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Storylines often play a very large role in huge industrial games, but are they truly necessary in our smaller flash games? The answer to this is one that often answers many other questions: it depends.

The first factor that you must consider before even thinking about making a storyline is what genre your game falls or will fall under. RPG’s (Role Playing Games) should never be without a background story. Storylines give the player a goal to try to accomplish in RPG’s. Once the storyline is finished, for me the game usually loses it’’s sweet flavor. If an RPG does not even start off with this sweet flavor, then the game is already very dull. The more encompassing an RPG’s storyline is, the funner it will become, even if the game itself isn’t the best.

Possibly the flash game that best uses its storyline is Armor Games’ “Sonny”. Not to say thtat the actual game is boring, but the well-spun storyline enriches the exprience to such a great extent that it has become a very popular online game.

Storylines aren’t needed only in Role playing games, but they do probably play the biggest role in that genre (That pun was partially intended). Most games need some kind of storyline to explain to the player what they are doing and why they should do it. This is especially important for complicated or large-scale games. Also, if your game introduces new concepts that have never been done before, a storyline, even if it is a very simple one (like the barbarians are attacking and you must defend your castle), is necessary. However, if your game is very simple and fun, then fabricating a story would just be a waste of time. Two great flash games that are too simple to need a storyline are Filler by Simian Logic and Boomshine by Danny Miller. These games are great enough without a storyline, so there is no need to incorporate one into the gameplay.

To review what we’ve learned today:

When to use a Storyline

• RPG
• New Concepts
• Complicated Game
• Large-Scale Game

When NOT to use a Storyline

• Simple Gameplay
• Smaller Games