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