Telling a story through games (part 1/3)

Games can easily be considered as a conglomeration of various art forms. In the case of video games, art, music, and creative writing are all involved in the final product. Table top role-playing games (RPG) are similar--though usually without music--but the main focus of these games is the story telling. Whether it's the GM running the game or the players acting out their characters, the experience of an RPG is very story-driven. Game groups differ, of course, and some are more interested in combat than others, but the RPG genre at its core revolves around experiencing a story. This is why the RPG genre provides me with endless excitement and creative fuel. I've played RPG's most of my life, ever since I was first gifted the basic set for Dungeons and Dragons back in 1980. Most of the video games I own and have played the most are RPG's: I snatch then up almost as fast as they are released, usually resulting in disappointment when there's an RPG sale later and I realize I already own just about everything offered on discount. When I started Solar Echoes, much of the drive behind it for me was that I love writing stories, and the sci-fi RPG was the perfect platform for it. All of the setting and character info aside (though writing all that was extremely fun) the actual missions are where I feel I can really start to tell a story. I see the Solar Echoes universe as a framework upon which to hang stories that are often related to events in our own reality.