The Story Machine
One of the two methods of story telling in games. The game isn't designed with a specific story, but a unique one is generated each game. The Sims and Minecraft are games that are specifically designed to be story machines. Schell (2015) (pg. 229-230)
Sports are another example of this, where a story can be told about the battle between participants.
The opposite of String of Pearls in which a linear, non-interactive story is followed by a player interspersed with periods of free play.
References
Jesse Schell. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. CRC Press, Boca Raton, second edition edition, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4665-9864-5. ↩