I had around three hours free and am still pondering over the Toradora storyform (help would still be appreciated btw! It’s the ‘Storyform Woes’), so to stretch my Dramatica muscles some more, I thought’d I try what I consider the greatest action series of all time. This will be long, but I don’t apologise at all 
For those that haven’t experienced the games - either go right now, find a way to play them and do it (cancel all plans you have) or (again, cancel all plans you have) and watch the ‘film’ versions of these, where some have combined cutscenes with tasteful gameplay footage to provide a cinematic experience. Links are provided for each.
If anyone has an alternate storyform for any or just as importantly, any encoding ideas, please let me know.
Quick notes
- The Examples are quick, possible ideas
- / = alternative idea
- ‘…’ = character thoughts
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METAL GEAR SOLID [1998]
What I believe the be the greatest action story of all time – fun, dark, campy, tense, heart-felt, sombre, labyrinthian, atmospheric and beautifully told with unforgettable characters (even with the hammy dialogue 
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Film from game
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Digital graphic novel (motion, voice acting, music)
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To note
- Although Snake is very much a be-er as a quiet, introverted character, in terms of his approach during a mission (and to be expected given his life or work), he’s all action.
- I don’t believe Liquid Snake is the IC – I don’t think they spend enough time (him dressing up aside) or talk enough about anything outside of the climax.
- There are two people who impact Snake more than anyone in the story – Naomi and Meryl. Either could be argued to be the IC, I feel but I’m picking Naomi as they have several perspective/motive-questioning conversations and she is ultimately the one who gives Snake parting advice at the end.
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OS
- Driver: could be either
- Limit: Timelock
- Outcome: Success
- Judgment: Good
- Throughline: Activity
- Concern: Doing
- Issue: Skill (e.g. recessive genes, the genome army)
- Problem: Cause (e.g. motives – people’s bad/flawed thought processes that lead to disastrous, dangerous and bad results)
- Goal: Doing
- Consequence: Playing A Role / Being
- Cost: Impulsive Responses (e.g. others suggesting that part of him enjoys what he does “you enjoy all the killing!” and the guilt that comes with that)
- Dividend: How Things Are Changing (e.g. enjoying Meryl and Otacon’s company)
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MC (Snake)
- Resolve: Change
- Approach: Do-Er
- PS Style: Logical
- Throughline: Situation (‘the legend’)
- Issue: Security (e.g. he won’t open himself up, preferring to protect his feelings)
- Unique Ability: Fact (e.g. able to see through the nonsense, wants to answers when things seem suspicious)
- Critical Flaw: Worth (e.g. potentially ‘WORTHLESS’ – underestimating those that will cause him trouble, wanting to do as much alone as possible)
- Problem: Cause (e.g. he sees others and external situations as the cause for his problems – especially his genes, he’s a victim in a sense)
- Solution: Effect (e.g. he doesn’t realise until the end that whilst bad things have happened to him and he was made to be a certain way, he’s in control of what he does with his experiences and how he chooses to live his life)
- Symptom: Process (e.g. he thinks his problems are caused by people having shady or secretive motives)
- Response: Results (e.g. believes they need to look at the effects of their actions)
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IC (Naomi)
these points could also fit well for Meryl
- Throughline: Mind (‘the observer’)
*Issue: Confidence vs. worry [suits Meryl exceptionally] - Unique Ability: Value (e.g. she is an indispensable resource for him during his mission)
- Critical Flaw: Fantasy [suits Meryl very well] (e.g. Snake isn’t sure what’s real and what isn’t when it comes to his support, after suspicious things keep happening and they give poor excuses – he at least knows Campbell but Naomi is still a stranger)
- Problem: Intuit (e.g. she constantly guesses as to motivates behind Snake’s actions and is proven correct, almost all, if not all of the time)
- Solution: Theorize (e.g. this is what screws her – her guesswork about what happened between Snake/Gray Fox as well as their relationship almost derails her relationship with Snake and caused her to do something she’ll go on to regret)
- Symptom: Trusts (e.g. she believes Snake to be a good person and feels enough of a trust that she can open herself up and wishes to continue helping him after everything goes wrong)
- Response: Tested (e.g. having spent time on the mission with him)
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Relationship
suits Meryl the best
*Throughline: Psychology (‘can I trust you?’)
*Issue: Ability vs. Desire (e.g. I was going to say their discussions of genome army and how Naomi believes only genes are needed to create exceptional soldiers whilst Snake argues for the important of experience but these don’t really match the point so – how Snake wants a different life but how his skills keep pulling him back into being a soldier / how Naomi wants the genome soldiers want to be exceptional soldiers but gene therapy doesn’t make up for experience)
[this issue suits Meryl exceptionally well – she’s not a soldier, she doesn’t have the innate ability but it’s all she wants to do & Snake’s ability has made him a hero, she’s the one who sees him as such but he would rather be anything but seen as that]
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METAL GEAR SOLID II: THE SONS OF LIBERTY [2001]
Film from game
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Digital graphic novel
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OS
- Driver: could be either
- Limit: Timelock
- Outcome: Success
- Judgment: Good
- Throughline: Activity
- Concern: Doing
- Issue: Skill (e.g. finding someone to match Snake’s skill / Raiden’s extensive VR training but lack of real-world experience)
- Problem: Test (the S3 plan)
- Goal: Doing
- Consequence: Playing A Role / Being
- Cost: Impulsive Responses
- Dividend: How Things Are Changing (e.g. Raiden’s friendship with Snake, new friends)
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MC (Raiden)
- Resolve: Change
- Approach: Do-Er
- PS Style: Intuitive
- Throughline: Situation (‘Snake…Raiden’)
- Issue: Fantasy (e.g. “it’s a nightmare, I can’t wake up from!”, vampires, “Rose, are you even real?)
- Unique Ability: Threat
- Critical Flaw: Confidence (e.g. more than one occasion where he doubts his ability, whilst at the same time, perhaps being overconfident at other times with the VR experience)
- Problem: Test (e.g. he needs to know what’s real, he wants proof of things)
- Solution: Trust (e.g. he learns at the end that reality is what he decides it to be, he’s never going to get the answers he wants, he just has to trust that what he wants to be real is)
- Symptom: Unending (e.g. believes the problems are due to the unbelievable things around, there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight to the chaos / Roses’ nagging will seemingly never end)
- Response: Ending (e.g. wants to do everything he can to bring these things to an end)
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IC (Snake)
- Throughline: Mind (‘Solid ‘this-is-what-I’ve-learned-and-will-lecture-you-about’ Snake)
*Issue: ? - Unique Ability: Value (‘THE Solid Snake’)
- Critical Flaw: Fantasy (e.g. is he even real? What’s going on here?)
- Problem: Intuit (e.g. is excellent at reading situations and working out what’s going on, whilst Raiden remains lost)
- Solution: Theorize
- Symptom: Trusts (e.g. he believes the problem is Raiden trusts his official support, his training too much)
- Response: Tested (e.g. puts Raiden to the test in a number of scenarios, almost like a teacher observing to see how good his student is)
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Relationship
*Throughline: Psychology (‘Pliskin?’ ‘Snake?’ ‘Wait…are you turning on me?!”’)
*Issue: Ability vs. Desire
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METAL GEAR SOLID III: SNAKE EATER [2004]
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OS
- Driver: Decision (e.g. decision to defect, to shoot at the end) – though his may be broken
- Limit: could be either
- Outcome: Success
- Judgment: Bad
- Throughline: Activity
- Concern: Doing
- Issue: Enlightenment (e.g. looking at the bigger picture, e.g. ‘enemies change with the times’, becoming a war criminal for the greater good)
- Problem: Process (people caught in their own selfish motives and reasons for doing things and tangling everyone up into their web until (almost) everyone is both a spider and a fly)
- Goal: Doing
- Consequence: Playing A Role / Being
- Cost: Impulsive Responses
- Dividend: How Things Are Changing (e.g. new relationships)
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MC (Snake)
encoding is very shaky
- Resolve: Change
- Approach: Do-Er
- PS Style: Logical
- Throughline: Situation (‘the student’ / put against mentor)
- Issue: Security
- Unique Ability: Threat
- Critical Flaw: Confidence (e.g. lacks the confidence with The Boss, that he can beat her)
- Problem: Process (e.g. being a soldier)
- Solution: Result (e.g. and thus carrying out orders even if they feel wrong)
- Symptom: Cause (e.g. ? – maybe him being separated from The Boss, the warhead being fired)
- Response: Effect
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IC (The Boss)
- Throughline: Mind (Big picture philosophy 101)
- Issue: Confidence vs. worry (e.g. she’s concerned for the future, but prepares no backup plan, she is fully confident in the mission, herself and Snake, never letting doubt derail any plans)
- Unique Ability: Worry (e.g. Snake knows the world doesn’t have a chance with The Boss allied with Volgin, he needs to resolve this)
- Critical Flaw: Security
- Problem: Determine (e.g. She’s well aware of what the Russian’s think and what needs to be done for them to change their conclusion and avoid starting WW3) [although this doesn’t apply to any issues she was having before the 2nd Act]
- Solution: Expect
- Symptom: Remained unresolved (e.g. she believes this needs a resolution, Snake needs to carry out his mission
- Response: Ends (e.g. as above – she chooses to sacrifice)
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Relationship
*Throughline: Psychology (“I’m defecting”, “you can’t come with us”, “go home, go to your boss”, ‘sorry, I can’t tell you what’s going on but you have to kill me’)
*Issue: Thought vs. Knowledge (e.g. ‘stop relying on what you believe to be true – look at the big picture, look at it from other angles – today’s ally could be tomorrow’s enemy’)
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METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS [2008]
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OS
- Driver: Action
- Limit: Optionlock
- Outcome: Success
- Judgment: Good
- Throughline: Activity
- Concern: Doing
- Issue: Enlightenment [MGS4 is about how there’s some things that we can’t pass on, our unique experiences, what things mean to us, so let me try] (e.g. an understanding despite a lack of experience and observation – sometimes this isn’t possible – there are some things where you need to experience, to observe – those that have them, thus, can’t pass them on to a new generation)
- Problem: Unending (e.g. these games of cat and mouse have gone on for long enough, the world doesn’t need Snakes / ‘war has changed’ “an endless series of proxy battles”)
- Goal: Doing
- Consequence: Playing A Role / Being (existing in a world of constant war and artificial design)
- Cost: Impulsive Responses
- Dividend: How Things Are Changing
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MC (Old Snake)
- Resolve: Steadfast
- Approach: Do-Er
- PS Style: Logical
- Throughline: Situation (‘i’m too old for this sh…’)
- Issue: Security (e.g. people are relying too much on this new technology, it’s dangerous)
- Unique Ability: Fact (e.g. only interested in what needs to be done, nothing else matters / the fact that he is the best soldier in the world)
- Critical Flaw: Skill (e.g. ‘getting too old for this sh…’ – he’s not the man he used to be)
- Problem: Cause (e.g. people’s and ‘thing’s’ motives and plans)
- Solution: Effect (steadfast/correct – so what he must avoid) (e.g. to live with the effects of these)
- Symptom: Process (e.g. the problem is this world of war and its endless nature)
- Response: Result (e.g. doing everything he can to stop The Patriots)
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IC (older Meryl)
- Throughline: Mind (‘this new tech is great’, “you don’t have to do this”)
- Issue: Confidence vs. worry (e.g. is confidence valuable when there’s a lack of worry and concern fuelling it? Would this lead someone open to being caught off-guard?)
- Unique Ability: Value (e.g. with Otacon, the first person he cares most about, she’s very special to him)
- Critical Flaw: Ability (e.g. her dismissal of natural ability and insistence on technology – ‘you’ve changed’ / doesn’t have the ability to be what she wants him to be or he wants to be to her, so he pushes her away and drowns her out to protect her in hope she’ll find happiness)
- Problem: Remain unresolved (e.g. is happy with the way things are)
- Solution: End (e.g. reject her role)
- Symptom: Determining
- Response: Expects (e.g. relies and plans based on her expectations – expects to be able to rely on the technology, expects Snake to move aside)
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Relationship
*Throughline: Psychology (“I’m done with these love games”)
*Issue: Thought vs. Knowledge (e.g. stop relying on what you think you know, wake up, look around / ‘I’m not interested in having a relationship with you because I can’t give you what you want and I know you’ll just be miserable, so I’m going to push you away’)
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METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES / THE PHANTOM PAIN [2014 / 2015]
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- Driver: either
- Limit: Optionlock
- Outcome: Success
- Judgment: Good [Venom seems pleased to go along]
- Throughline: Manipulation [finally something different ]
- Concern: Changing One’s Nature (e.g. becoming the MSF Miller always dreamed of)
- Issue: Commitment (e.g. is revenge worth it? Is this dream worth it?)
- Problem: Pursuit (e.g. everyone suffers because of their and other’s pursuits)
- Goal: Changing One’s Nature (e.g. as above)
- Consequence: Obtaining (e.g. un-obtaining – losing – everything they’ve lost, all of their suffering being for nothing)
- Cost: Innermost Desires
- Dividend: The Future (e.g. thoughts of what could be)
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MC (Venom Snake)
- Resolve: Steadfast
- Approach: Do-Er
- PS Style: Intuitive
- Throughline: Situation (‘The legend’)
- Issue: Openness (e.g. being a blank slate, he seems to be the only one completely honest with his thought process and intentions / no one questions his identity despite the constant signs)
- Unique Ability: Preconception (e.g. people all believe in Big Boss, no matter what he does, plus he’s clearly Big Boss, right? ‘of course he is’)
- Critical Flaw: Morality (e.g. he brings in Quiet, he brings in Liqu…Eli, he is selfless to fault, putting himself and his men in danger)
- Problem: Consider (e.g. ‘people considering is the problem’)
- Solution: Reconsider (e.g. ‘I’m just going to do along with everything and refuse to re-consider anything’)
- Symptom: Disbelief
- Response: Faith
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IC (The Hamburgler Kazuhiro Miller)
- Throughline: Mind (Ahab vs. The Whale)
- Issue: Closure vs. Denial (e.g. the whole idea of finding closure and peace for the wrongs caused in the past)
- Unique Ability: Denial (e.g. he refuses to see things differently even when the evidence is pointing a different direction, this keeps him focused on his motives)
- Critical Flaw: Responsibility (e.g. he doesn’t accept any responsibility for the suffering everyone’s experienced, he places all of the blame outside of him)
- Problem: Pursue (e.g. he is Captain Ahab)
- Solution: Avoid (e.g. only stopping with his revenge and plans for all of them will bring him peace)
- Symptom: Consider (e.g. who he considers responsible)
- Response: Reconsider (e.g. refuses to reconsider)
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Relationship
*Throughline: Activity (‘building this thing’)
*Issue: Self-interest vs. morality (e.g. how much of what Kaz does is for his own feelings and how much is for what’s best for his men? / Kaz thinks Venom is reckless with his saving of those he doesn’t feel should be saved, he should be only looking out for their interests)
