| Khuutra said: It is a very fine distinction which a lot of pople don't make, but it's still there. Think of the plot as a skeleton for a story, or a path down which the story walks. The story is what you experience. The plot is merely what happens. Hm, that didn't make a lot of sense. Give me time to come up with something better. |
I think you're onto something there.
Plot is definitely the skeleton. I like to think of plot as how you would describe/summarize the story to another person. For example: Lord of the Rings is about two hobbits who are on a journey to destroy a magic ring that could fall into the wrong hands. Star Wars is about a farmboy who gets caught up in a rebellion to free the galaxy from an oppressive empire. Romeo and Juliet is about two lovers, but their families hate one another.
Plot is the story boiled down to its most basic elements.
Story is everything else. All the specific details, the characters and their interactions, the symbolism, the themes, etc. The story is the full package.
... though that's not any clearer than what you just said.
@zerosaurus
"Who cares? Stories are for Movies, TV's, and Books.
I don't need a storyline for my games."
Yeah! Screw trying to expect more out of games.
I don't think all games need an amazing storyline to be good, but as games increasingly use narrative as an impetus for gameplay, I think we need to expect more out of the types of stories in games and how they are told.
