Narrative Versus Fiction: The ‘Dash’ Examples

Maggie Greene — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Emily Short has an interesting response up to some comments made by Playfirst’s John Welch in a recent Gamasutra article. The issue at stake? Welch’s assertion that Playfirst has introduced ‘narrative’ to games such as Diner Dash. Short’s response? ‘This made my eyelids twitch.’ What’s the difference between narrative and fiction? Short argues that games like Diner Dash have a fiction attached to them, but are sorely lacking on the narrative bit, which she feels can add something to currently lacking casual games:

I realise that my take on this isn’t as statistically significant as whatever market research Playfirst and similar companies may be doing. But I can’t help thinking that narrative — real narrative, in which interesting and varied things happen, and the ending isn’t just another predictable apotheosis when your character has carried her 20,000th plate — does answer the “why did I do that?” question. It gives the player something of value to take away from the experience, something to remember and think about, which is of far more value than any arbitrary form of status a casual game could confer.

To do that, the solution isn’t necessarily to add more modes and structural features to the format. That bloats the system, and I can understand why it might put off new casual players. It’s also, fortunately, not required.

She does mention a few games that have employed some sort of narrative to better (and more interesting effect); it’s an interesting musing the the problems of ‘narrative’ design in games, and how designers can increase the narrative potential of casual titles without bloating them with unnecessaries.

‘Homer In Silicon’: Narrative vs Fiction [GameSetWatch]

Play Diner Dash For Cash

Maggie Greene — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:30:00 +0000

I’m waiting for the Bejeweled competition to start (is there anything they can’t make a skill game/play-for-cash version of?), but in the meantime, PlayFirst and WorldWinner have joined forces to offer up Diner Dash (and its two sequels) – for cash. PlayNoEvil has this to say about the announcement: “Skill games can be thought of as the complementary strategy to the Virtual Asset Purchase business model. They both remove the cost of entry to participate. The key in skill games is to keep the game “just skillful enough” so that anyone thinks they can win.” Press release is after the jump.

WorldWinner and PlayFirst Team Up to Create Diner Dash(R) Online Cash Competitions

Players Can Soon Compete Against Others for Cash and Prizes While Expanding Flo’s Online Restaurant Empire

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA and NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS – (Marketwire – Aug. 23, 2007) – WorldWinner, a subsidiary of FUN Technologies Inc. (TSX:FUN)(AIM:FUN) and the leading provider of online game competitions, and PlayFirst, Inc. a leading publisher of casual games, today announced an agreement that calls for WorldWinner to exclusively develop, launch and market cash competitions in the wildly popular online casual game, Diner Dash(R), and its sequels Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue and Diner Dash: Flo on the Go.

Developed by the award-winning independent studio Gamelab, Diner Dash follows former stock broker Flo as she quits her corporate job to operate her own roadside diner, growing it into a five-star restaurant. Top-selling Diner Dash debuted as a downloadable game in 2004 and is now available on several platforms including online, mobile, retail and coming soon to video game consoles.

“Diner Dash has such a strong following in the casual games community, making it an excellent addition to our WorldWinner portfolio,” said Peter Blacklow, president of WorldWinner. “Based on the past success of Diner Dash, we expect the WorldWinner cash competition versions to be a hit for fans of Flo, old and new.”

“Since Diner Dash first launched in 2004, it has been a number one hit across major online game portals, mobile and retail, and a popular handheld title, proving that casual gamers love to play their favourite game on many platforms,” said Rich Roberts, vice president of sales and business development, PlayFirst. “Introducing cash competitions for Diner Dash with WorldWinner will give fans a new way to experience the game, while introducing the WorldWinner community to one of the most popular casual game properties.”

Scheduled to launch later this year, the cash version of Diner Dash will be available to players exclusively on WorldWinner.com and its partner sites, including AOL Games, GSN, MSN Games and Pogo.com.

WorldWinner and PlayFirst Team Up to Create Diner Dash(R) Online Cash Competitions [via PlayNoEvil]

Kotaku Australia » playfirst

Narrative Versus Fiction: The ‘Dash’ Examples

Play Diner Dash For Cash