Howdy all!
First things first, an update on the maximum cheating Salisbury story! We came back from 5th place to win the league, setting goals and points records along the way. Shocker isn’t it? I’d love to be able to attribute such a magnificent promotion to my superb managerial skills, but we all know I just pushed some buttons and made some uber players. Oh well, it was still amusing.
Now for the real reason behind this post: I want some opinions! This isn’t a «what should I do?» request, more so a «which do you prefer?» question. I’ve seen several styles of story telling with Football Manager, and while they’re all interesting, some seem to have more of a following than others. Here are the major styles I’ve noticed:
News Story Style — I’ve seen this a lot over at Sortitoutsi, and a little bit in our own forums as well. This is the one where players write their stories as a series of news articles, usually from «BBC» or «SkySports». Frankly, it’s probably my least favorite, but I’ve seen some nice stories with this format (I’ve also seen more than a few stinkers).
Casual Style — I would define «casual» style as how most of us here on FMS write. Rather than writing as if the game were real life, we just write our progress in our save games. Some of us flair it up, while other others stick to a more basic «we did this, this, and this». This seems to be the most common format, and can be done as individual game updates, monthly updates, or even season-long updates. They can be absurd or serious, or any range in between. This is how I’ve personally written most of my updates.
Diary Style — This is the rarest style I’ve seen, but easily the most creative. The updates are written as diary entries, usually from the point of view of the manager. They tend to go beyond just game reports and transfers, and delve more into the character and thought processes of the fictional manager. I don’t think I’ve read a bad one of these yet, but I imagine it alienates folks who are mostly just after pictures.
Forum Style — As the name would suggest, this is a style you typically see on forums. It consists of extremely brief updates, usually containing just a few games, or a single marquee transfer, or some other random update to the game. I’ve seen some excellent games written this way, but these tend to be the most disjointed of the story updates.
Those are the four major classifications I can think of for stories, but I’m sure there are other styles or deviations of these styles that exist (for example, «Casual Style» has a pretty broad scope). My question to you, the loyal readers of FMS, is which one do you prefer? There is no right or wrong answer, and I’m simply curious to see your thoughts on the matter.
Also…ONE WEEK!
Freddie
14 октября, 2011 at 18:04
I think Forum Style.
Please vote for my FM12 team:) footballmanager20112012.blogspot.com
Laxeyman
14 октября, 2011 at 18:42
I’d probably go for the ‘casual’ style Stromo, but when you did a diary style on FM11 it was good too. So I’d say either of those two mate :)
DK1247
14 октября, 2011 at 18:48
I’d say go for casual. Easier to write when your comfortable with the style, also usually better to read.
George Dobson
14 октября, 2011 at 18:53
I think diary style cheers
Darren Smith
14 октября, 2011 at 18:58
I’ve always seen blogging about FM in one way…the visitor wants to read about the game. That is what they are here for and I think that is why the casual style is generally the most popular. While writers enjoy the diary and media style, those posts take a lot of writing and deviate too far from the actual game itself in my opinion. I’ve always written in a style that gives the most info about the/my game and is easiest to read, seems to have served me well so far.
Therefore, I’d go with the casual style.
Stromson
14 октября, 2011 at 19:11
I generally agree with you — it’s a game, tell me about the game. That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing a combination of the two. A little more soliloquy to go with the pictures.
Stromson
14 октября, 2011 at 19:10
Just for clarification, I’ll be writing my FM12 story in the Casual style, with an outside chance of a «human interest» piece here or there while we’re waiting for the Welsh league to actually become relevant. I’m mostly just curious to see what kind of style folks prefer. So yes, it’s a bit of an irrelevant post, but it was the best method I had available. ;)
Kevin
14 октября, 2011 at 19:44
I was thinking of doing a diary style for my new Plymouth save but not totally sold on the idea. I’ll probably do my usual casual style once I get going.
TheZiggy
14 октября, 2011 at 19:48
Diary style. Definitely a lot of hard work to do though, but it’s amazing just how much detail people like to know.
I guess the main reason you don’t see a bad one in this style, is because only those who can write creatively will even dare to attempt it. I think if you do it right, those who really just want to see your progress, will check the pictures and the usual summary that goes with these.
David Wiggins
14 октября, 2011 at 20:03
I liked how you were doing all your previous write-ups so would like to see that continue!
Johnny Karp
14 октября, 2011 at 20:35
I agree with David, you have your own style that doesn’t necessarily fit into one of those categories. And that’s probably why I like it! :P
Stromson
15 октября, 2011 at 16:43
Well I’m flattered, thank you. :)
Birdy
15 октября, 2011 at 04:24
Casual
nielsneutron
15 октября, 2011 at 07:17
I like the casual style it is the writing that has attracted me to this site compared to forums.
Calin
15 октября, 2011 at 07:27
Yes, I’ll have to go for casual too (maybe with a bit of personal involvement, because it never hurts). And as a side note, I think everybody should write as they consider it’s better because they’re certainly best at that! :)
vaibhavc
15 октября, 2011 at 07:32
Casual or diary + a lot of videos!
paine
15 октября, 2011 at 12:52
None of the above, to quote Richard Pryor in an old movie, personally I like to mix up things.
I think we should always try to experiment new ways to tell our stories, just to keep the whole thing interesting, for us and for the readers.
Stromson
15 октября, 2011 at 16:43
+1 for the Richard Pryor reference.
Sears
15 октября, 2011 at 22:39
Your current style is grand, I really enjoyed the videos.
mmaciel
16 октября, 2011 at 16:11
Definetly I would go with the Diary option… I´ve always thought that the casual style is more like a «descriptive» story and I believe that the Diary option would be more like an in-depth story… which I obviously like the most… good luck!
CsAtlantis
17 октября, 2011 at 05:23
casual, with diary style mixed in at times for a bit of spice and variety?
Jonathan
17 октября, 2011 at 15:45
News Story style! Will always like this layout and will always do