tell stories with interactive fiction - like video games - for two reasons. I want my audience to share in the emotions and lessons that I have to offer, either from experience or creation. Every story has a purpose, and that purpose doesn't need to be profound, but it should be present. If you're telling a story for fun, have fun with it. If you want to elicit an emotion from your reader, strike that point proudly. I enjoy using my writing to share subtle lessons, subvert stereotypes, and ideally break molds. In my oral story - Troubled Visions - I share a moment from one of my tabletop games where a character is taught a harsh lesson and forced to make a difficult decision. Allowing that player to come to their conclusions and make their own choices during the sequence made the experience elevated for both of us. When a reader can have control over the story, there is an unfounded level of immersion and connection with the material. That tether is what I believe creates truly strong memories, emotions, and lessons.
Interactive media also shares in the beauty of getting to break away from traditional storytelling. Many will bring you to believe that the best stories come from narrative-driven games and media, but I want to challenge that notion. While these styles of games can spin beautiful tales, they alone can't claim the title. Story is prevalent in every piece of the medium, we must choose to see it. I was lucky enough to be the lead designer for a student project - Grimbane: Eldritch Requiem. While our game can be viewed as a speechless action adventure, there are traces of a world and its story all around. The tone of the environment, the design of the enemies, and the violent nature in which you interact all paint a picture of this game's story without the need for a single word. Environmental storytelling is a powerful tool to frame narratives, and pioneers the expression "show don't tell." I strive to include elements of this style in each of my works. It brings forth better writing and congratulates the audience on revealing more depth to the overall picture.
Overall, I wish for my work to be appreciated for what it is. Strange, fascinating, whimsical, and often unorthodox. I want readers to step back at the end and relish in the wonder I was able to create for them. I don't necessarily want my work to be some profound statement of storytelling, but to be enjoyed, and hopefully, its purpose understood.