ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of Dust: A Tale of the Wired West, which is an adventure game Western set in 1882 in Diamondback, New Mexico. In the pre-credit linear video scene, the Stranger catches a gunslinger, the Kid, playing foul at cards and nails his cheating hand to the table with a knife. Before the Kid can recover, the Stranger flees. In addition to the story, this program also has games to play, such as blackjack, poker, slot machines, checkers, and a shooting range. These games are well integrated into the story, and success at them helps the player advance the narrative. A primary goal for the developers of Dust was to create an inhabitable, believable world with its own constants and laws. They also wanted to give the user the maximum possible freedom to explore this world and interact with its citizens as part of a complex, interactive story.
