Stories in gaming

Perverse Access Memory: WISH 67: Storytelling

How do you tell stories in your games? Are there character stories, overarching stories, and/or other kinds of stories? Could you tell a coherent story from games you’ve GMed or played in? Does it matter to you? Why or why not?

Usually I tell overarching stories as the ‘main’ stories. I feel particularly lucky when I’m able to tell a personal character story as well, since this makes the whole experience more immediate for a particular player (or several, maybe), and it takes more work, I like. (Does for me, anyway.)
I could tell a coherent story from:
– TiHE
– The OA game (and, not incidentally, I’m clear on a lot of the PC’s points of view).
– The much-lamented Prince of Alderaan game.
– Dave’s IDC spycraft game (which is really something that needs to be told).
– Nobilis.
I’m a story guy. Sue me.
I doubt I could tell a story from the DnD game, although there is a story there, I’m convinced of that… I just don’t know exactly where it is.
Does it matter to me? Absolutely. A game… any game longer than one or two sessions… really ought to have a story to it. If we’re just playing through combat with no plot of connectivity… eh… I think I’d feel like I was wasting my time.
Heck, I know I’d feel like that.