Lords of Xulima - Update #13, Gameplay vs. Story

In the latest update for Lords of Xulima Numantian Games talks about gameplay and story. I can't wait to see the replies as both mean different things to various players.

Gameplay

There are players who only appreciate gameplay and have no interest in a game's story. For others it's the reverse, they feel that a great story can make up for poor gameplay. I am of the opinion that a video game should not be like a book or a movie and a solid game play system has to be the priority of game developers. That said, if there is also a good story to go with the game play, something that draws you into the game and keeps you interested, then the enjoyment of the game is multiplied. 

For Lords of Xulima, my number one priority was to create a great role-playing game. It is made up of all the elements that I haveve enjoyed while playing RPGs and is the culmination of all of the experiences I have had over the years from playing every RPG I could get my hands on, from the classics to the most modern releases. On our blog I have written a few articles about the different aspects of RPGs and how they have been implemented in Lords of Xulima: 

• Pre-Made vs. Custom Characters
• Death in party based RPGs
• Food and Resting in RPGs
• Random encounters
• Balancing in non-linear RPGs

Story

The story behind Lords of Xulima was conceived a few years ago as the framework to an epic fantasy novel that I was writing. Though I never finished it, I did carefully detail the time line, characters and all of the major events ranging from the beginning of the world until its end. If you’d like to know more about the inspiration for Lords of Xulima take a look at the first blog entry on our site.

While we were developing the prototype of the game and only had the basic mechanics implemented, back when Lords of Xulima was known only as RPGTest.exe, I started thinking about using the novel I had been working on as the framework of the game. At first it seemed far-fetched, if it’s difficult to make a novel into a movie, adapting a novel into a video game can be really crazy.

I read the mythology I had written again and again and, from there, I decided it could be broken into three parts that could function very well as a video game. Then, I began the laborious adaptation process, adapting both the story and the game itself. At first it all seemed very forced, but, little by little, the game system and the story converged so that after a while it seemed that they were perfectly made for each other.

Ironically, though I had prioritized the gameplay system over the story, I now feel that the story is the strongest aspect of Lords of Xulima. Its characters and the mythic background permeate every corner of the game.