Story and Narrative
Part 1! (Up to Granularity)
Brendan Sim
Stories can add significantly to the
entertainment that a game offers. League of Legends: The Journal of Justice Zelda franchise
LORE - Legend of Zelda (youtube)
Why Put Stories in Games?
Stories attract a wider audience
World of Warcraft Most MMORPGs………. if not all…
Why Put Stories in Games?
Stories help keep players interested in long
games
Why Put Stories in Games?
Stories help to sell the game
Why Put Stories in Games?
Length Characters Degree of realism Emotional richness
The Walking Dead
Separate game from similar games with the same mechanics Half-Life 2
Factors that Affect Amount of Story
Story: an account of series of events, either
historical or fictitious
Key Concepts
Minimally Acceptable Story
Credible Coherent Dramatically meaningful
Requirements of Good Stories
Takes place NOW Includes three kinds of events:
Player events Dramatic actions
In-game events Dishonored
Narrative events
Interactive Stories(Ludonarrative)
Narrative: noninteractive, presentational part
of the story Cutscenes Super Mario Galaxy (youtube) (6:19)
Key Concepts
Narrative blocks (cutscenes):
Opening/Ending sequence Title/Closing credits sequence Post-credits scene Interlevel sequence
Design Rule Interruptible
Narrative
Forms:
Prerendered movie Cut-scene Scrolling text V.O. Character monologue
Misconception: one-liners
Narrative
MGS4…… over 9 hours of cutscenes… that ending…
Multiple endings http://
gaming.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_video_games_with_most_endings
Design rule Don’t take control of the avatar
Balancing Narrative and Gameplay
Dramatic Tension and Gameplay Tension
Key Concept
Desire to know what happens next Cliffhangers (lol spoilers)
The Walking Dead (youtube) (20:06)
Dramatic Tension
Desire to overcome a challenge
Multiplayer League of Legends (youtube)
Gameplay Tension
Tolerance for randomness and repetition
Differences between Tensions
The Storytelling
Engine
Require less content than nonlinear ones Simpler storytelling engine
Reduce continuity errors Deny the player agency Capable of greater emotional power
To the Moon (youtube)
Linear Stories
Structures:
Branching Stories Foldback Stories
Nonlinear Stories
Game events
Player events Challenges Decisions
In-game events AI-driven
Branching Stories
Immediate Deferred
Runescape: Shield of Arrav and Heroes’ Quest Cumulative
Influence
Branching Story
Structure
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Critical event branches create disjointed
sections Replay for all endings
Disadvantages to Branching Stories
Focuses on disadvantages of branching stories Commonly used in industry
Foldback Story
OH GOD WHITE SPACE
Foldback Story Structure
No set story Created from playing (based on core
mechanics)
Emergent Narrative
Based on dramatic actions in the game
Challenges 1 ending (or 2) Critical decisions multiple endings
Endings