There is a story in my game (tentatively titled) QuestORama. It's about an AI developed in a university by a clever girl that get's stolen by the Russian mob to loot and crash out servers. You're extensively a slave, injected into a place that's trying to kill you, by people who only desire the chaos you provide. In return for your forced theft and damage, they supply you with more weapons to continue your impromptu onslaught. Ideally, you'd discover your true roots, who's holding your chains, and break free.
There's just one *little* problem with telling this story... I have no idea how to implement it.
The game is a self generating series of systems, designed to give an open-ended experience every time you play. It's not a fixed narrative story. I can't forced the player to do things, but hope they take an interest in their own. And if I forced the systems that generate the level, I could end up making boring, fixed sections that I hate so much in other games.
Games like Terraria have plots in their self generating systems. I'm not too sure if they are 100% successful, because I only know they exist because of Wiki's, even after dozens out hours of gameplay. I just didn't know what to look for to uncover them. The bits of the story should be a little easier to find if I want people to really FIND them at all.
In MineTank, my other game, you can find story bits in every level. They appear as twinkly bits on the ground, and once you know they are there, it's easy to find them on the "Super-View". There isn't a Super-View in QuestORama. I have used shafts of light to indicate things, but those are already pretty cluttered with the Terminal and Drop Cases, so I wouldn't add any more there. I have in-your-face markers for the Tears, but I certainly don't want more of those. Large icons already exist for the Gun Editor and Tutorials, but they are a bit artifical. I'm not in love with them.
I *might* be able to give them out with the Hex Consoles. Maybe as something you get in additional to Data and the Broker menu. Of course, since NOBODY is leaving feedback, I don't even know if people are solving those consoles. The lack of any feedback at all is very troublesome in this game's development. I know you players are out there, and you download the game. You really have to let me know your thoughts.