Hi Matt, i hosted my first DnD as GM 3 weeks ago. All after your videos motivated me to try it with close to zero DnD expirience. After the session with lasted until deep into the night, a friend of mine said to me:"dude this was so awesome we could make a movie about it..." and that was the best compliment i could ever recieve. Thank you in the name of my group and myself that you helped me so much and motivated me.
@Laia Owens i hosted my friends for the 5th time and they did all kind of things. They cut off a Giant Goblin chieftains balls... for ex. but why did your party didnt like your dm style not so much?
Im so happy for you... Its such a rewarding thing to DM. You will have bad games for you, or players, but don't give up!! Even one person with a headache can make a game sour, but your players will never remember that if its surrounded by amazing memories.
I was going to say "How many video games have you played and LOVED and at the end, if someone asked you to explain the plot...your answer would have been an incomprehensible mess? If you're like me...MOST OF THEM! Lots of games with great characters and dialog and moments...have incomprehensible plots and no one cares.
99% of RPGs I've played are like that, and it's part of the fun really. That thing I can't explain but thought was really fun to go through, is what I'll try to give a few general ideas of to a friend to get them just interested enough to get it and go through it themselves.
Matt, I saw this in Wikiquote and immediately thought of you: "Even though I have not met you face to face, most learned sir, nevertheless I love you very dearly on account of the excellent qualities of your mind. " - Tycho Brahe, in a letter to Johannes Kepler (1599)
"I'm sure there are way to open with a very explainy opening that would be dramatic and exciting" Lord of the Rings. The movie literally starts with Galadriel explaining what's going on
which is only exciting because of the amount of visuals accompanied with it. I dont remember if that exact explanation is in the books but I doubt it is anywhere near as engaging when its basically a history textbook. It's a method that works surely, doesn't mean its dramatic or exciting, its just necessary.
@@CerebrumMortum The books are arguably worse in that regard. The chapter "Shadow of the past" is I think the second chapter, and it's ALL Gandalf monologuing about the rings and Sauron and the hunt for gollum.
@@Alresu I mean, in the films "Concerning Hobbits" immediately follows Galadriel's explanation of the history of the ring. It does however, also feature as an introduction to Bilbo as a character, so it's a great scene to have.
You've been at this for months now and even though your videos often have useful ideas, never before have you expressed a problem a DM might have and I recognize it immediately as something I do. You got me. I explain myself too much because I love the feeling of how genius I think my stories are and I want the others to appreciate it, too. But that's hurtful to the game. I'm front-loading all the explanation, or I'm stopping the story at the end of a session to explain why everyone acted the way they did. I have to learn to stop chasing the kudos and let my players think for themselves. Thank you, Matt.
I think it's a common pitfall for DMs. I used to do it until one of my players pointed it out to me, which was a little embarrassing. It's natural though, you are proud of what you've made. Top tip I've found for scratching that itch, talk to another DM about it. That way you can share ideas too.
Something I've found helps is to write things up - that way I can email them out to my players and pretend they've read them, and they can ignore them and pretend they cared, and if anyone is actually interested, they can delve into this rich background without holding things up for other people. The other thing that can help is encouraging players to ask questions - rather than telling them everything they never wanted to know about the plot and were afraid you'd tell them, give them access to an in-game library or sages or whatever, and tell them what their characters remember or find out - or roleplay the research interaction. If you're really on top of things, you can also encourage the players to write up lore for you - and, where possible, fit it into the world, even if it doesn't impinge on the plot. Maybe when they enter the tavern, there's a storyteller telling the Tale of Lord Braun and the Beardless Dwarf that one of the players wrote... Also, if you encourage your players to figure out the plot, you can be sat there taking notes for when they come up with that obvious thing you overlooked...
I personally have found that letting the players put the dots together often creates more respect for you as the DM than just telling them. If you tell them how genius you are they will dismiss it as bragging. But if you let them piece it together - granted, it happens less often - then they ask in awe: "Did you plan for this to happen? That is so cool!"
As someone who has personally experienced counterexamples of DMs with coughminor superiority complexes, I cannot agree more. I don't need to know how great of a writer you are for coming up with the king's beard color as a metaphor for his abusive childhood relationship with his mother and how that carries over into his shortsighted decrees today, with all relevant psychological and genetic theories that are related offhandedly mentioned as if they are obvious. (It was ginger.)
Your comments about "throwing the player right into the middle of things" and about how it's okay for the character to be an expert and know more than the player, is the first thing I noticed and really appreciated about the first Mass Effect. Other characters would address Shepard using terms like "Turian," "Spectre," and "Alliance" -- and Shepard would answer right back, at my prompting, even when these terms were new and unknown to the me. I felt like my intelligence and imagination were being respected and engaged, and as a result the game's universe became more rich and enticing.
Unfortunately the same people enable the existence of Star Wars VII, Transformers, Jurassic World, or Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Cristal Skull. Sure some art is produced, but that is not their goal.
Holy crap...this is SO helpful. I've been trying to write now for several years and I always get hung up on this exact issue, over explaining in an effort not to leave my reader with questions. Over detail and never just get on with it. I can't help but feel that if I leave out this one teensy little detail my reader will be lost and eventually I get pages and pages describing people and places and histories but nothing ever happens. I think...I think I get it.
you find this issue in most translated light novels. The Author is explaining every bit of the context over and over again. And not just one time.... over and over again. That's a little hurtful for the story, part of the fun in reading is the "missing" part, it leaves options for interpretations.
You should call these videos "Matthew Colville's Master Class"! They are super useful and interesting! I'm a new DM and this has helped me so much already! Dankeschön!
This is why I love Priest and Thief. The characters just start talking and doing stuff and Matt allows us to fill in the blanks and find stuff out as we go. I don't have to do hella research before I start reading.
I'm watching this for the first time 6 years later and im only commenting to say: Mercenaries 2 is one of my all time favorite games. I think you should be proud of it. I can't even tell you how many hours my friend and I played it.
You know the first two episodes of the remake of Battlestar Galactica? The first one sets up the world and ends with a terrorist attack, and the second episode shows all of the power structures collapsing as the world responds to the terrorist attack. I accidentally watched those two episodes backwards when I first watched the show. And it made a huge difference I feel like for how the show hooked me.
You can be a regular guy playing a super competent character (as Matt is indicating), or you can be a super competent player playing a dunce character. The second one is what happens when during character creation you accept many drawbacks in order to gain more attribute or skill points. For players who like to roleplay, it could be a lot of fun doing something stupid "because that is what my character would do". Its the opposite of what min-max players do to constantly win. You might intentionally lose in order to see how it plays out. There have been movies that take this path, and video games are similar in that the player has so many lives or save points, that allow the player to "lose" temporarily but to get the chance to try again.
I've actually met one of those uber-rare people who genuinely can't follow a story if it doesn't explain every single thing, and even then it's touch and go. Watching Doctor Who's 'A Christmas Carol' was nothing short of farcical.
I currently have 2 out of 3 players that can't keep up with story no matter how much I engage or explain. It's down right disheartening to have to go aver what the player should know over and over again.
Once I've switched the hook and explanation episodes by accident during cinema screening. Created a playlist for one lesser known anime, it started with epic battle followed by detailed 3 episodes long "backstory" leading to this battle and it was just perfect. I loved it, people in the theatre loved it... Yeah. Of course it was episode 4 followed by 1-3... It was actually pretty boring when watched in original order 😅
My favorite way to start a campaign: in media res. (also, the phrase "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is referring to catfish, not house cats)
That is exactly one of the points Brandon Sanderson does about hooking and explaining. He actually goes one step further and says it generally is boring.
I cannot thank you enough for these videos, Matt. The things I learn here are priceless, and would take me countless hours to find out on my own. "It is not your job to explain things to the characters, but it is their opportunity to figure it out." Absolutely love it.
The writer Gene Wolfe is great with this. He throws names of animals at you with no description of what the animal is and he makes up great words that feel really nice. Also thanks for getting me into DnD matt! I have never played but I just started Dm'ing.
In my world I leave a lot unexplained for this very reason. It makes me so happy when my players get in a conversation/debate over what they think is going on in my world as though it were a real place.
a year late, but when I was studying theater and acting I had an instructor repeatedly drill into me "Do not beat your audience over the head with the point you are making. People enjoy discovering things. They do not like being patronized"
Real comment, I completely agree with you from both sides of the screen. As a player I love the feeling of decoding the messages given to me by a GM and discovering whether or not I was on the right track or took it to the wrong place. As a GM I love seeing my group work out the hints I drop and figuring out why I'm using the words I am, whether or not they get the answer correct is irrelevant at that point. I can see that they are having fun debating why I used a particular word when describing the goblins armor and then the realization of 2 things. 1) they spent about 2-3 minutes debating over a smudge on the goblins armor and 2) I was just trying to convey the deplorable state of their armor.
G'day Matthew. What first got me into DnD was Critical Role but what got me into DMing my own campaign was you and your channel. I just want to express my thanks. your channel is direct, informative and fun. Listening to you is engaging and allows me to become better on how i conduct my own games. So thank you and the effort you put in. If you are ever looking at running a one shot game and looking for international players, please feel free to hit me up. thanks again.
YOUR HAIR! YOUR HAIR! What happened to that glorious wave that rose in our faces like the mighty Cliffs of Dover? Drop the "Mercer Merkin", bring back the "Colville Cliff". Oh, and just to stay on topic - great video as usual.
"It's not your job to explain things to the player, it's the player's opportunity to figure things out." Knowing this will help me be better! I love your perspective.
I feel that you're completely right on this. I have players in a town concerned if they should even sleep or stay in the town due to story related tattoos. Now the people that hold this mark to not pose any form of a threat. I could have someone explain that fact directly, however that would take the story away from them. Now they are asking around and learning more about and figuring out the context in this town. Also keep the videos coming and rocking.
DUDE! Thanks for saying this out loud!! That's EXACTLY what I want from a good movie, book, game, D&D session etc. A reason why most modern movies and games suck -imho- is exactly the spoon feeding!! God, I love your for saying this!! Hugs 'n' kisses from Greece!
I'm watching this for the first time in 2019, and I have to tell you, my brother LOVES Mercenaries. Both, 2 a little bit more simply because it is a bit more new/updated/bigger. He will still randomly say "I really wish they'd make a third mercenaries."
"Hook first, explain second." Love it. I honestly don't plan on explaining anything in depth about my world until at least the third or fourth session. All they will get to know before the adventure begins is: "This is the map of the landmass (ignore that it says 'Harn' on the side), you're here in Rethem, having traveled from Tharda, and this kingdom is a wreck with no clear rulership after the sudden death of it's king three months ago... and as you round a bend in the road, a cloaked and hooded figure on horseback hails you."
No worries about the interlude; you've still been putting out amazing content! This video in particular is a really big lesson for me as a DM and a writer, and I'll do my best to take it to heart. I am always afraid of confusion, but what you've said makes me really want to try leaving more of this creative space for my players and for readers. Thanks, Matt Colville!
This reminds me why I love Robin McKinley's books so much. She doesn't explain things to death, leaves a lot of wiggle room between the lines. I reread her books often, and every time, I come away with something I hadn't realized before.
"Hook readers first and then, later, explain" - great advice, thank you! I just start something and struggle with boring start (because of ton of exposition)
My experience: The movies I talked about most with my friends were movies that created mysteries you had to find an explanation for yourself. Then we debated and argued and it was fun. Especially when we realized and said, look what that movie did to us, look how it got us thinking. My opinion: I think people love mysteries. You said it in one of your other videos, people love feeling smart. And that's what mysteries give to us. The challenge to feel smart. Give us an unfamiliar circumstance or reaction and we immediately be like, "Eh, that was odd. What is going on?" And from that moment onward our brain demands to understand. Why did this weird thing happen. At this point i think there are (for the sake of your point in the video) 2 scenarios which are likely to follow: 1) Getting the explanation: We are like "ah, now i understand." 2) Getting clues: We are like "dude, what if this relates to this odd scene from earlier" Which eventually leads to the confirmation and we are like "see, we were right the whole time." That is what makes us feel great and smart. So in terms of GMing i think, gaps of knowledge are a good thing, if you provide clues every now and then that get your players closer to an explanation. That probably gives them the mindset that whenever something confusing shows up, they have the means to learn all the answers by interacting with your world. And damn do they feels smart about it.
Memento. A movie which I was the entire time confused, and yet I loved it. You were left in the dark expanses of migranal confuzio, until the last scenes where everything clicks nicely into place.
Love, opposite of fear - the wise appreciation of risk married to confidence of reward. That's why I love this game even though I am struggling to find others to play it with. The risk (uncertainty) can exceed the potential for "material" reward (gold, titles, etc...), but unlike real life, possible consequences cannot exceed the excitement of increasing self-confidence. D&D is the quintessential representation of the "win-win" scenario. Thank you for so eloquently defending that unsung song of the human condition. We obviously want uncertainty/risk/mystery/unfamiliarity maybe more than anything else (which is why new relationships usually feel so much more exciting than the lasting ones). But the money men make the consequences for exploring our love insurmountable and leave no room in the world to back up and punt.
As a filmmaker I find that this information is entirely true and needs to be followed. I think focusing on hooking the audience is much more important than explaining to the audience, like you said.
Admittedly I'm late to this party, but I'm reminded of Star Wars episode IV: A New Hope. When I first saw it, I didn't know what the Kessel Run was, I didn't know what a Parsec was.... But seeing that movie, I knew doing the Kessel Run in under 12 Parsecs was fast and he was a helluva pilot! I'll connect the dots if you give me the appropriate context and tone in which to interpret them. If that scene had been over explained in a lore dump or some other method the dialogue and thus the CHARACTER would have been diluted.... and negatively impacted the story being conveyed.
Very excellent points. I have always tried to put a finger on why some movies or stories feel they don't give the reader or viewer credit and now I totally understand. There are certainly people who want to be spoon fed and that's fine, it's just not what I prefer.
Matt, I am so glad that I found your channel. Because it has help me, as a fledgling DM, better understand the process of running a game. Also because it introduced me to you books, which were both entertaining and thought provoking.
One of the first times I DM'd the players got to the end and kinda knew what was going on but weren't all there and seemed to like the fact that they were somewhat clueless which kind of amazed me at first but this video really helped put it in perspective.
One of the things that completely broke the wheel of time series was that by book 9 of these 600 to 1000 page volumes, they are *still* engaging in expositional asides about the world's magical system.
Thank you so much! I was a little nervous about throwing something in front of the players that was going to go unexplained for a little while and let them figure things out, but this helped quite a bit! You've always got a video to help with whatever challenge I'm working on as a DM.
When you mentioned the idea of experts being potentially interesting, I was immediately reminded of your books, Priest and Thief. Almost every character in that book (with 1 notable mostly-exception, the young trull) has been around the block a hell of a lot, and they were that much more interesting for it! They already have like, 5 or 6 legendary swords and had completed their epic quest, but the world still turned and there were still cool stories to be told.
Great video on creativity, Matt. This is what many juniors never even heard about (cause there's no smartphone app explaining it) and something many seniors forgot along their Way of Fear. Thanks
I am dming for the first time and you have been the main source of inspiration for my style of play, we are about four weeks into our game and so far everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, I have some interesting characters in the bunch, I just wanted to extend my thanks as I would of engaged my PC's so if it were not for your advice, I think you are definitely moving to inspire a new generation of GM's.
FWIW, Matt, Mercs 2 remains one of my favorite games almost 15 years after first playing it. Might be a throwback to my teens, but, I dunno, thank you for bringing it to us, amongst everything else you do!
Hey Matthew, just wanted to say thanks for your videos. I have very much enjoyed watching them all. It's refreshing to see someone who is so passionate about not just a game but story telling in general. Thanks again.
I've talked about this sort of thing with my folks a lot. One of the big changes in consumption of media as we grow older is the move from having to pick it up on the fly (as in catching a rerun of a cartoon as a kid), to being able to pick up a series right from the start (most common way to start watching things as an adult). We lose our experience in coping with piecing together a setting without having it explicitly defined
Starting something new, be it a TV show or a new skill, is scary and many people just stop doing it entirely. We find restricting ourselves to something we already know comforting
This is fantastic advise! I also enjoy pulling in my players by throwing them into the mix of a great event and as they unravel the story, as a DM you can give them small plot points explaining what is happening and why. That way, it gives your players a sense of mystery as well as accomplishment. They all seem to enjoy when they discover the backstory of the BBEG instead of just having a beginning dialog explaining; This is the world, this is what is happening, this is why, and your role in the story. That works but that works better for a short one-shot campaign. If you are creating a world not everything needs to be written. Just the main critical issue and the let them travel and discover how to prevent the world from destruction or falling into the hands of the BBEG.
Hey Matt, Great video. I love to hear you talk about your creative process and your take on how to craft a story, so I really enjoyed this video. My copy of Priest got delivered today and I can't wait to crack it open and jump into the world you've made. I also got with it my 3 D&D books (Monster Manual, etc) as you've inspired me to not only be a better player, but also to start DMing. I'm a creative writing student, and plan to show my teacher and class this video, as I have done in the past, as it is very useful to have the opinons of different writers available to us. Hope to see more videos as soon as you are able, AJ
Matthew, your're a great person. I knew your channel some days ago, and literally I started rushing through all the videos, there is a lot of content, depth content. I found your channel when I was looking for comparisons of D&D edition, I already miss that series. Now you are giving an excellent advice on writing, all I needed to continue my book, which was stuck after the first two pages where I explained a lot of things that were going on in the world. I cannot thank you enough for helping me, and many other people, at being better GMs, writer, players and etc. Keep the great work.
Less Pointless Exposition = More Enjoyment (and everything else) Engage the players/readers/viewers and things will work out. That is great advice, and for situations where a bit of explaining is necessary, wait until you actually have the audience's attention.
I just started a new campaign this month in a homebrew setting that my players and I have been anticipating for a LONG time. I've been tinkering with the setting for years, so there's a great deal of world lore that they may or may not ever learn. Parceling it out in manageable chunks as they need to know it will be one of my biggest challenges as GM, so your advice about engaging the players is very timely! I seem to be doing OK so far, based on how much they're enjoying roleplaying getting to know each other's characters and talking over the scraps of plot and lore I've tossed their way. One of my favorite examples of a story where the author immerses the reader in the world without explaining its idiosyncrasies is Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass." The reader has to figure out how daemons work solely from context, because the characters in his world have always had them, so never have any reason to explain them to each other. It's only when certain taboos regarding daemons are transgressed, or when characters lacking them (the intelligent bears, or in the sequels, humans from other worlds) are introduced, that anyone tries to explain anything about them--and even then, it's never remotely comprehensive. OTOH, the setting would be a royal pain to adapt to a RPG, because you'd have to explain so much more right up front just to make it playable.
The example of this idea that always stuck with me was reading stuff from Gene Wolfe. He uses terms with no explanation, but from the context, you're able to get the idea, and it feels like a glimpse into a larger world that what is on the page.
Thanks, for the video Matt. As always, your sagely advice is appreciated. Also know that when we get impatient (for most of us) it comes from a place of love. We miss you man. Looking forward to the next one... and those stronghold rules.
Matt I enjoyed the video and is a good lesson even outside of writing a story. I had just turned in a Satire essay and I now see the entire first page as useless explanation and dulled down the humor. I also have just finished reading your first book and I enjoyed every part of it and can't wait to start reading the second. ~Thank you.
07:57 totally agree with that, I remember when I first played Mass Effect, that moment where you give your first grand speech to your group as you are about to go in space for the first time, it's so early in the game and you barely played yet Shepard sounds so confident and you get to choose what he says, I remember how fast my heart was pounding and the emotions that I felt from just the idea of being this really cool character
This whole thing about explaining vs engaging really makes me think of Boba Fett. He said very little in The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, but a lot of people loved the character because he was cool, competent and looked like an absolute badass, despite knowing very little about him. So, through the imaginations of fans and writers, Boba Fett has been built up to be one of the more interesting Star Wars characters to date, with his story constantly being added to as opposed to having it been given to us up front from the start. Through these stories, readers can make connections between the events of Fett's life and make them feel smart, which was one of Matt's big points in this video. As a DM and just someone who enjoys a good story, I completely agree with Matt's words on explaining vs engaging your audience.
I can see the influence of this in your books so strongly, and my only frustration with it is I'm so strongly hooked and have already finished the two books and now have to wait for Fighter. Love your videos, love your books, thank for all you do and can't wait to see more.
Hey! Another great video as always. Definitely going to add this perspective to my toolbelt going forward. I think a good example of a explanation heavy moment having drama is the opening of Army of Two. Objectively, within the first few minutes the player is given an explanation of a game mechanic in preparation for a tutorial. However, it's delivered in character with a tone of voice and attitude of a gruff military man. His narration is coupled with a tactical map and moving symbols. While technically it is a tutorial serving to explain a primary game mechanic, it FEELS more like the player is in a mission briefing ready to get down to business.
Watching these over and over trying to let enough sink in, Wish i could run a game like yours, Mostly i feel like i cannot unite my players to want things, Lets do this lets do that. They sit and wait for me to tell them things... I find this so hard to read them a story and take away choices... I feel like i am explaining things rather than engaging So again i watch and try to understand and find a way to inspire my players.
I think you hit a very important point with this video. I hate it when a game explains things needlessly. It destroys all immersion for me. I go in with knowledge that this is unfamiliar territory. I want to learn through experience and exploration, not explanation. In the world of video games I go by a mantra I read a while back: Don't write it if you can say it Don't say it if you can show it Don't show it if you can play it
Hey Matt, thanks for this kind of video, I really appreciate it. I'm a sophomore studying to be a Creative Writing Major and things like this really help, especially from someone experienced in the field. Please do more in the future.
I know it's a 5 year old video and you don't want to talk about Mercenaries 2 but I have fond memories of both Mercs 1 and 2 from middle and high school. The mercenaries 2 'Oh no you didn't' trailer will always be one of my faves. Edit: thank you for all the insight and anecdotes you share, whenever I find myself experiencing a writers block as a DM, I always find myself in your playlists.
The setting and the characters were the best things to come out of Evolve. Before they reworked the game and made it much better to play I still stuck with it for quite because of the things that you likely created. Well done. Now I need to go buy your books.
I just want to say thank you for this. It helped me in my writing, I realized immediately that I get bogged down at points because I want to move the story along but I'm unsure how much I should explain. But it makes sense that the character only knows whats happening to them and not how the world around them works.
Something I've found that works well for me is to write something about the world or adventure, just like stream of consciousness it doesn't have to be good but get all of the ideas down in a way that makes some sense. Read it once it twice, make some changes so it's more cohesive and feels real. Now delete it. Throw away the paper, control + A, delete. Now you have an idealised version of whatever you wrote in your head, and you don't have a script to read from just all the ideas that when they come up you know the answer and it feels organic.
I was just thinking about this very topic. I recently rewatched the excellent Robert Redford movie, "An Unfinished Life". This is a movie that unfolds slowly and never spoonfeeds anything. We start the movie knowing nothing about the characters or their relationships, and it barely gives expositions. Instead, we watch the interactions and slowly discover why Einar is so mad at Jean, and why she, in turn, is closed off from him. Expositions are rarely natural and I find stories that move at the natural pace of life are far more rewarding.
your comments on players coming to the right conclusion reminded me of when I read Anthony Burgess's excellent book, "A Clockwork Orange", in which the author exposes the reader to a new language composed mainly of Russian and Polish Slang mixed with altered words. It does not really explain much, but I found I was understanding the language before half the book was finished. readers and players will learn, and appreciate the work more for what they had to put into it or to own it.
I had no idea that you were the lead writer on one of my favorite games of all time! The final mission to defeat the ace of spades General Song is the most memorable video gaming moment of my entire childhood! Right left right right left right left left Right down left up up left down right! I still remember the PDA cheats! Achievement unlocked: Ultimate Badass awarded!
You nailed it right on the head. If a book or game overexplains something in the beginning, it's boring and I put it down... never to be picked up again. What's unsaid in a book or game makes me want to find out what is going on and keeps me coming back. For example, Heden's backstory we know so little about. We get little snippets here and there to build the curiosity. The Wheel of Time did this a lot and it's one of my favorite book series. Ask any WoT reader... who killed Asmodean? LOL
“You don’t have to explain the Kessel run, you get it when Han Solo says “fast ship”” - A God in my eyes
I get the feeling this video was recorded immediately after a bad board meeting.
Hi Matt, i hosted my first DnD as GM 3 weeks ago. All after your videos motivated me to try it with close to zero DnD expirience. After the session with lasted until deep into the night, a friend of mine said to me:"dude this was so awesome we could make a movie about it..." and that was the best compliment i could ever recieve. Thank you in the name of my group and myself that you helped me so much and motivated me.
JamesraionAS way to go!
JamesraionAS I'm glad you had fun! Mine was met with slightly less success....but was still fun.
@Laia Owens i hosted my friends for the 5th time and they did all kind of things. They cut off a Giant Goblin chieftains balls... for ex. but why did your party didnt like your dm style not so much?
@@pka4lif Keep trying...it will be worth it!
Im so happy for you... Its such a rewarding thing to DM. You will have bad games for you, or players, but don't give up!! Even one person with a headache can make a game sour, but your players will never remember that if its surrounded by amazing memories.
I was going to say "How many video games have you played and LOVED and at the end, if someone asked you to explain the plot...your answer would have been an incomprehensible mess? If you're like me...MOST OF THEM! Lots of games with great characters and dialog and moments...have incomprehensible plots and no one cares.
That would be most of the Final fantasy series, particularly 6-10
99% of RPGs I've played are like that, and it's part of the fun really. That thing I can't explain but thought was really fun to go through, is what I'll try to give a few general ideas of to a friend to get them just interested enough to get it and go through it themselves.
Matthew Colville I tried to explain Saints Row 4 to a friend, and that plot is absolutely mad, but I loved it. It's excellent.
'The Talos Principle' is a great example.
XIII, XIII-2, and Lightning Returns would like to remind you just how ridiculous their plot is.
Matt, I saw this in Wikiquote and immediately thought of you:
"Even though I have not met you face to face, most learned sir, nevertheless I love you very dearly on account of the excellent qualities of your mind. "
- Tycho Brahe, in a letter to Johannes Kepler (1599)
Odothuigon +
Parasocial Relationships are a real drug
Tycho Brahe, who had a wax nose!
"I'm sure there are way to open with a very explainy opening that would be dramatic and exciting"
Lord of the Rings. The movie literally starts with Galadriel explaining what's going on
which is only exciting because of the amount of visuals accompanied with it. I dont remember if that exact explanation is in the books but I doubt it is anywhere near as engaging when its basically a history textbook. It's a method that works surely, doesn't mean its dramatic or exciting, its just necessary.
@@MrJayberry176
It isn't in the books
@@CerebrumMortum On the other hand the book starts with "Concerning Hobbits", which is also sort of an explainy opening.
@@CerebrumMortum The books are arguably worse in that regard. The chapter "Shadow of the past" is I think the second chapter, and it's ALL Gandalf monologuing about the rings and Sauron and the hunt for gollum.
@@Alresu I mean, in the films "Concerning Hobbits" immediately follows Galadriel's explanation of the history of the ring. It does however, also feature as an introduction to Bilbo as a character, so it's a great scene to have.
"Do not stop writing, do not stop creating, do not stop making art, do not ask for permission."
You've been at this for months now and even though your videos often have useful ideas, never before have you expressed a problem a DM might have and I recognize it immediately as something I do. You got me. I explain myself too much because I love the feeling of how genius I think my stories are and I want the others to appreciate it, too. But that's hurtful to the game. I'm front-loading all the explanation, or I'm stopping the story at the end of a session to explain why everyone acted the way they did. I have to learn to stop chasing the kudos and let my players think for themselves. Thank you, Matt.
I think it's a common pitfall for DMs. I used to do it until one of my players pointed it out to me, which was a little embarrassing. It's natural though, you are proud of what you've made.
Top tip I've found for scratching that itch, talk to another DM about it. That way you can share ideas too.
Reverend .Rover That's a good idea. Thank you.
Something I've found helps is to write things up - that way I can email them out to my players and pretend they've read them, and they can ignore them and pretend they cared, and if anyone is actually interested, they can delve into this rich background without holding things up for other people.
The other thing that can help is encouraging players to ask questions - rather than telling them everything they never wanted to know about the plot and were afraid you'd tell them, give them access to an in-game library or sages or whatever, and tell them what their characters remember or find out - or roleplay the research interaction.
If you're really on top of things, you can also encourage the players to write up lore for you - and, where possible, fit it into the world, even if it doesn't impinge on the plot. Maybe when they enter the tavern, there's a storyteller telling the Tale of Lord Braun and the Beardless Dwarf that one of the players wrote...
Also, if you encourage your players to figure out the plot, you can be sat there taking notes for when they come up with that obvious thing you overlooked...
I personally have found that letting the players put the dots together often creates more respect for you as the DM than just telling them. If you tell them how genius you are they will dismiss it as bragging. But if you let them piece it together - granted, it happens less often - then they ask in awe: "Did you plan for this to happen? That is so cool!"
As someone who has personally experienced counterexamples of DMs with coughminor superiority complexes, I cannot agree more.
I don't need to know how great of a writer you are for coming up with the king's beard color as a metaphor for his abusive childhood relationship with his mother and how that carries over into his shortsighted decrees today, with all relevant psychological and genetic theories that are related offhandedly mentioned as if they are obvious. (It was ginger.)
Your comments about "throwing the player right into the middle of things" and about how it's okay for the character to be an expert and know more than the player, is the first thing I noticed and really appreciated about the first Mass Effect. Other characters would address Shepard using terms like "Turian," "Spectre," and "Alliance" -- and Shepard would answer right back, at my prompting, even when these terms were new and unknown to the me. I felt like my intelligence and imagination were being respected and engaged, and as a result the game's universe became more rich and enticing.
I love the seething disdain with which the word 'money people' escapes your lips.
B.K. Laughton Fuck people who enable the existence of a shitload of art, right?
Unfortunately the same people enable the existence of Star Wars VII, Transformers, Jurassic World, or Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Cristal Skull. Sure some art is produced, but that is not their goal.
Is their goal to produce entertainment? I'd argue that's what those all are. Not everything needs to be art.
@@VineFynn MOoooooneeeyyyyy lots of monneeyyyyy to much moneeyyyy
@@tessaseraphi No, their goal is to make a profit. That's the major reason mainstream cinema is almost entirely lacking creativity.
Holy crap...this is SO helpful. I've been trying to write now for several years and I always get hung up on this exact issue, over explaining in an effort not to leave my reader with questions. Over detail and never just get on with it. I can't help but feel that if I leave out this one teensy little detail my reader will be lost and eventually I get pages and pages describing people and places and histories but nothing ever happens. I think...I think I get it.
+ColdSiris The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.
ColdSiris this sounds like every Robert Jordan book!
you find this issue in most translated light novels. The Author is explaining every bit of the context over and over again. And not just one time.... over and over again. That's a little hurtful for the story, part of the fun in reading is the "missing" part, it leaves options for interpretations.
You should call these videos "Matthew Colville's Master Class"! They are super useful and interesting! I'm a new DM and this has helped me so much already! Dankeschön!
This is why I love Priest and Thief. The characters just start talking and doing stuff and Matt allows us to fill in the blanks and find stuff out as we go. I don't have to do hella research before I start reading.
In education we call it spoon-feeding vs giving children ownership of their learning. It's a difficult balance.
I'm watching this for the first time 6 years later and im only commenting to say: Mercenaries 2 is one of my all time favorite games. I think you should be proud of it. I can't even tell you how many hours my friend and I played it.
You know the first two episodes of the remake of Battlestar Galactica? The first one sets up the world and ends with a terrorist attack, and the second episode shows all of the power structures collapsing as the world responds to the terrorist attack. I accidentally watched those two episodes backwards when I first watched the show. And it made a huge difference I feel like for how the show hooked me.
Every time I listen to one of these, I realize I'm a terrible writer and DM. Which is awesome, because that means I can improve a lot.
You can be a regular guy playing a super competent character (as Matt is indicating), or you can be a super competent player playing a dunce character. The second one is what happens when during character creation you accept many drawbacks in order to gain more attribute or skill points. For players who like to roleplay, it could be a lot of fun doing something stupid "because that is what my character would do". Its the opposite of what min-max players do to constantly win. You might intentionally lose in order to see how it plays out. There have been movies that take this path, and video games are similar in that the player has so many lives or save points, that allow the player to "lose" temporarily but to get the chance to try again.
I've actually met one of those uber-rare people who genuinely can't follow a story if it doesn't explain every single thing, and even then it's touch and go. Watching Doctor Who's 'A Christmas Carol' was nothing short of farcical.
Woah woah it's Dael! Love your videos!
Haha, hello! Thanks so much! :)
We've all met people who are on the Autistic Spectrum.
I currently have 2 out of 3 players that can't keep up with story no matter how much I engage or explain. It's down right disheartening to have to go aver what the player should know over and over again.
@@LockSteady Are you trying to make the point that autistic people can't follow subtext in fiction?
Once I've switched the hook and explanation episodes by accident during cinema screening. Created a playlist for one lesser known anime, it started with epic battle followed by detailed 3 episodes long "backstory" leading to this battle and it was just perfect. I loved it, people in the theatre loved it... Yeah. Of course it was episode 4 followed by 1-3...
It was actually pretty boring when watched in original order 😅
My favorite way to start a campaign: in media res.
(also, the phrase "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is referring to catfish, not house cats)
omg THANK YOU. That’s bothered me for years.
The hook then the explanation. You practice what you preach sir. That is very Priest.
That is exactly one of the points Brandon Sanderson does about hooking and explaining.
He actually goes one step further and says it generally is boring.
Show, don't tell. (Engage, don't explain).
Brilliant video. :)
I cannot thank you enough for these videos, Matt. The things I learn here are priceless, and would take me countless hours to find out on my own.
"It is not your job to explain things to the characters, but it is their opportunity to figure it out."
Absolutely love it.
The writer Gene Wolfe is great with this. He throws names of animals at you with no description of what the animal is and he makes up great words that feel really nice. Also thanks for getting me into DnD matt! I have never played but I just started Dm'ing.
In my world I leave a lot unexplained for this very reason. It makes me so happy when my players get in a conversation/debate over what they think is going on in my world as though it were a real place.
a year late, but when I was studying theater and acting I had an instructor repeatedly drill into me "Do not beat your audience over the head with the point you are making. People enjoy discovering things. They do not like being patronized"
Real comment, I completely agree with you from both sides of the screen. As a player I love the feeling of decoding the messages given to me by a GM and discovering whether or not I was on the right track or took it to the wrong place. As a GM I love seeing my group work out the hints I drop and figuring out why I'm using the words I am, whether or not they get the answer correct is irrelevant at that point. I can see that they are having fun debating why I used a particular word when describing the goblins armor and then the realization of 2 things. 1) they spent about 2-3 minutes debating over a smudge on the goblins armor and 2) I was just trying to convey the deplorable state of their armor.
G'day Matthew. What first got me into DnD was Critical Role but what got me into DMing my own campaign was you and your channel. I just want to express my thanks. your channel is direct, informative and fun. Listening to you is engaging and allows me to become better on how i conduct my own games.
So thank you and the effort you put in.
If you are ever looking at running a one shot game and looking for international players, please feel free to hit me up. thanks again.
Another day, another great Colville video.
Matt deserves WAYYY more than 50k subs. keep at it matt, love your content.
YOUR HAIR! YOUR HAIR! What happened to that glorious wave that rose in our faces like the mighty Cliffs of Dover?
Drop the "Mercer Merkin", bring back the "Colville Cliff".
Oh, and just to stay on topic - great video as usual.
Mr. Pilgrim I disagree! The hair is looking bad a👀!
7:58 the cat groomed him
"It's not your job to explain things to the player, it's the player's opportunity to figure things out."
Knowing this will help me be better! I love your perspective.
Perfect example of hooking with an explanation is the start of Dark Souls.
The writing in dark souls is just phenomenal in general
"Its not your job to explain things to the player. Its their opportunity to figure things out." Well said.
I feel that you're completely right on this. I have players in a town concerned if they should even sleep or stay in the town due to story related tattoos. Now the people that hold this mark to not pose any form of a threat. I could have someone explain that fact directly, however that would take the story away from them. Now they are asking around and learning more about and figuring out the context in this town. Also keep the videos coming and rocking.
I'm in a fantasy writing course right now. Thanks for videos like this. They are more than relevant.
DUDE! Thanks for saying this out loud!! That's EXACTLY what I want from a good movie, book, game, D&D session etc. A reason why most modern movies and games suck -imho- is exactly the spoon feeding!! God, I love your for saying this!! Hugs 'n' kisses from Greece!
I actually liked Mercenaries 2! Wasn't aware you worked on it!
I'm watching this for the first time in 2019, and I have to tell you, my brother LOVES Mercenaries. Both, 2 a little bit more simply because it is a bit more new/updated/bigger. He will still randomly say "I really wish they'd make a third mercenaries."
"Hook first, explain second."
Love it.
I honestly don't plan on explaining anything in depth about my world
until at least the third or fourth session. All they will get to know
before the adventure begins is:
"This is the map of the landmass (ignore that it says 'Harn' on the
side), you're here in Rethem, having traveled from Tharda, and this
kingdom is a wreck with no clear rulership after the sudden death of
it's king three months ago... and as you round a bend in the road, a
cloaked and hooded figure on horseback hails you."
i think matt has gotten where he is because he is so good at explaining things.
No worries about the interlude; you've still been putting out amazing content! This video in particular is a really big lesson for me as a DM and a writer, and I'll do my best to take it to heart. I am always afraid of confusion, but what you've said makes me really want to try leaving more of this creative space for my players and for readers. Thanks, Matt Colville!
This reminds me why I love Robin McKinley's books so much. She doesn't explain things to death, leaves a lot of wiggle room between the lines. I reread her books often, and every time, I come away with something I hadn't realized before.
Matt you don't even know how much help you are giving. Thank you, sir!
"Hook readers first and then, later, explain" - great advice, thank you! I just start something and struggle with boring start (because of ton of exposition)
My experience: The movies I talked about most with my friends were movies that created mysteries you had to find an explanation for yourself. Then we debated and argued and it was fun. Especially when we realized and said, look what that movie did to us, look how it got us thinking.
My opinion: I think people love mysteries. You said it in one of your other videos, people love feeling smart. And that's what mysteries give to us. The challenge to feel smart. Give us an unfamiliar circumstance or reaction and we immediately be like, "Eh, that was odd. What is going on?" And from that moment onward our brain demands to understand. Why did this weird thing happen.
At this point i think there are (for the sake of your point in the video) 2 scenarios which are likely to follow:
1) Getting the explanation: We are like "ah, now i understand."
2) Getting clues: We are like "dude, what if this relates to this odd scene from earlier" Which eventually leads to the confirmation and we are like "see, we were right the whole time."
That is what makes us feel great and smart.
So in terms of GMing i think, gaps of knowledge are a good thing, if you provide clues every now and then that get your players closer to an explanation. That probably gives them the mindset that whenever something confusing shows up, they have the means to learn all the answers by interacting with your world. And damn do they feels smart about it.
Memento. A movie which I was the entire time confused, and yet I loved it.
You were left in the dark expanses of migranal confuzio, until the last scenes where everything clicks nicely into place.
Love, opposite of fear - the wise appreciation of risk married to confidence of reward.
That's why I love this game even though I am struggling to find others to play it with. The risk (uncertainty) can exceed the potential for "material" reward (gold, titles, etc...), but unlike real life, possible consequences cannot exceed the excitement of increasing self-confidence. D&D is the quintessential representation of the "win-win" scenario.
Thank you for so eloquently defending that unsung song of the human condition. We obviously want uncertainty/risk/mystery/unfamiliarity maybe more than anything else (which is why new relationships usually feel so much more exciting than the lasting ones). But the money men make the consequences for exploring our love insurmountable and leave no room in the world to back up and punt.
For how short this video what, I feel like I learned a lot. Thanks!
As a filmmaker I find that this information is entirely true and needs to be followed. I think focusing on hooking the audience is much more important than explaining to the audience, like you said.
Admittedly I'm late to this party, but I'm reminded of Star Wars episode IV: A New Hope.
When I first saw it, I didn't know what the Kessel Run was, I didn't know what a Parsec was.... But seeing that movie, I knew doing the Kessel Run in under 12 Parsecs was fast and he was a helluva pilot!
I'll connect the dots if you give me the appropriate context and tone in which to interpret them. If that scene had been over explained in a lore dump or some other method the dialogue and thus the CHARACTER would have been diluted.... and negatively impacted the story being conveyed.
Very excellent points. I have always tried to put a finger on why some movies or stories feel they don't give the reader or viewer credit and now I totally understand. There are certainly people who want to be spoon fed and that's fine, it's just not what I prefer.
Matt, I am so glad that I found your channel. Because it has help me, as a fledgling DM, better understand the process of running a game. Also because it introduced me to you books, which were both entertaining and thought provoking.
Dark souls. No explanation, still my favorite.
Just dropping in: DM'd my first game last week after being a player for awhile. Thank you for all the help!
One of the first times I DM'd the players got to the end and kinda knew what was going on but weren't all there and seemed to like the fact that they were somewhat clueless which kind of amazed me at first but this video really helped put it in perspective.
One of the things that completely broke the wheel of time series was that by book 9 of these 600 to 1000 page volumes, they are *still* engaging in expositional asides about the world's magical system.
Thank you so much! I was a little nervous about throwing something in front of the players that was going to go unexplained for a little while and let them figure things out, but this helped quite a bit! You've always got a video to help with whatever challenge I'm working on as a DM.
When you mentioned the idea of experts being potentially interesting, I was immediately reminded of your books, Priest and Thief. Almost every character in that book (with 1 notable mostly-exception, the young trull) has been around the block a hell of a lot, and they were that much more interesting for it! They already have like, 5 or 6 legendary swords and had completed their epic quest, but the world still turned and there were still cool stories to be told.
Great video on creativity, Matt. This is what many juniors never even heard about (cause there's no smartphone app explaining it) and something many seniors forgot along their Way of Fear. Thanks
Not only does Matt have great tips for DMs, but he's also worked on 2 of my favorite video games! You're the bomb, Matt!
I am dming for the first time and you have been the main source of inspiration for my style of play, we are about four weeks into our game and so far everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, I have some interesting characters in the bunch, I just wanted to extend my thanks as I would of engaged my PC's so if it were not for your advice, I think you are definitely moving to inspire a new generation of GM's.
This entire video is a good watch, but the last 6 seconds are so uplifting and inspiring I can't help but rewatch it for that alone.
FWIW, Matt, Mercs 2 remains one of my favorite games almost 15 years after first playing it. Might be a throwback to my teens, but, I dunno, thank you for bringing it to us, amongst everything else you do!
Hey Matthew, just wanted to say thanks for your videos. I have very much enjoyed watching them all. It's refreshing to see someone who is so passionate about not just a game but story telling in general. Thanks again.
I've talked about this sort of thing with my folks a lot. One of the big changes in consumption of media as we grow older is the move from having to pick it up on the fly (as in catching a rerun of a cartoon as a kid), to being able to pick up a series right from the start (most common way to start watching things as an adult). We lose our experience in coping with piecing together a setting without having it explicitly defined
Starting something new, be it a TV show or a new skill, is scary and many people just stop doing it entirely. We find restricting ourselves to something we already know comforting
This is fantastic advise! I also enjoy pulling in my players by throwing them into the mix of a great event and as they unravel the story, as a DM you can give them small plot points explaining what is happening and why. That way, it gives your players a sense of mystery as well as accomplishment. They all seem to enjoy when they discover the backstory of the BBEG instead of just having a beginning dialog explaining; This is the world, this is what is happening, this is why, and your role in the story. That works but that works better for a short one-shot campaign. If you are creating a world not everything needs to be written. Just the main critical issue and the let them travel and discover how to prevent the world from destruction or falling into the hands of the BBEG.
Hey Matt,
Great video. I love to hear you talk about your creative process and your take on how to craft a story, so I really enjoyed this video. My copy of Priest got delivered today and I can't wait to crack it open and jump into the world you've made. I also got with it my 3 D&D books (Monster Manual, etc) as you've inspired me to not only be a better player, but also to start DMing. I'm a creative writing student, and plan to show my teacher and class this video, as I have done in the past, as it is very useful to have the opinons of different writers available to us.
Hope to see more videos as soon as you are able,
AJ
This video truly resonates
Matthew, your're a great person. I knew your channel some days ago, and literally I started rushing through all the videos, there is a lot of content, depth content. I found your channel when I was looking for comparisons of D&D edition, I already miss that series.
Now you are giving an excellent advice on writing, all I needed to continue my book, which was stuck after the first two pages where I explained a lot of things that were going on in the world.
I cannot thank you enough for helping me, and many other people, at being better GMs, writer, players and etc.
Keep the great work.
Less Pointless Exposition = More Enjoyment (and everything else)
Engage the players/readers/viewers and things will work out. That is great advice, and for situations where a bit of explaining is necessary, wait until you actually have the audience's attention.
I just started a new campaign this month in a homebrew setting that my players and I have been anticipating for a LONG time. I've been tinkering with the setting for years, so there's a great deal of world lore that they may or may not ever learn. Parceling it out in manageable chunks as they need to know it will be one of my biggest challenges as GM, so your advice about engaging the players is very timely! I seem to be doing OK so far, based on how much they're enjoying roleplaying getting to know each other's characters and talking over the scraps of plot and lore I've tossed their way.
One of my favorite examples of a story where the author immerses the reader in the world without explaining its idiosyncrasies is Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass." The reader has to figure out how daemons work solely from context, because the characters in his world have always had them, so never have any reason to explain them to each other. It's only when certain taboos regarding daemons are transgressed, or when characters lacking them (the intelligent bears, or in the sequels, humans from other worlds) are introduced, that anyone tries to explain anything about them--and even then, it's never remotely comprehensive. OTOH, the setting would be a royal pain to adapt to a RPG, because you'd have to explain so much more right up front just to make it playable.
As busy as you seem to be, I don't know how you keep your energy, but I appreciate it and I'm entertained by it. Thank you for making these videos.
The example of this idea that always stuck with me was reading stuff from Gene Wolfe. He uses terms with no explanation, but from the context, you're able to get the idea, and it feels like a glimpse into a larger world that what is on the page.
I feel something that people sometimes forget is an important part of storytelling is more showing instead of telling.
I love how you explained how we love finding the story hidden. Dark Souls is a perfect example of a game that Barely gives you story yet has so much
Thanks, for the video Matt. As always, your sagely advice is appreciated. Also know that when we get impatient (for most of us) it comes from a place of love. We miss you man. Looking forward to the next one... and those stronghold rules.
Matt I enjoyed the video and is a good lesson even outside of writing a story. I had just turned in a Satire essay and I now see the entire first page as useless explanation and dulled down the humor.
I also have just finished reading your first book and I enjoyed every part of it and can't wait to start reading the second. ~Thank you.
"First hooked, and then it gets explained."
07:57 totally agree with that, I remember when I first played Mass Effect, that moment where you give your first grand speech to your group as you are about to go in space for the first time, it's so early in the game and you barely played yet Shepard sounds so confident and you get to choose what he says, I remember how fast my heart was pounding and the emotions that I felt from just the idea of being this really cool character
This whole thing about explaining vs engaging really makes me think of Boba Fett. He said very little in The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, but a lot of people loved the character because he was cool, competent and looked like an absolute badass, despite knowing very little about him. So, through the imaginations of fans and writers, Boba Fett has been built up to be one of the more interesting Star Wars characters to date, with his story constantly being added to as opposed to having it been given to us up front from the start. Through these stories, readers can make connections between the events of Fett's life and make them feel smart, which was one of Matt's big points in this video. As a DM and just someone who enjoys a good story, I completely agree with Matt's words on explaining vs engaging your audience.
I can see the influence of this in your books so strongly, and my only frustration with it is I'm so strongly hooked and have already finished the two books and now have to wait for Fighter. Love your videos, love your books, thank for all you do and can't wait to see more.
Hey! Another great video as always. Definitely going to add this perspective to my toolbelt going forward.
I think a good example of a explanation heavy moment having drama is the opening of Army of Two. Objectively, within the first few minutes the player is given an explanation of a game mechanic in preparation for a tutorial. However, it's delivered in character with a tone of voice and attitude of a gruff military man. His narration is coupled with a tactical map and moving symbols. While technically it is a tutorial serving to explain a primary game mechanic, it FEELS more like the player is in a mission briefing ready to get down to business.
Watching these over and over trying to let enough sink in, Wish i could run a game like yours, Mostly i feel like i cannot unite my players to want things, Lets do this lets do that. They sit and wait for me to tell them things... I find this so hard to read them a story and take away choices... I feel like i am explaining things rather than engaging So again i watch and try to understand and find a way to inspire my players.
I think you hit a very important point with this video.
I hate it when a game explains things needlessly. It destroys all immersion for me. I go in with knowledge that this is unfamiliar territory. I want to learn through experience and exploration, not explanation.
In the world of video games I go by a mantra I read a while back:
Don't write it if you can say it
Don't say it if you can show it
Don't show it if you can play it
Matt, you rock man!
I love that Matt is unashamedly proud of his accomplishments, it’s a good way to live
Hey Matt, thanks for this kind of video, I really appreciate it. I'm a sophomore studying to be a Creative Writing Major and things like this really help, especially from someone experienced in the field. Please do more in the future.
YES! I love this so much!
I know it's a 5 year old video and you don't want to talk about Mercenaries 2 but I have fond memories of both Mercs 1 and 2 from middle and high school. The mercenaries 2 'Oh no you didn't' trailer will always be one of my faves.
Edit: thank you for all the insight and anecdotes you share, whenever I find myself experiencing a writers block as a DM, I always find myself in your playlists.
The setting and the characters were the best things to come out of Evolve. Before they reworked the game and made it much better to play I still stuck with it for quite because of the things that you likely created. Well done.
Now I need to go buy your books.
I just want to say thank you for this. It helped me in my writing, I realized immediately that I get bogged down at points because I want to move the story along but I'm unsure how much I should explain. But it makes sense that the character only knows whats happening to them and not how the world around them works.
Something I've found that works well for me is to write something about the world or adventure, just like stream of consciousness it doesn't have to be good but get all of the ideas down in a way that makes some sense. Read it once it twice, make some changes so it's more cohesive and feels real. Now delete it. Throw away the paper, control + A, delete. Now you have an idealised version of whatever you wrote in your head, and you don't have a script to read from just all the ideas that when they come up you know the answer and it feels organic.
I was just thinking about this very topic. I recently rewatched the excellent Robert Redford movie, "An Unfinished Life". This is a movie that unfolds slowly and never spoonfeeds anything. We start the movie knowing nothing about the characters or their relationships, and it barely gives expositions. Instead, we watch the interactions and slowly discover why Einar is so mad at Jean, and why she, in turn, is closed off from him. Expositions are rarely natural and I find stories that move at the natural pace of life are far more rewarding.
As a teacher, I can see how a lot of this explanation vs engagement information would be very useful in the classroom.
your comments on players coming to the right conclusion reminded me of when I read Anthony Burgess's excellent book, "A Clockwork Orange", in which the author exposes the reader to a new language composed mainly of Russian and Polish Slang mixed with altered words. It does not really explain much, but I found I was understanding the language before half the book was finished. readers and players will learn, and appreciate the work more for what they had to put into it or to own it.
I had no idea that you were the lead writer on one of my favorite games of all time! The final mission to defeat the ace of spades General Song is the most memorable video gaming moment of my entire childhood!
Right left right right left right left left
Right down left up up left down right!
I still remember the PDA cheats!
Achievement unlocked: Ultimate Badass awarded!
You nailed it right on the head. If a book or game overexplains something in the beginning, it's boring and I put it down... never to be picked up again. What's unsaid in a book or game makes me want to find out what is going on and keeps me coming back. For example, Heden's backstory we know so little about. We get little snippets here and there to build the curiosity. The Wheel of Time did this a lot and it's one of my favorite book series. Ask any WoT reader... who killed Asmodean? LOL