World Building Workshop - Summary

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World Building for Videogames Workshop - Summary

Clara Fernndez-Vara, Ph.D.

[email protected]

Section 1: What is world building?

1) Definition

World building is the practice that leads to the creation of fictional worlds, which then can have

different incarnations across the media (books, film, TV, games, toys, theme parks). A fictional

world is therefore the foundation of different types of narratives, depending on the medium that

recreates it.

2) World building elements

The elements of the world are the basic components of a story. Borrowing Seymour Chatmans

terms, the elements of story are:

a) Existents: Characters and Setting

b) Events: Actions and Happenings

The story becomes a narrative through the discourse, i.e. how the story is told.

3) What do we use world building for?

a) Transmedia Storytelling:

The same world can give way to different narratives across the media. Its not

adaptation, but exploring different aspects of the world through the media.

b) Giving depth and coherence to game design

The rules and goals of the game can be transmitted and reinforced as a narrative.

c) Narrative design

The game design discipline whose aim is to bring together the interaction design of thegame with world and the story.

Section 2: World Building Foundations

1) Basic narrative elements:

The questions Where? When? Who? What? How? Why? help us cover the basic

elements that will drive the narrative.

A story needs conflict to drive the plot. The conflict is not unique, there are many levels

of conflict that will trigger off the sequence of events. Conflict can also be the drive of specific

types of game (Caillois agon).

2) The weaknesses of game narratives

When it comes to the basic world building elements, it turns out games leave out some

of the basic foundations (hence the weak narratives).

The worlds of most games fall apart when we start asking why.

Motivation is exclusively related to the rules of the game: scores, achievements, advancing.

As we create worlds, we must start asking ourselves why things are happening, why

characters are there, why they do what they do.


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3) Conflict

Conflict in the world creates tension that needs to be resolved. It also invites the player

must to position him/herself with respect to the conflict.

A manichaean worldview is one way to create conflict, but it can be more complex than

that.

a) More than one factionb) Competing benefits (e.g. tearing down a forest to help a town grow vs. using it as a

resource for food.)

4) Types of conflict

A narrative can (and should) combine conflict at different levels:

Factions

Conflict with the environment

Social conflict

Information Conflict

Personal Conflict

5) Conflict in Games

Conflict is one basic element driving the interaction of most games.

The conflict of the world may be explicit, for example:

War

Post-apocalyptic world

Sports Competition

The conflict can also be more subtle and implied, such as:

Mystery: learning what has happened in the world.

Figuring out how the world works.

6) The Conflict and the Player

The conflict can pit the player against the world in different ways:

Put on one side or another of the conflict.

Choose to be good or evil.

Define one's identity in the world.

Figure out one's role in the world.


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Section 3: Game Rules and Levels of Abstraction1) Selecting the world

There are infinite possible worlds, which can be overwhelming. In order to select the

world of the game, we can find ways to narrow down our selection.

Games often resort to genre fiction (folk-tales, sci-fi, fantasy, noir, western, horror)

because it helps fills the gaps of our world. They are archetypes that players may be familiarwith from other media.

There's nothing preventing us from using inspiration from other sources, such as

everyday life.

2) Abstraction

Fictional worlds are incomplete, plus it is not possible to figure out every single aspect of

the world of our game. The fictional world must therefore be abstracted. This abstraction also

helps implement it as a rule system

3) Levels of Abstraction

The level of abstraction of a game is the area of overlap between the fictional world and

how it is implemented in the rules.

4) Selecting the level of abstraction

In order to select the aspects of the game that will be abstracted, we should ask

ourselves the following questions:

What aspects of the game world are engaging to interact with?

What aspects of the game world can be feasibly implemented?

5) Rules and Level of Abstraction

This aspect of game design must respond to the narrative question how?

How do things happen in the world?

How does the player do things in the world?

How does the world behave before the player starts to interact?


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6) The rules of the gameworld

These rules indicate how the world works, independently of player input.

Directions in which objects move (2D vs 3D, gravity)

Factions, social hierarchies (D&D)

Physics (magic, scientific advancement)

Time passing (time limits, turn-taking)Make sure that the fictional world youre creating is distinctive and not simply a clone of

something else:

How do these rules of the game world make it unique?

How do they express the conflict of the world?

7) Core mechanics

The core mechanics of the game are the basic interactions that the player performs

repeatedly during the game. They are also known as gameplay rules.

Core mechanics are the tools the player has to deal with the conflict of the world.

Listing core mechanics as VERBS helps us focus on what the player actually does.

Jump

Run

Shoot

Pick up

Combine

It also makes it evident that we have a limited variety of verbs in games. What about?

Seduce

Argue

Tickle

Ponder

8) Summary: Steps to make your world interactive

Select the level of abstraction

Define rules of the game world

How do those rules reflect the conflict of the world?

Select the core mechanics

List the verbs that allow the player to interact with the game

How do those verbs allow the player to tackle the world conflict?


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Section 4: Characters1) Introduction

A world is incomplete without its inhabitants.

There is no story if there are no characters that drive events or that things happen to.

Characters are the anchor for the player, make the world come to life.

2) How do we define character?

Characterization in comics, film, theatre, novels traditionally uses different approaches.

The characterization can be audiovisual (clothes, movement, voice, silhouette) or done through

writing (accents, catch phrases, complexity of language).

Were going to borrow F. Scott Fitzgeralds brief quote as the cue to define game

characters: Action is character.

3) Player-controlled characters

The character that allows the player to affect the world.

The challenge, in world-building terms, is that we have to leave room for the player to

act, to perform.

4) There are two types of game characters:

a) Avatar

a customized character

the player chooses name, looks, attributes (within the limites of the design)

b) The Player Character

A pre-made character.

The creative control is taken by the designer. If there are multiple player-controlled characters, it is more likely that they will be pre-

defined.

5) The problem of motivation

Character motivation vs. Player motivation: How do we define the player motivation?

How do we leave room for the player to have their own motivation?

6)Defining the player-controlled character

Action! A character is what she/he does in the world.

Our trick is to list the VERBS associated with the character.

In order to design the perfect character for the world, the verbs should allow the player to

deal with the conflict(s) in it.

Videogame characters usually limit their actions to physical events

What kinds of verbs would make an interesting character to control in a game?


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7) Non-Player Characters

NPCs have simple behaviours because computers are not very good at pretending they

are people.

It's not an artificial intelligence problem: it is a problem of abstraction.

We can take advantage of the limited AI.

Characterization in absentia: we only see their traces in the space.

8) The functions of Non-Player Characters

a) Usual functions

Provide player with information (like a signpost).

Provide player with items.

Provide moment to moment conflict (enemies)

b) Not so usual:

Define different aspects of the player

In real life, people are different depending on who they're with.

Why can't we change how the player character behaves depending on who we're talking

to?

9) Different NPCs can bring out different aspects of the player character

How do the NPC verbs relate to the conflict with the world?

Are they the same as the player verbs?

How can the player interact with NPCs? (Talk, exchange things, physical interaction)

Are there different player verbs depending on the NPC?


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Section 5: Conflict

1) Conflict in game design

The game presents a challenge for the player to overcome.

The ways to overcome the challenges can be based on:

Using ones skill Solving puzzles

Making choices

Exploring

2) Skill-based challenges

The challenges are based on movement and timing.

Examples: First-person shooters, Fighting games, Sports games, Action-adventure,

Shoot'em up

3) Puzzle-based challenges

Challenges require the player to think, usually planning for the short-term, and make

connections between pieces of information.

Examples: Adventure games, Puzzle games

4) Choice-based challenges

The challenge requires the player to think and strategize, taking into account the long-

term consequences of actions.

Examples: Role-Playing Games, Real-time Strategy Games, Turn-based Strategy

Games, Choose your own adventure

5) The role of exploration Not all games have to be about solving a conflict, but have room for the player to explore

and know about the world

We can build worlds that are meant for discovery, the challenge is getting to know the

environment.

Through exploration we can gather information about how to solve the conflict.

6) Conflict in the world

What is the fictional conflict of the world?

What kinds of challenges (skill, puzzle, strategy) can convey this conflict best?

How does the player learn about how the world works?

What verbs does the player have to use to tackle those conflicts?


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7) Designing the conflict

The conflict of the world should serve us to create the challenge of the game.

Social conflict

Environmental conflict

Information conflict

Personal conflict Designing the Conflict

Think about what types of challenges will best represent the conflict, and what

mechanics will help deal with those.

8) Types of challenges can be combined in one game

Platformers: Skill + Puzzle

Minecraft: Puzzle + Choice + Skill

Types of fictional conflict vs. Types of game challenges

Documents

World Building Workshop - Summary