The Game Changer

Whilst looking into stories and narratives I came across this book. It completely hooked me. The way Jonathan Gottschall talks about the different aspects of stories, using his own experiences and referencing other professionals, was easy to read and enjoyable.

Nothing was particularly shocking and new, however, it was the reminder, ‘oh of course dreams are stories, I hadn’t thought of that’.

Here are some of the key points in the book:

- The author relies on the reader’s imagination to bring their story to life.

- Every aspect of life is a story.

- Whilst reading you are completely involved.

- Reading may have declined but our intake of stories hasn’t -> TV.

- Sports stories – Drama – Hero vs. Villain e.g. Tiger Woods at the height of sex scandal v golfer with cancer stricken wife.

- Politics – Lawyer telling the story of his defendant.

- Gossiping, talking, conversations – ‘what’s new’ – narrating life – social media e.g. Facebook.

- ‘Story is a drug we use to escape from the boredom and brutality of real life.’

- Why do we see a play? Read a novel? Watch a film? Not for anything noble like expanding our minds. But for kicks.

- Story has no biological purpose, why has it not been eliminated?

- Stories = themes of mortal trouble.

- Boy vs. girl stereotypes of storytelling e.g. Guns and Barbie’s.

- The difference in what is desirable in life and desirable in fiction – we love danger, death and despicable acts in stories but in real life the opposite.

- Escapist entertainment – but why are stories not happy?

- Fiction gives us pleasure, but what is in it is unpleasant.

- Story = chapter + predicament + attempted extrication

- We feel what the character feels.

- Fiction helps us prepare for real situations – debate?

- Dreams = night stories.

- Humans create stories from any information.

- Stories have to be morally acceptable.

- Storytelling used to be communal – now more individual – reading a book alone opposed to a ‘storyteller’ reading to an audience. Although the Internet allows for mass consumption and discussions.

- Ink changing society – Hitler influenced by Rienzi.

- Fiction molds our minds.

- When we are absorbed in a story we drop our intellectual guard, moved emotionally leaves us defenseless.

- Memories can be invention.

- Life stories.

- Decline in poetry, theater, English lit.

- ‘Reality’ shows replacing scripted TV.

- Games on the rise.

- Decline in traditional stories e.g. novels. Are they? – Some turned into films because of their great success.

- End of novel = not the end of the story.

- Stories evolve.

- Poetry = rap.

- Games = interactive film.

- Live Action Role Playing Games.

- Virtual Worlds.

- Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games – ‘like living inside a novel as it is being written’.

- Holonovel.

- ‘Junk story’ = ‘mental diabetes epidemic’.

There are many points in the book I would love to know more about but what really got me thinking was the final discussion Gottschall wrote about – games.

Games have evolved tremendously since the day of Pac-Man and Space Invaders, and speaking from experience and friend’s experiences, you can be completely immersed into a game more than a film and even a book.

Thinking about his point of how stories are evolving, such as oral storytellers and poets being the ‘rock gods’ back in the day, whereas now the mainstream would rather flock to see a rapper, and there is the debate of whether novels are in decline, (more so the reading of them). Is the evolution of gaming and the way stories are told in them the future?

#games #storytelling #secondaryresearch