VIDEO GAME NARRATIVES 1 NARRATIVE (definition) A SPOKEN OR - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

VIDEO GAME

• = CAR230 || Computer Gaming =-

NARRATIVES

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NARRATIVE

(definition)

A SPOKEN OR WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF EVENTS; A STORY.

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CONTEXT

PREHISTORIC TIMES

Caveman drawings depict their life experiences in hunting / surviving

PRE-WRITING

Humanity depends on stories to pass down information and beliefs

ANCIENT HISTORY

Folklore, myths, tales Stories to explain natural phenomenons (i.e. Houyi shot down nine suns [chinese], The world tree yggdrasil [norse])

WRITING AND PRINT

Printing is invented in the Tang Dynasty

• f china; books begin getting produced

MEDIUMS OF NARRATION

Popularity of novels, animation, film, etc begin to rise.

TODAY?

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And of course:

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• ther mediums of narrative

★ SIMILARITIES ○ All can tell a compelling story ○ Requires somewhat the same structure of narrative (explained later) ★ DIFFERENCES ○ Player isn’t reading about or watching the main character, they ARE the main character ○ can sometimes even influence the game world, story progression and ending

COMPARISON

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why are game narratives

★ Immerses the player in the gameplay ○ Especially when the player is playing to de-stress / to escape an unpleasant reality / as distraction ★ Provides context to the game’s world, objectives, etc ○ The game usually sets a goal for the player; a story can explain why and motivate the player ★ Emotional investment ○ player becomes attached to the characters and world; deaths can evoke sadness and victories pique satisfaction

IMPORTANT?

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• f narratives

TYPES

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LINEAR NARRATIVE

★ Start at beginning of story, and ends with the ending. ★ Events are depicted in chronological order (in the

• rder of which they occur).

★ Mostly used in mediums like films, books ★ Not really possible in video games unless it’s a visual novel with no choices

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NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE

★ Narrative cut up into several stories, flashbacks, or perspectives. ★ “Disjointed” or “disrupted” narrative. ★ Can make for some interesting films and books, esp involving space/time travel etc ★ STILL not quite for video games, as no interactivity

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INTERACTIVE NARRATION

★ Narrative is DRIVEN by the user’s interaction. ★ Requires user to act to continue with the story ★ Many games, especially RPGs, follow this formula ★ AKA Embedded narratives

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INTERACTIVE NARRATIVE

★ Narrative is INFLUENCED by the user’s interaction. ★ Like interactive narration, except the player’s choices and actions can change the course of the story. ★ Usually multi-ending, can change the game-world ★ AKA Emergent Narrative

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narrative : the basic

★ EXPOSITION ○ Introduction; Setting up characters, setting, history, how gameplay / mechanics tie in ★ RISING ACTION ○ Conflict introduced, tension starts to build, protagonist encounters obstacles ★ CLIMAX ○ Turning point of the story, highest tension, crisis ★ FALLING ACTION: ○ Explanations revealed, conflict is solved, loose ends tied up, start working towards a intended ending ★ RESOLUTION ○ Main conflict is resolved, story ends.

STRUCTURE

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excellent

EXAMPLES

• f video game narratives

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★ Beautiful wordless environmental storytelling ★ Two players can meet and assist each other, progressing together without knowing who their partner is ★ Takes place in vast desert (Meant to evoke a sense of smallness / wonder) ★ Music dynamically responds to the player’s actions ★ Carvings on walls, environment, change in weather etc tell the story instead of words and dialogue ★ Ending is vague but meaningful, giving player a sense of continuation

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★ Very original take on interactive stories / walking simulators ★ The player guides “Stanley” through a surreal workplace environment while choosing whether

• r not to follow the narrator’s instructions

○ E.G. the narrator states that stanley should go through the left door and gets annoyed if the player chooses the right

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★ Player can go “against” the game, forcing the narrator to create a new storyline ★ Narrator will try to get Stanley back onto the “correct” path by accounting for the player’s divergence ★ Humorous fourth-wall breaking ★ Made to challenge the fact that most games confine players to their rules and straightforward narratives ★ Considered thought-provoking about the nature

• f choice and decisions

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★ Unique take on RPGs: ○ You can choose to be “merciful” to the monsters that attack you while you wander around ○ Main Characters (that you have met many times) are also ncluded in lineup that you can “spare” or “kill” ○ Some monsters are hard to spare ○ Lv = Levels of Violence, EXP = Execution Points ★ MANY Endings: ○ True Pacifist - Don’t kill ANYONE, complete all the story, etc ○ Neutral - Spare some monsters, kill some ○ Genocide - Walk around deliberately killing all monsters until the game tells you that there is no

• ne left to kill

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★ Excellent character development and dialogue writing Chilling change in dialogue if you’re on the “genocide” route Friendly introduction of a laid-back character ★ Dynamic Plot-changes and countless endings / variations

• n the story make the game a phenomenal narrative

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using narrative as

A TOOL

in your ❏ games

❏ films ❏ animations ❏ stories

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DECIDE ON YOUR GAME

• What kind of game do you want to make? Important

questions to consider: ○ Basic theme: Ancient/Fantasy? Modern? Futuristic? ○ Gameplay: Action/Adventure? RPG? FPS? Puzzle?

• Choose a game genre that you ENJOY and have played

before, so that you’re familiar with the features of said gameplay

• Some genres will need more narrative detail than
• thers. Is writing a strength or weakness for you,

personally?

STEP 1

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OUTLINE YOUR MAIN STORYLINE

• Write down, as simply as possible, the core of your

storyline, including main ending. ○ Don’t have to consider sidequests, side characters, etc yet!

• Take some time to delve more into your theme

STEP 2

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• Take some time to delve more into your theme

○ Eg If you chose futuristic, which kind?

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DEVELOP YOUR WORLD

• Arguably most important, even more than characters
• Your player will be looking at this world for the

entirety of your intended gameplay time

• Research various environments and artstyles
• How much worldbuilding does your game need?

○ SIMPLE: Surface appearance, locations, biomes ○ COMPLEX: cultures, populations, biodiversity, history, lore, etc

STEP 3

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CREATE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS

• Design main characters, write down some notable

personality / physical traits ○ How detailed you flesh out your characters depends on the game ○ an rpg character might need a tragic backstory while a dungeon-crawler character might not need so much detail

• What are the relationships between your characters?

How would they each react to the same situation?

• Introduce goals and allow the player to fulfill them

throughout the gameplay

STEP 4

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FLOWCHART OF MAJOR STORYLINES

• Deviations in the story, potential side-quests,

multiple endings, any “Game-Over”s

STEP 5

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START ACTUALLY WRITING

• Focus on main / one storyline
• Write down the scenes, dialogue and details of each

section of your narrative

• Cutscenes with minimal interactivity are a good way

to integrate storyline (and force your player to get familiar with it)

• Consider youtube videos that pick out just the

cutscenes of a game & it plays as a standalone movie

STEP 6

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FILLING IN THE BLANKS

• Side-Quests

○ Can be related to the world, culture, lore, or explore backstories of non-main characters

• NPCs

○ Can just have fun little “blurbs” that add to humor or set the scene. ○ May offer side quests, sell wares, etc

• ITEMS

○ Besides armor and weapons, items can include notes, letters, amulets whose lore helps to set the scene. The sky’s the limit!

STEP 7

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THANK YOU!

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