Games Aren't Numbers

Thousands of distances of time and space away from our world there sits a small base of human soldiers trained since their creation with one command, to kill the damn alien scum. Themselves aliens to this world, they have formed an alliance with a different race known as the Protoss in hopes that everyone might prosper together against a common enemy. This enemy has a base nearby, but neither side of the alliance knows the exact coordinates. The entire landscape is foreign to the both of them but they're sure that by sharing information they can help each other not only survive the war, but completely annihilate their enemy.

It doesn't take long for the resourceful humans to build up a skeleton of a base, and the only thing more useful than one base is two bases, and so begins the second order of business. A small squad is sent searching for some fertile land while perpetually on the lookout for signs of their insectoid opponents. Space-God's grace be upon them, a mine overflowing with precious minerals is found only around a mountainside. Believing in expansion above all else, they spend the last of their saved resources on the beginnings of their second base.

Soon the final touches of their new command center are in place, and production of soldiers can begin. One man notes that there hasn't been any communication from the other base in a while, so a couple of marines are sent to investigate. Only one returns, and with terrible news. The entire base was defenseless without the resources needed to establish a guarded perimeter. The relentless Zerg rushed and demolished everything in sight, and then claimed the land as their own. No word has been heard from the Protoss so only the worst can be assumed of their condition. Now the Zerg are only a mountainside away, oblivious to the secondary human presence but will soon find them too and send a second attack. The future of the war now lies in the strategies of a few men, and their mine of minerals.

Meanwhile on another planet not unfamiliar to those space marines, an adventurer slides down a rope into a mysterious cavern. Although he seeks riches, he instead finds love. “Help!” a feminine voice echoes across the rocky walls. The man forgets his own well being and bounds from one ledge to another, barely making the jump and grasps the edge. “Help!” The blonde headed red dressed woman begins to repeat, but is stopped short as she is literally swept off her feet by this fedora wearing gentleman.

A dead end looms ahead. The man knows through years of experience that the only way through is with one of his bombs. Unfortunately his experience with women was not as advanced, and without thinking he tosses her aside like a discarded object. Her head slams against a rock in synchronization with a deafening explosion before them, and her world went black. She comes to a few minutes later, once again in his arms and descending through the rubble. The blast appears to have opened the way to a subterranean... store? Provided within it is all of the equipment that any adventurer in these caverns would need.

This was where the woman starts to have doubts about this new relationship. Despite his effort to rescue her, he seems to care about nothing else but treasure and money. He has clearly forgotten all about her. His attention is currently only focused on this new gear that could soon be his. She realizes now that he never cared about her, only the gold he could harvested from the walls around her, which he is now picking up from the litter of the blast. “Terrorist!” A gruff voice yelps from across the passageway. The couple turn their heads but are shot dead before even knowing what had happened.

Sometimes the best narratives in games are the ones that aren't written, but rather ones that are real. Real life isn't scripted, it occurs spontaneously and what happens next is a product of what you and everyone else playing is doing now. Some of my most engaging experiences were in games like Starcraft's multiplayer or Spelunky simply because I was able to see a brand new story unfold itself before my eyes. A story no one in the world had ever seen before. Anything possible in the game could happen next.