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It might look like I’m wandering off my usual topic here, but this is really a home for everything about storytelling — and trust me, this post is all about storytelling. So here we go.
A while back, I picked up a game called “Dust: An Elysian Tail”. It looked seriously pretty, and like it might be a bit of fun. But I picked up a bunch of games around that time, and for a while, it went unplayed, waiting on my digital shelf. Then, one day last year, I thought “here’s something I haven’t played, let’s give this a shot” and loaded it up.
How do I explain without spoilers? Let me see if I even can, because above all else I must, because the beauty of the story is how it shifts as you learn it. I began to play with a fairly neutral baseline of expectation, and at first I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d keep going. Leaning on the fourth wall is usually a complete dealbreaker for me, and somebody put a paw right through it several times in the first few minutes. But, I was curious, and the introduction had set up some expectations that I wanted to see play out. So I kept on going.
By the time we’d reached the first key location, I’d already begun to care. I watched reactions, including inexplicable ones, and I wondered: was my theory right? It seemed about right. Surely something would confirm or deny it.