the Fetch leading the opposing forces and the story line unfolds right there in the
game-world during game-time.
In contrast to the majority of games that use storytelling as little more than an
add-on to an already existing group of levels,Mythmakes the story line, levels, and
gameplay dependent on each other, strengthening each as a result. Players enjoy
games because they enjoy the gameplay, not because the games are accompanied by
long, non-interactive cut-scenes. Yet players do enjoy having stories in their games,
since they can give the gameplay meaning. The best way to communicate a deep story
is by making it integral to the gameplay and by revealing a little bit of it here and there
during actual game-time, somethingMythdoes expertly. Of course, the fact thatMyth’s
story line is top-notch, the script is well written, and the voice acting is professional
certainly helps. Telling a story line through gameplay will not do a game a bit of good if
the plot is hackneyed, the dialog is contrived, or the voice acting is amateurish.
Hard-Core Gaming .............................
Mythis a game design by hard-core gamers for hard-core gamers and makes no apolo-
gies about it. Far from trying to capture the “mainstream” or “casual” gamer market
that so many companies have tried to court,Mythis a game that would quickly frighten
away anyone who is not already familiar with other RTS games and who does not have
the quick-clicking skills required byMyth. There is nothing wrong with this, of course,
and it is pleasing to see a game that has the artistic conviction to know its audience and
to stick to it. Indeed, since the game’s developers are among the ranks of the hard-core
gamers, it only makes sense that they will best know how to make a game that this
audience will like. Often, when hard-core gamers try to make a game that the mythical
casual gamer will enjoy, they end up making a game they themselves do not like very
much, and that the casual gamer does not care much about either. It is very hard for an
artist to make art that appeals to sensibilities that are at odds with his own, the end
302 Chapter 16: Game Analysis:Myth: The Fallen Lords
Mythtells a compelling
story through a
combination of mission
briefings, level design,
and gameplay.