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The second episode of Blizzard’s official podcast was released and has a great interview with the head of all their lore (Vice President of Creative Development), Chris Metzen.
You can check it out here:
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While a lore master may almost always be a storyteller as well. A storyteller is not necessarily always a lore master.
So what is the difference? What makes a lore master a lore master and a storyteller just a storyteller?
The answer lies in what they’re creating.
Where as a storyteller creates a story with characters and dialog, a lore master takes one further step back. A lore master first creates a world, then a story in that world, then characters for that story, and dialog for those characters.
“How can a story have no world?”, you might ask. Well, it’s not a matter of the story not having world, as much as its just that storyteller didn’t have to create one. Take a romantic comedy for instance (not that I have anything against romantic comedies). The story takes place in our own world. We already know all the rules and quirks. For the storyteller, the world has already been pre-made.
Here’s an example I like to use; think of a story-based amusement park ride. The ride goes along the tracks. The audience only sees what the ride’s creator wants them to. If you could take one step off the beaten path, you’d see that it’s all just a facade, there really is no lore, no depth. A lore master, on the other hand, creates a world where the people are able to get off the ride and look around. The audience can explore.
That word is important, “explore”. That is what differentiates an audience’s experience with a lore master versus a storyteller. With a lore master, the audience can explore. The more they dig, the more they find.
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Yes, I know. This is a flat, unadulterated, undeniable, shameless plug.
But hey, it’s also what I’ve been working on recently, so you might as well hear about it.
On February 27th, the first issue of the comic book Urban Monsters will be released through Image Comics. It’s a three issue mini-series with the other installments coming out at the end of March and April.
The story entails four guys living in New York who decide to make the big plunge and drive to Los Angeles to be movie stars. The catch is they’re monsters and they want to be in monster movies.
I’ve been working on the project, as its creator, with Vin DiBona and the head of his motion picture division, Joanne Moore. The four lead characters are based on three good friends of mine from college as well as yours truly, me.
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