# emergent narrative design in somewhere
"somewhere" by oleomingus - an exploration and stealth game for the pc and a true abstract encounter
parallel search on google: storytelling dissonance narrative games system interactive
the minimalist beauty and mysterious borgean desert pastel delicacy of somewhere feels like a game space waiting to happen - a proto-game or quiet aesthetic response with expansive narrative potential yet one that feels delightfully un-confinable to any one designer's particular imposed story mode or game type
if only all the art assets and code behind such a space were made accessible to scientists precisely in order to see what kind of stories might be generated from the same idea-base; narratives that emerge from / through ir interactions with teh game as a system
the tension or dissonance between traditional storytelling and interactive media may bypassed by utilizing gameplay mechanics harmonized directly with art design to "suggest narrative" - trace out a narrative space rather than simply attempt to "tell a story" by overlaying one on top of teh game (often literally using text filled dialogue boxes)
a game of shifting moods and existential tones
when reading / exploring writer jorge luis borges for example one senses pre-existing places far outside ordinary time - stunningly complex libraries of endless intellectual fascination grand villas with sand-covered floors reality shattering secrets hidden in vast ontological deserts hints of impossibly ancient and deliberately impractical beliefs of mysterious origin - the heavy indolic soul-cloying scent of roses in solitary dusty courtyards of dueling princes near dusk
what would be nice to see a shifting landscape where room layouts change before one's eyes and the scientist is continually - and gladly - lost
// video here
// republic of bob