Text of Narrative Design and Audio-Visual Style in Video Games
1. WELCOME TO NARRATIVE DESIGN&VISUAL STYLEIN VIDEO GAMES A
presentationb y Altug Isigan METU Informatics Institute GATE511
December 29 2010
2. About Me
Background
Ankara . Faculty of Communication; BA, MA, PhD
Scriptwriter, game designer, academic
Teaching a game design class since 2007 (with focus on board
game design)
Credentials
IGDA Game Design SIG ; founding member
Game Design Aspect of the Month ; editor
Global Game Jam Famagusta; organizator
3. A few pics: Protoypes forSaviors
4. Pics, continued:Global Game Jam
5. Pics, continued:Game Design Class
6.
Lets get to the meat of things, right? ;)
Enough about me...
7. Before we start:
Always ask for the meaning of words that you arent familiar
withtheres a lot of terminology in here, so dont be a shy engineer!
;)
If you have questions, write them downWere going to have a
Q&A session at the end of the presentation, and you can ask
them there ;)
8. UNIT 1:APPROACHNG GAMESAS NARRATVES
9. The Ludology-Narratology Debate
Ludologist : Someone who believes games should be studied as
games
Narratologist : Someone who studies narratives and believes
that games too, can be studied as narratives
Around the year 2000, when a growing number of academics
started to study video games, a huge debate broke out:Should games
be studied as narratives? Should they be studied by narratologists?
A group of game scholars tended to be against narratology and
narratologists.They were labelledLudologists.
The Ludology-Narratology debate reaches its peak when a group
of Ludologists launched the online journalGame Studiesand
criticised Narratology as being insufficient& invasive
10. The Ludology-Narratology Debate
Ludologists claim that games arent stories because...
Stories arelinear , games arenon-linear
Readers arepassive , gamers areactive
Stories are recounts of what happened in thepast , games
happennow they have no discourse time, only play time
Hence, they conclude thatwe dont need Narratologyto study
games,because games are something entirely different !
11. Approaching Video Games as Narratives
But can we approach games still as narratives?
My answer is:YES!
Here are my reasons :
Video games arefictional worlds . In order to come into
existence,these worlds must benarratedby
something/someoneWithoutnarrationwe wouldnt know they exist.We also
wouldnt know what we are doing in this fictional world.
Video games are a process ofmediation : Hence theres
amediumthat brings me news from a world that I wouldnt be able to
interface with otherwise.The medium narrates my actions to the game
world, and the happenings in the game world to me.
12. Approaching Video Games as Narratives
By the way: MediationandNarrationtakes place even in
non-digital games ;)
Think of theDungeon Master(DM) in a typical FRP Session:
The DM is amedium : He brings me news from a world that I
cannot access otherwise
The DMnarratesthe events and happenings in the fictional world
so that I can position myself and consider my situation.He also
narrates the outcome of my very own actions.As a player, I depend
on the DMs narration in order to orientate myself and make
decisions.
The Video Game is basically a digitalized DM, amedium, that
narrates my actions and the fictional game world
In short, Mediation and Narration are inescapable!
13. Approaching Video Games as Narratives
A few words on the passive reader notion:
Contructivist theories , andReader-Response theoryhave found
out thata reader is never passive , butactively involved in the
construction of the meaning of the text This cancels out Ludologys
claim that readers are passiveA reader is pretty much lika a
player, only his input is invisible
Any text ,including video games , works only with the active
participation of the reader , be it by articulating letters in his
mind or by hitting frantically on a keyboard
Since a narrative * is * a reciprocal relation between text and
reader that aims at (or results in) signification,the logical
conclusion is that any text (written, audial, visual or tactile)
must solicit the (interpretative or physical) actions that it wants
its readers to carry outIts only that in games the readers actions
are often more visible than those of book readers.Hence, reading
and interpretation lie at the heart of playing.
14. Approaching Video Games as Narratives
Reading a game text to solicit action:Pong
Game StartThe white dot comes at you
If you fail to bounce it back0-1!
The player interpretes this sequence that she must bounce the
ball back to avoid conceeding a goalThe game text has solicited at
least one of the actions that it wants the player to carry out
The more such actions the text solicits, the more it enables
the player to constructs the narrative, which is To win the
game,score more than you conceedNow aconflicthas been established,
the action hastelos,and events are connected in terms
ofcausalityandchrono-logy
This is the ludic way of narration; all communicated through
the game medium.
The highly abstracted world ofPong :a fictional
universenarratedthrough amedium !
15. The Video Game As Open Work
Narratives have been described as linear by LudologistsThis is
to say that they cant be changed once the writer is finished with
his work.There is one single storyline that we will experience each
time we traverse the narrative The medium and genre Ludologists
think of here are books and novels.
However,Non-Linearityisnt a new concept to literature
Great examples for this are the permutational novels of
theOulipomovement George Perec ,Raymond Queneuetc
There is also a wealth of create your own story -type of
books
These gave readers a lot of options to interprete/manipulate
the text, not just in terms of interpretation, but also plot
construction.
Hence the assumption of Ludologists that narratives are linear
by nature is wrong.
16. The Video Game As Open Work
But it took some time until in narratology someone came up with
a theory of non-linear narrativesIn 1962,Umberto Ecopublishes his
bookThe Open Workand speaks about narratives that come to life the
moment the reader interferes with them .
Eco calls narratives that develop into various directions based
on the decisions made by readers open works .The reader can decide
on the content, structure or style of the narrative.The reader isnt
any longer bound to a single way of traversing the narrative
presented to him.
IOW, the author of the open work gives the readera narrative
sandboxto play with and doesnt force onto the reader a single way
to experience them.
This gives us a very strong basis to theorize video games from
within narratology because when it comes to video games, we
basically deal with digitalized narratives that ask for reader
input on a variety of narrative layers in order to come to life and
be able to progress.
17. The Video Game As Open Work
Another important figure in narratology isClaude Bremond .
He analyzed narratives based ondecision nodesand diagrammed
them aslogical circuitsin which the characters need to make
theright decisionsin order the story to proceed to the ending that
was foreseen by its author.
Diagram taken from ludology.org
18. The Video Game As Open Work
In theory, a character in a story could decide to do whats not
good for the story, i.e. he could decide at a decision node to do
what brings the story to an unwanted end.Imagine a detective saying
in the middle of a story Im no longer interested in solving this
puzzle, good bye!
Hence, whenever the character arrives at a decision node, there
exists a risk for the story to come to an end.Therefore, Bremond
calls every decision node (or switch) in the logical circuit of the
narrative an area of risk .
However this is apotentialriskThe author will make sure thatthe
conditions in the fictional world make the characters chose whats
good for the storyThe character choses to do what the author wants
him to do, but it feels like he has chosen it by his own free will
in response to the conditions surrounding him.This brings us to the
notion ofFate!
Theillusion of fateis achieved by using a principle in
dramaturgy calledneccessity A good writer will make it look like it
was fate, and not his power as the author of the story, that made
the character chose whats good for the story.
19. The Video Game As Open Work
So what happens to the areas of risk when it comes to
games?
They are no longer potential risks but now bear areal risk
!
Because ultimately, as much as the author makes sure that
necessity is in its place,a player can always decide not to do what
was expected from him ! Its now the reader/player who has the final
word.
This makes it a really difficult task for the game designer to
make sure that the player does whats good for the game.
20. The Video Game As Open Work
We can identify at least two challenges for the author of the
open work (or game designer):
Tomaintain necessityin a free-to-roam worldillusion of
fate
Tomaintain increasing tensionof the storylines that emerge
based on the players decisionslogical coherence & unity during
story progress
The latter is an important problem in narrative design, because
not every decision that the player makes necessarily carries the
plot on higher levels.
The most important two dramaturgic risks that the designer
faces here are:
stagnation(the game lacks a feeling of progress); and
deviation(the game maintains a feeling of progress, but one
that feels like it leads away from whats central to the story, and
that causes confusion about the goal of the game) .
Both situations often translate into the most dangerous thing
for games:boredom .
21. The Video Game As Open Work
An additional challenge to the game narrative designer is the
need to introduce theplayer vocabulary the means and ends that the
player makes use of to exist and act in the game world.
In a video game,introducing game controlsand helping the player
to feel convenient using them is an elementary part ofexposure .In
games it is often presented in the form
ofTutorialsorCutscenesrather than being gradually revealed in a
process of dramatizationHowever, both methods are under
dispute
The dilemma here is: As a narrative designer you want to
introduce the problem and turn it into a conflict as soon as
possible.Thats whyteasersare popular in film
But as a game designer, you know you cant send the player into
the conflict before you havent made sure hell get along fine with
the player vocabulary.
Introducing the player vocabulary without slowing down the
build-up of the story is a very difficult task and can tell the
master game (or narrative) designer from the apprentice.
22. UNIT 2:INTERACTION ASNARRATIVE ARTICULATION
23. Narrative Layers
A narrative model of narratologistRoland Barthesidentifiesfour
narrative layersthat are in a vertical relationships:
According to the model,Eventsgain their meaning on theStory
Persons(or Actants) layer; Story persons gain their meaning on
theNarrationlayer; and ultimately the Narration gains its meaning
through theNarrative Situationit is placed within.
24. Narrative Layers
Events(or F unctions ):
A llactionsthat are carried out to initiate, continue and
terminate a logically connected sequence
A n example fromDiablo :
Diablo is on attack Defend yourself Diablo dead
The Eventslayer implies that characters in a storyare in a
constant process of decision-making .
25. Narrative Layers
Story persons(or A ctants ):
T hefictional beingswho carry out the actions whicharticulate
asevents. Often they'll signify something larger than theirparti c
ular presence and connect /equal to a "will".
Diabloexample: All monsters in the game are actants or story
persons. But ultimately theyarticulate undera narrative "force"that
we canidentify as "Diablo Thats the will of the antagonist in the
story
26. Narrative Layers
Storytelling(or N arration ):
the various techniques and methods through which the events and
story persons to which they belong to are presented to the
player.
Examples fromDiablo :
Exposure of information through entering dialogues with the
people in town;
gothic iconography and low gamma to foster mood and to
communicate genre,
isometric view,
player's in-game presence visually divided into avatar and
cursor etc
27. Narrative Layers
Narrative Situation :
the broader rules and conventions that shape the way in
whichgames(game narratives)are consumed.
This is not really part of the narrative itself, but
rathermeans the circumstancesandcultural codesthat allowthe game
narrative to be perceived and consumed as such .
28. Manipulating Narrative Layers
In Video Games,game controls and interfacesenable us to modify
these layers and manipulate the development and outcome of the
narrative.
But we shouldnt forget that the game narrative does the same to
us, as we are playing.
Interactionis a reciprocal process between text and readerThe
influencing is mutual
29. Manipulating Narrative Layers
Influencing the Events Layer :
Through input,playersinfluence how a row of Events turn
sout
Gameplay built around influencing the Events layer has beenthe
dominant mode ofinteraction for many decades, exemplified right
from the beginning through gamessuch as Spacewar! ,Pong,
Asteroids,Galaxian ,Centipede, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Zaxxon
Thisis the archetype of video game interactivityand itremains
until today fundamentalto any game .
30. Manipulating Narrative Layers
Influencing theStory PersonsLayer:
Over time ,game designers explore dthe possibilities of the
other layers of narrative.
MUDs and genres such as RPGs and Simulations put emphasis on a
variety of interactions that had as their subjects story persons
and other game world existents:
Players could modify or remove existing characters,
create characters from scratch, change their looks, traits and
behaviors.
Othergames allowed us to change the environment,
to add, modify or remove objects, to modify terrain etc.
Civilization,The Sims , Diablo, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon,
Railroad Tycoon, X-Com Apocalypse, Football Managerare games that
come in mind.
31. Manipulating Narrative Layers
Influencing the Narration Layer:
M ost modern gamesenable players tomodif ythe layer of
Narration
We can now
modify the camera angle or behavior,
switch between POVs,
chose the music and gamma (ambience) that we want toset the
tone ofthe game world,
alter the frequency of in-game commentary,
switch on or off replays etc etc etc...
Pro Evolution Soccer, Need for Speed, Medal of Honorare just a
few examples that come in mind.
32. Manipulating Narrative Layers
Influencing the Narrative Situation:
This is a layer that is not part of the narrative itself, but
one that is related to our awareness that we are dealing with a
narrative
It includes decisions like where to play, how to feel most
convenient while playingRemember Italo Calvinos first chapter inIf
in a Winters Night a Traveller...
Defining thegame settingsfrom theoptions menu , or chosing
aplay modeare also part of this layer
Finally, the way the game developer influences our notion of
what a game and playing is, frames all this. Project Natal:You are
the Controller
33. Manipulating Narrative Layers
The distinction between these layers is analytical!
During gameplay, a decision might manipulate various layers at
the same time!Narrative layers form a structure and its elements
are always related!
Even if we cant interact with some of them, all layers are
always present
Some Important Reminders!
34. Interaction as Narrative Articulation
Narrative Articulation Through Interaction :
Our interferences on the various narrative layers during game
play would result in an articulation of the narrative.
It is the design of game controls and interfaces that define
the ways in which our interactions result in such narrative
articulation:
Some games would use complex combination of input devices,
others would design the whole system of articulation around a
single input device.
A very good example for narrative articulation built around a
single input device is the use of the cursor inDiablo .
35. Interaction as Narrative Articulation
36.
Ill see you in 10 minutes ;)
COFFEE BREAK!
37. UNIT 3:GAME CONTROLS AS CONSTRANTS ON VSUAL STYLE
38. Controls versus Sequence Motion
A specific problem to game design is to balance game controls
and visual variety :
The question that game designers are confronted with here is
how to deal withsequence motionthe subject ofmontage/editingin
cinema
the most popular way to create sequence motion is thecut Other
prominent methods are thedissolve , thefade , thewipeetc...
But why is that a problem in video games?
39. Controls versus Sequence Motion
The player has a twofold role in a game :
He is both PlayerandSpectator
As a player he wants control over his actions
As a spectator he wants visual variety and spectacle
But thats harder to achieve than one might think...
40. Controls versus Sequence Motion
Consider this example :
Psycho(Alfred Hitchcock);
famous shower scene
[Fragment]
41. Controls versus Sequence Motion
This is a phantastic example of sequence motionOver 70
cinematic cuts in around 50 seconds.
As a side note: In this scene we never really see the lady
being cut ;)
42. Controls versus Sequence Motion
Now: what if I ask you to make this scene a... game?
43. Motion Types
A way to better understand the problem is to approach games in
terms of theMotion Typesthat they stick with
We can identify three motion types in audio-visual
communciation:
Primary Motion
Secondary Motion
Tertiary Motion
44. Motion Types Primary motionrefers to object movement. It
can be best exemplified by objects or persons moving within, or, in
an out of the borders of a static frame. Agreat number of games are
built on primary motion. Exampleswith static frames are Tetris
,Centipede , Space Invaders , Pac-Man There is hardly a game that
doesnt have primary motion. Primary motion within a static
frameanswers the players need forsurveillance
45. Motion Types Secondarymotion denotes camera and/or
opticalmovement. The frame is dynamic and the camera performs a
variety of moves like travelling, panning or zooming Often such
movement will go together with types of primary motion. All games
that use a moving camera can be given as examples:Zaxxon Secondary
motion createsdepthand is easy tocope with as long as there
isvector consistency
46. Motion Types
Tertiary Motion?
Modern cinema and some of its major theories are in defense of
montage, that is, tertiary motion types like the cut.
This is where visual narration in modern games differs
significantly from that of cinema .Game designers must consider
carefully before they ever think of using tertiary motion
This is due totertiary motion types often being in conflict
with the players need for control over her actions
47. Motion Types
In terms of visual narration (or, the visual construction of
screen events), many video games build their event-dense play
sequences around primary and secondary motion types .
Alot of games still make use of tertiary motion, but rarely
ever does it happen thatit is used in moments where control is more
important than visual variety . In most cases i t would be regarded
as a design flawto sacrifice controls over spectacle during actual
gameplay
Need For Speed Car crash & Jumping scenes
48. The Long Take
The Importance of the Long Take in Video Games
In contrast to cinema, where shot variation and editing plays
an important role in theconstruction of the screen event , many
video game genres can be described as being the genres of thelong
take .
We travel through the worlds of these games inone long,
uncutcam display , and rarely ever does it happen that we witness a
cut or any other type of montageduring sequences of high event
density
49. The Long Take
50. The Long Take
Design Constraints on Visual Style and Narrative Design Caused
by the Long Take:
If during actual gameplay we are mostly limited to the long
take and need to avoid tertiary motion...
How can we still create visual versatility, and foster rhythm
and pace during gameplay?
What stylistic options do we have for punctuation and
transition along the visual continuum of the long take?
We will now deal with design solutions for these problems
51. UNIT 4:DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR GAMES BASED ON LONG TAKES
52. Design Solutions
Active and Anticipatory Camera:
C hange in the parametres of the continuous camera movement
that delineates events (or scenes), that creates pauses, and that
establishes rhyth m
The camera will often function in a suggestive way, having an
impact on our decision to move into this or that direction
God of War
Tekken
Full Spectrum Warrior
53. Design Solutions
Shot Scale &Angle; Figure-Ground Relations
The camera in God of War makes use of switches in scale and
angle during its continuous movement.
Without breaking the visual continuum,
it backs off to give a birdsview of the approaching war scene
;
it accelerates and drags the player behind to anticipate
danger/action ;
it slows down and allows the player to move freely to signify a
relatively safe section ;
it up-closes and re-adjusts to the best scale and angle during
the presentation of battle action
The switch in scale and anglealso polish esand bring sto the
foreground the ongoing primary motion in order to enhance spectacle
and experience intensity.This creates rhythm through bringing into
focus one type of action over anotherFocus switches between figure
and ground
54. Design Solutions
Multiple Frames & Graphication Devices
Many games use multiple frames to narrate an event from
multiple scales &angles, or to present more than one of its
aspects at a time .
Graphication Devices like HUDs are other ways of exposure
Multiple frames & Graphication Devices can be used to
maintain
To present details that otherwise would require sequence motion
to be squeezed in and would therefore be in conflict with game
control needsthe mini-frame with the beaten faces inInternational
Karate
Elements of a HUDs display are a way to expose crucial
information when it is neededThe speedometer inNFS , the fatigue
bar inTekken
55. Design Solutions
Special Effects/Visualized Status Indicators
In many FPS games we wouldnt notice that were hit by the enemys
bullet if the screen wouldnt turn to red each time were getting
hit
If an enemy in RoN uses an A-bomb, the screen would screen
would turn completely white from the blinding light of the
explosion, no matter which section of the map is being displayed at
that moment.
The screen displays light rays due to our increased speed when
we use a Nitro-pack in Need for Speed.
The bullets split the air and cause shock-waves when we fire
our gun in Max Payne
Etc etc etc
56. Design Solutions
Object Movement
Even in games with a static frame, where not only tertiary, but
also secondary motion is out of the question, object movementcan be
usedchange the pace andrhythm in the game .
I nCentipede , the experience density increases when a spider
comes along. t he appearance of an additional moving object
increases event density.In addition,the spider moves faster than
all other objects andgets very close at us (no need to mention that
a collision with it kills us immediately). Hence we feel an
increase in pace whenaspiderappears. Once it has left the screen,
however,we feel that we have returned to normal game pace. Hence
rhythm is created.
Pac-Man : In those section in which the roles are reversed and
we can be a ghostbuster for a few seconds, we feel increased game
pace. The ghosts move slow now (which feels like we've become
faster) and there is limited time to catch them and getthe reward.
But soon it's us again who'll be the hunted and the pace will
normalize. The switch between hunter and hunted roles creates
rhythm.
57. Design Solutions
Color and Lighting
Other visual parametres such as color and lighting can be used
to signify scene delineation.
Section with low gamma are followed by bright sections,
Sections withcold colors are followed by warm colors,
etc
These wouldestablish a feel of rhythm,andcreate visual
delineation of scenesand sequences .
58. Design Solutions
Volume, Shape, Form, Texture
V olume, form and shape are other important factors
thatespeciallyarchitecture draws attention to
For example i n racing games, delineation of sequences is
partly achieved through the proportion of negative volumes to
positive volumes:
The varying textures of the landscape create rhythm: Need for
Speed :the highway section, followed by the Chinatown section,
followed by the claustrophobic tunnel section,followed bythe
traffic-plagued downtown section that we have to rush through
before we reach the finish.
S witching between a curvy sequence and a long straight will
have an impact on pacing and rhythm.
59. Design Solutions
The Tactile Dimension
An often ignored way of pacing and rhythm in video games is the
tactile dimension of the fictional universe. This is a very
important aspect in architectural design.
Change in the texture and feel of the space that we walk
through has an impact on our perception and mood. A sequence of
various tactile qualities will bring a series of changing moods
with it and that can be used for pacing and rhythm.
For instance the way our avatar slows down or accelerates while
climbing or walking down a slope, while performing a rather unus u
al move like strafing, or while wading through water or mud, all
these are of a tactile nature. Collin McRae Rally
Our avatar would be still presented to us through secondary
motion, but despite the contin u ous longtake that follows our
actions, we would perceive a transition from one area to another,
which would bring variation to the experience we have.
60. Design Solutions
Sound and Ambience
Ambience is another issue that is very important.
Transition from
one set of natural sounds to another ;
switching between noisy and silent sequences ;
the way that our own noise sounds due to change in the tactile
or acoustic dimension of the environment .
A ll these can be used to establish a feeling of variation and
rhythm along the long shot. Railroad Tycoon 2
61. Design Solutions
Articulation of Event Chains
As we move through a level, we will witness how relatively
safeand relativelydangerous sections keep replacing each other. The
way in which their order is set up, is another important way to
pace a level and create rhythm.
InDiablo , therear e sections in which enemies are always
placed within each others line-of-sight,hencewe areforced into a
killing spree because each new kill already triggers another
monster coming at us.
T he designers make sure that after such a killing spree we
have a pause.
The next killing spree arrangementispositioned a bit farther
and wait sfor usto tap into it and trigger the new action
section.
Inbetween the killing sprees,we would re-assess our situation,
re-arrange our inventory and make plans on what tactic or strategy
to adopt next.
Since all this would be presented along asingle uncut shot, we
would experience a feel of delineation that is being created
without the use of tertiary motion.
62. Design Solutions
Primary Motion-Secondary Motion Cycles
In a lot of games, we witness constant switching between object
motion and camera motion as the long shot unfolds.
This works in the following way: As we walk through safe
sections, secondary motion rules. We walk, and the camera moves
with us. Then, as we spot the enemy and engage with it, it is
rather object movement that dominates the scene.
Often the density of the attack means were getting stuck at
that point and can only move on when the threat is eliminated,
hence the camera wouldnt move, but a lot of object motion would
dominate the scene.
An example for this isDiablowhere during the walkthrough of a
level the rhythmic structure consists of a constant switching
between exploration/spotting (secondary motion) and ambush (primary
motion): the monster attack nails us to a certain spot on the map
and hence the camera seems to be locked on there; then, after weve
killed the attackers and keep moving, the camera again starts to
travel with us.
Despite no use of tertiary motion, the result is controlled
change in pace, which is just another name for rhythm.
63.
GAME OVER
Ok folks, thats it!
(But remember: were still having a Q&A Session)
64.
Another10 minutes for you ;)
COFFEE BREAK!
65. CLOSNG SESSON
66. SUMMARY
What have we learned today?
In regard to Narrative Design
Video Games can be studied as narratives, in particular as Open
Works
A video game is a narrative that opens all four basic narrative
layers to player interaction
One of the major functions of interaction is to articulate
narrative layers in order to bring a games story into
existence
In regard to Visual Style
Tertiary motion is often in conflict with the players game
control requirements.
Most games stick with primary and secondary motion, and are
built around the Long Take as a major visual stylistic device
There exists a broad palette of stylistic devices to pace and
give rhytm in visual narration that is built around the Long
Take
