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WRJ230 Games
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Week 1 - What is Writing for Games?
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What is writing for games?
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Module and Learning Space overview
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Topics covered
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Assignments
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New 15 Week Structure
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Lets start idea generating!
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Ideas Generation Matrix
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Week 2 - Story Mechanics
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Readings For the Week:
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Game for the Week - Florence
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Available on:
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Steam
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Mac
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IOS App Store
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Google Play
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Nintendo Switch
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GOG.com
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Articles for the Week
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Designing Florence to convey the ineffable feeling of being in love By Phill Cameron
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Narrative Game Mechanics in Interactive Storytelling by Teun Dubbelman
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Weaving morality into game mechanics with Papers, Please by Nick Christophi
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That Dragon, Cancer: A game that wrestles with grief, hope, and faith by Sam Machkovech
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How What Remains Of Edith Finch guides players with words by Alex Wiltshire
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Medium
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"We often assume that stories told in one medium are intrinsically inferior to those told in another." (Murray, 1997 Pg.273) - Or, everyone hates the next generation...
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The Epics (grand poems)
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Homer, Sophocles, Herodotus - Legit.... why?
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THE DREADED CANON
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Novels/Short Story
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Did people respect these at first?
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Spoiler: NOPE
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Why???
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Novels & Short Stories were for 'weak minded-women' who couldn't cope with the Latin Epics
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Silent Film
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POISONED THE MIND OF THE YOUTHS
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‘The Talkies’
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TOOK AWAY FROM THE TRUE STYLE OF CINEMA
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Video Games
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POISONED THE MIND OF THE YOUTHS
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.... Starting to see a pattern here?
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"We need every available form of expression and all the new ones we can to help us understand who we are an what we are ding here." (Murray, 1997 Pg.274)
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Topic of the Week: STORY MECHANICS
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Narrative in Games
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Ludo Vs. Narrative
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In the past there was a real debate over whether story/mechanics should be 'most important' in a game.
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Could they co-exist?
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Could they co-exist successfully?
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Traditional Narrative
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Telling somebody else that something happened’ (Ryan, 2004, Pg.13)
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What's needed to 'tell' somebody about something happening?
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A 'Narratee'
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What is the weakness of tell?
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Show_Vs._Tell
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Narrative as a Mental Construct
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David Herman & David Bordwell - Cognitive Narratology
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‘Narrative is a mental image 'a cognitive construct' built by the interpreter as a response to the text [...] But it does not take a representation proposed as narrative to trigger the cognitive construct that constitutes narrativity’ (Ryan, 2004 pg. 9-10)
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The Human mind is 'programmed' to think in stories, we 'construct' a sequence.
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A Narrative Schema
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It's how we make sense of the world, an adaptation of humanity.
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“Adaptiveness derives from the capacity of the human mind to build a store of experience in terms of individual, concrete cases—not just the actual lived and self-described experiences…but the narratives accumulated in memory that make up storytelling traditions” (Dutton 2009, 189).
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E.g. 'The Angry Bear'
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Environmental Storytelling & Narrative Architecture
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Where does environmental storytelling as an idea come from?
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'Environmental storytelling is a concept borrowed from theme park design' (Fernandez-Vara, 2011)
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‘In many respects, it is the physical space that does much of the work of conveying the story the designers are trying to tell. Colour, lighting and even the texture of a place can fill an audience with excitement or dread.’ (Carson, 2000 Pg. 2)
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E.g., The Haunted Masion
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Haunted_Mansion_1
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Haunted_Mansion_2
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Game Mechanics
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Mechanics - "Means to guide the player into particular behaviour by constraining the space of possible plans to attain goals" (Järvinen 2008: pg.254)
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Mechanics - ‘Game mechanics are methods [behaviours] invoked by agents, designed for interaction with the game state’ [Sicart, 2008, Pg.23).
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Essentially, anything you can do in the game whilst abiding by the game's rules.
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Narrative Game Mechanics
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'Narrative game mechanics invite agents, including the player, to perform actions that support the construction of engaging stories and fictional worlds in the embodied mind of the player.' (Dubbelman, 2016 Pg.43)
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So, a narrative game mechanic is a ludic action the player is encouraged to perform to progress the story while giving them a sense of agency.
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Florence
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Developed by Mountains
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About the life & first relationship of Florence Yeoh
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What did you think about it? Take a few minutes to gather your thoughts.
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What mechanics did you see? Or, which ones do you recall best? Hop into groups & make a list!
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Interview with Ken Wong (Creative Director)
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“We depict an event in their relationship quite literally, like choosing what objects to put on a shelf, or shaking Polaroids. These are simple, mundane activities, but they carry powerful associations for players.”
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Player's 'take on' the role, i.e. have agency in progressing the story & feel more in-tune with Florence.
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“Using speech bubble shapes as metaphors for dialogue was a powerful discovery, when we had to depict the characters arguing we revisited this metaphor, showing that the characters now talk to each other differently.”
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Visual element of puzzle mechanic to convey emotion & tone - very clever
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Solving a puzzle isn't just 'solving a puzzle' it's having a conversation, being a part of the conversation.
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"Simplicity allows players to imagine more, and fill in the gaps"
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What are they saying? Player's will infer.
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This works great as a style in different genres & media too.
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Music as voices
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Each character was represented by an instrument
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Florence - Piano
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Krish - Cello
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Matrix of Ideas
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Filled in the first 24 in Wk.1
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Now we'll expand!
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Begin to fill in the 'Matrix of Forms', pulling first from your Matrix of Ideas
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Basically you can fill in 24 of the 64 slots using those prompts
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Then (if time) discuss in groups & see ways in which ideas can be combined
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i.e. could your Racing Game ideas & Action (Horror) ideas somehow be combined?
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Week 3 - Non-linear Story
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Readings for the Week:
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Game for the Week - Her Story
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Articles for the Week
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GDC Vault - Making 'Her Story' - Telling a Story Using The Player's Imagination
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Make sure you are logged into your Falmouth library account to access this video. You may need to log in at the top right of the GDC Vault page and click for Falmouth access. If you have trouble, the YouTube link is below:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuADjLZjCe4
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Nonlinear Game Narrative in Game writing: narrative skills for videogames
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Please read chapter 4 for this week's seminar
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Cartography in the Metaverse: The Power of Mapping in Video Games
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Topic of the Week - NON-LINEAR STORY EXPLORATION
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"Because they can"
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Co-Writers of all games - The Players.
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Players who love to push the boundaries of a game because you can.
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Glitches
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Story Progression
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Look for the possible screw-ups & bugs and ways to progress through the game faster
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Speedrunners, etc.
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If you give players that freedom & the narrative isn't water-tight, they'll find out... and often share it on the internet for a good laugh.
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So.... how to avoid this?
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Get in the right mindset as a writer
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Players aren't passive - they're active agents helping the narrative to unfold.
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You can craft an ideal way for a your player-character to act, BUT!
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This may not be how the player wants to move through the game.
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e.g. Telltale Games (Wolf Among Us cause I know it well)
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You can move through the entire game saying NOTHING. Very rarely making a dialogue choice.
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The game still moves onward, Bigby Wolf WILL talk in several situations but at almost every point of dialogue choice you can have him remain silent.
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Is this what the developers had in mind?
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Likely not. But they needed to anticipate it might happen.
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And here’s a video of said silence in action
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Make use of techniques previous game story writers have employed.
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Story
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Story often depends on structure. Structure works. We like structure, e.g.,
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The Hero’s Journey
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heros-journey
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The Three Act Structure
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What-is-The-Three-Act-Structure-Plot-Diagram
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Freytag’s Pyramid
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freytags_pyramid
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The Narrative Structure of a Traditional Story (DeMarle, 2007 Pg.75)
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Structure-of-a-Narrative
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"When designing a story, a writer comes up with a sequence of scenes and dialogues and unfolds consecutively in front of an audience." (DeMarle, 2007, Pg.74)
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We (writers) do this so that by the end of the story, the climax, everything makes sense.
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We know why the character is going to do what they'll do and how they'll do it. We expect the ending and are satisfied when the ending is what we expect.
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But remember, satisfied doesn't always mean happy.
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e.g. I was 'satisfied' when I watched 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' and guess that Barbossa was going to die (he became a parent in a Disney movie)
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But I was also bored since I saw it coming early in the film.
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If we're good writers, our audience will be invested enough in our characters to celebrate or commiserate as the climax plays out.
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In books, films, tv (mostly) & linear games, writers have complete control over this process.
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In a non-linear game, players can explore, act with agency, chose different abilities, take different paths (without giving a hoothoot about what the writer wants)
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So... how do we make sure a player reaches the climax of a non-linear game & ensure it'll make sense to them?
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Techniques to Write a Non-Linear Story
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Merge the Story & Game
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Here are four story-game combinations (DeMarle, 2007 Pg.75-80)
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Implicit Narrative
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The story is in the player's mind
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You can do so much, but the story never changes. e.g. Grand Theft Auto
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Player can jump ahead, earn loads of money, BUT the MC will still complain about a desperate need for money during some cutscenes.
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Being mugged in Skyrim
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h0js6tx7vwj31
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Them: "Your money or your life!"
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Me: Slayer of Dragons, Master of all the guilds, Master of Winterhold College: "... Sure."
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Formal Narrative
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A 'mostly' linear story
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Break Game & Story apart - you interact with the game but the story isn't interactive and very static.
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e.g. giving 'yes or no' answers but you can only chose yes.
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Beating a boss only to have them beat you in a cutscene afterwards anyway
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Often breaks immersion
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Acceptable but has limits. If you're only telling the story through cutscenes... make a film.
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"Wow that was an amazing opening cinematic sequence... I wish I could've done something in it."
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Interactive Narrative
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Exposition relates to player action (ludo success = narrative advancement.
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You ‘Gate the Narrative’
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Screenshot_2024-10-04_at_12.18.39
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Jak 2 did this
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KG_Death_Bots_barrier
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Used very often to stop 'open world' games being too 'open'
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Other examples:
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OP Enemies,
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The location doesn't have events loaded in yet,
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You need a 'certain item/skill' to get in etc.
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My favourite one:
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Pokemon Blue
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In game
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hqdefault
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And the Meme
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halolz-dot-com-pokemon-treeintheroad-comic
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Interactive Story
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The player's actions effect how the story goes.
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Multiple pathways to multiple endings,
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Interacive-Story
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Detroit: Become Human
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detroit-fugitives-flowchart-100
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A risky but often rewarding technique difficult for smaller indie developers.
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Leverage Player Experience
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High Story & Immediate Story
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High Story - Plot of game.
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Pokémon
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You travel around the world, beating all the gym leaders, stopping a criminal organisation from destroying/taking over the world & become the most powerful trainer in the land.
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... You are also 10 years old.
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Immediate Story - What we did in the game. This is what we usually talk about.
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e.g., Pokémon Nuzlockes
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3MOtz4w
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A whole new narrative several YouTubers have taken advantage of bringing new love and attention to the franchise.
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Eliminate Internal Inconsistencies
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Plug all your story-holes
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0SpongeBobgetsuds
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Identify the vehicles used to tell your story
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Items - If you have models for them, use those too
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Cutscenes
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Dialogue
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Environment
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If you're part of a studio, talk to ALL the other departments
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Layer the details
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Use the importance scale: 1 to 6
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1 - VITAL
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Your father was murdered by the BBEG (Big Bad End Game)
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6 - Fun Fact
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Your Great Aunt Miranda liked to collect ribbons and had a pet cockapoo named Florence
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Think 'modular'
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Each time a player encounters a chunk of narrative they'll try and make sense of it. Remember we think in stories & structures.
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We add the structure in & reorganise as more info is made available.
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We'll even put up with things NOT making sense under the assumption it WILL down the line.
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If it doesn't... then we RIOT
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Her Story
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Speaking of thinking modular....
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How does Her Story interact with you?
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How did you interact with Her Story?
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Did the way you interact change the more you progressed?
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Did you keep track of important modules?
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her-story-screenshot-1
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Did any modules really stick with you? Why?
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Where's the 'game’?
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Ideas Generation Cards and Building Off Them
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Week 4 - Branching Narrative
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Readings for the Week:
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Game for the Week - Firewatch by Campo Santo
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Articles for the Week:
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Playing With Words by Laura Hudson
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Designing Branching Narrative by Paul Nelson
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T.O.M.'s Guide To Branching Narrative Design by Tom-Olivier Martin
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Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games by Sam Kabo Ashwell
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The 9 Types of Player Choices (with Examples) by Abhinav Narain
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Topic of the Week: BRANCHING NARRATIVE
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Player Choice
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“A game is a series of interesting choices." Sid Meier (Civilization's programmer, designer, and producer)
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Choice
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Failbetter Games
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Makers of Fallen London (2009) & Sunless Skies (2019)
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Divide 'Choice' into three parts:
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"Choice is your experience immediately before a decision; complicity the experience of acting on that decision; and consequence the experience of what happens later." (Failbetter, 2012)
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Choice
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"Choice is that sense of fulcrum-shift you get when you consider a decision you care about. We normally think about emotional or moral choices (save her and let him die? dogs or cats?) but it can be strategic or mechanical choices (take the money or open the box? use that favour from the Don now or save it?) or personally expressive choices (Failbetter 2012)
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Complicity
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"Complicity is the experience of acting within the story. Again, the vogue is to think of this in terms of emotional or moral complicity (I’m letting him die! The look on his face -) – but it can equally be a vicarious thrill or a power fantasy</a> (I paid big for that favour! and now I get to call it in…). Either way, it’s the experience of." (Failbetter 2012)
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Remember Complicity is akin to Agency
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If you felt the agency was lacking in a branching narrative style game the experience will be lesser.
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Consequence
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Consequence is the experience of watching events unfold. Sometimes, consequence is no more than the pay-off that stops choice feeling hollow (and now his children will go hungry), sometimes it’s the pleasure of the intricate ramifications of plot (and now the Don looks weak – so Tony’s making his move early – which means I have to get the gold out by tomorrow)." (Failbetter, 2012)
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Paper's Please
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Making money vs. being kind
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Shadow of Mordor
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Using the weaknesses of Orc Captain's against them
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"Of the three, consequence is the most expensive – and it gets more expensive very quickly as you add more complexity. It’s also what people tend to think of as the key part of an interactive story, which is why so many RPGs trumpet the number of variant endings as a feature. But twenty variant endings aren’t ten times as good as two variant endings – not if the complicity you felt, and the choices you made, were poorly implemented." (Failbetter, 2012)
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The Nine Types of Choices
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The Hollow Choice
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A choice that has almost no consequence on the rest of the player experience, usually based on pure preference or random selection. E.g. Forza Motorsport 6, where you customise your car.
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The Obvious Choice
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A choice in which there is technically no real decision being made. A lot of times, these might be implemented via the game’s level design. E.g. Batman Arkham Asylum, the game presents two paths but one is blocked by some kind of obstacle so the 'choice' has been made by the game.
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The Uninformed Choice
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A choice that may have an influence on the gaming experience, but the player has little to no information available to them to make an informed decision (on their first play-through). Their choice may matter in the future, but in the moment, they’ll make it based on random selection or personal preference. E.g Your starter in Pokémon
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The Informed Choice
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The Informed Choice will have influence on the gaming experience. However, the player has also been given the opportunity to learn a bit more about how the choices differ and how it might affect the trajectory of their game. E.g. Sid Meier’s Civilization V, where players are given the choice between dozens of starting civilizations, all of which have certain perks and bonuses unique to them.
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The Dramatic Choice
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Unlike the Informed Choice, which empowers the player to make a decision based on information, the Dramatic Choice empowers players to make their decision based on emotion. It’s easily one of the most narrative-based choices a player can be given in a video game. E.g. Making the choice to shoot Emily or just try and save Sam during the final confrontation.
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The Weighted Choice
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The Weighted Choice provides the player with a decision that will have consequences either way. The choice will certainly dictate how the game progresses, but it’s also riddled with its own set of distinct pros and cons. The player must choose which sacrifice is more worth it, in their opinion. E.g. Character deaths in Dragon Age or Fire Emblem
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The Immediate Choice
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As the name might suggest, an Immediate Choice provides players with instant feedback of their actions. Feedback of a game is directly tied to the satisfaction a player feels in participating, so the benefits of providing such feedback instantaneously are clear. E.g. Mass Effect - Paragon or Renegade
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The Long-Term Choice
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The Long-Term Choice is any decision the player makes that is not immediately felt. There is some form of delay in the feedback of this choice. E.g. Saving the Little Sister's in Bioshock
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The Orthogonal Choice
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The Orthogonal Choice is a decision the player makes that drastically changes the trajectory of the gameplay experience. Many choices in video games can seem like major decisions to make, but very few actually take the game into completely different directions. E.g. The Witcher 2: Assassins of King choosing to help either Lorveth and Roche having a profound effect on the storylines & gameplay of the game's second chapter.
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Narrative Structure (For Branching Narratives)
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Dramatic Structure
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Successful dramatic structure ===> PLEASURE
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Aristotle: good drama creates catharsis
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Catharsis
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Catharsis: release from pity and fear
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Pity: identification with and/or empathy for the character
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“A sympathetic character is not necessarily a pleasant character, but basically he or she is morally good” (Hiltunen 2002, 10).
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Fear: concern over impending danger to the character
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The writer’s job is to construct a character the audience pities within a structure that conveys impending danger.
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The Branching Narrative Tree (also called The Time Cave)
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Time_Cave
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Each option leads to new choices. These tend to have short play-throughs but encourage reply (think of them as broad games, rather than long ones). Even with multiple play-throughs, it's likely players will miss some of the content.
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You need to consider the value of & the resources available to you when considering this path (a lot of work when some of it may never be seen/read)
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Most importantly, how can you maintain your narrative impact, your dramatic tension, with so many different options?
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Think back to high narrative, modular chunks and the 'value system' we talked about last week
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The Gauntlet
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Gauntlet_Joke
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No, not that one, this one.
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Gauntlet_N
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Gauntlets have a relatively linear central thread with optional branching content that ends in death, backtracking or quick rejoining. If there are multiple endings, they most likely derive from a final choice.
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Think how a structure that's long rather than broad creates an atmosphere of a hazardous, difficult or constrained world.
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Here's an example:
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DS_Map
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The Quest
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Quest
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The Quest Structure forms distinct branches that tend to rejoin to reach a small number of endings.The narrative tends to be fragmented and episodic with chunks of story not having great significance for the main narrative.
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Suited for journeys of exploration focused on setting. Often organised by geography rather than time. Good for consistent worlds where the character situation is constantly changing. E.g. MMOs.
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The Open Map
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Open_Map
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A structure of multithreaded pathways where travel between nodes is reversible. The narrative tends to be slower paced and less directed. The player has more leisure to explore the world.
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Often employed by larger games like GTA & the newer Assassin's Creed games.
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The Loop & Grow
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Loop_&_Grow
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The game has a central thread that 'loops' around, over and over to the same point. Each time around new options may be unlocked and others closed off.
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You have to justify WHY whole sections of your narrative can repeat. And, to what extent, a player will tolerate it. E.g. Groundhog Day/Time Travel
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Silent Hill P.T. used this structure.
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The Hub & Spoke
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Hub_&_Spoke
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The game has several major branches but they all originate at, and return to, a central node or set of nodes. Players may go out along each spoke once, or many times.
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Games like Crash Bandicoot & Spyro used this structure.
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Use the hub to your narrative advantage; think what can change to a higher or lesser degree as players explore more spokes.
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The Foldback (Also known as 'The Branch and Bottleneck')
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Branch_Bottleneck
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The game branches out, but these branches regularly rejoin, usually around events common to all versions of the story. These structures almost always rely on world-state tracking.
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This style can allow the player-character to construct a distinctive storyline/personality, while still allowing for a manageable plot.
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Works well in larger games, you need to have the time to construct player growth before showing it off at the bottleneck portions.
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E.g. Skyrim - you'll do your optional quests between main storyline events so by the time you reach each one your player-character (and the player) aren't the same person they once were.
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The World State
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World_State
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Tracking World State is an effective way to balance player agency with a dramatic arc.
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Some examples of world state variables:
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Skills
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Personality
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Morality
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Status
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Resources
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NPC Relationships, etc.
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Firewatch
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How do Choice, Character, Story, Text & Visuals work together to create an interactive opening to Firewatch that sets up the core game experience?
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Opening text game
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Firewatch_Game
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What's your relationship to Henry (Hank) as a player?
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How do you feel about the choices offered?
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What impact do they have on your understanding of the player-character and the context?
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All comes back to...
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Play, don't tell:
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“We needed to inject all this knowledge about Henry into every player in the first five to 10 minutes, so I made a [text] game where you played as him. Then I never had to tell you who he was, you could just feel who you wanted him to be.” Sean Vanaman, the writer of Firewatch.
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Choice - Complicity - Consequence
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You chose how you want Henry to respond, you become complicit in his choices and you suffer (or revel in) the consequences of your agency.
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All done in those 5/10mins setting up Firewatch.
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And then continued to build through his dialogue choices with Delilah.
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Twine Game
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Select one of your Game Concepts from the ideas generation exercises in weeks 1-3 (or indeed the concept you are going to develop for the module)
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Now imagine it as a story-led branching narrative. If you were already thinking of using a branching narrative structure this will be easy.
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If not re-imagining it might be tricky but it will help you to ask some important questions about your story.
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Now create a branching narrative demo using Twin.
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It's quite an intuitive platform and there are lots of resources to help you on the Learning Space.
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You can also think about Twine as a tool for scripting a game, and creating a live script, rather than making a finished product.
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Week 5 - Semiotics of Narrative & Game Scripts
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Assessment 2: Portfolio - Due beginning of WK. 16 (13th Jan, Just after Winter Break)
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Resources available on Learning Space
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Readings for the Week
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Game of the week: Limbo
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Articles of the Week:
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Semiotics
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Limbo: Balancing Fun and Frustration in Puzzle Design by Jeppe Carlsen
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Videogame analysis: a social-semiotic approach by Óliver, Mercè & Reinald
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Game Scripts
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Video game storytelling : what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques by Evan Skolnick (Available Online)
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'Adding Magic–The Voice Actors' and 'Dialogue Engines' in Game writing: narrative skills for videogames by Chris Bateman (Available on Penryn Campus)
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Top 10 Worst Lines of Dialogue in Video Games (YouTube Video) by WatchMojo
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Topic of the Week: SEMIOTICS OF NARRATIVE
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Semiotics -Ferdinand de Saussure
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A Swiss Linguist
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CAT
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Cat
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What is this?
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PIPE
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Pipe
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And what is this?
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Understanding & Interpretation
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Thoughts = unshaped/undirected blobs
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Sounds = unshaped/undirected blobs
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Thoughts + Sound (+ Context) = Language
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semiotics-diagram2
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Context built from culture & language give meaning.
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"The children's homework was to create a family tree with pictures, birthdates, and full names for the current Royal family."
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"We took shade under the old oak tree, and Father commented that it seemed to be dying, and might not last the winter."
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Think how we talk to pets.
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There are a plethora of tools writers can employ utilising signs to create meaning...
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"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." -Anton Chekhov
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Style
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Voice
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Metaphor
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Theme
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Dialogue
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Description
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Exposition
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Narrative Summary
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Narrative Devices
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Every game means something" (J. Huizinga, 1939 Pg. 32)
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Video games have so much cultural meaning now & we interact with those signs on an almost daily basis.
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References in other Media
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Reference
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Direct Adaptation
*
Mario_Bros
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Memes
*
Meme1
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General Communication
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Text
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Semiotic Potential of Game Design
>
The Ludo-Narrative debate
*
Janet Murray used a 'Narratological Approach' i.e. discuss the story.
*
Then Espen Aarseth, Gonzalo Frasca and Jesper Juul used a 'Ludological Approach'
*
Finally researchers (Juul & Ryan) stepped forward with a 'Ludo-Narrative Approach'
>
Next came 'Procedural Rhetoric'
>
Ian Bogost - Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames
*
"Procedurality refers to a way of creating, explaining and understanding processes." (Bogost, 2007 Pgs. 2-3)
*
"And processes define the way things work: the methods, techniques, and logics that drive the operation of systems, from mechanical systems like engines to organizational systems like high schools to conceptual systems like religious faith." (Bogost, 2007 Pg.3)
*
Applying pure semiotic methods to game mechanics & interactions helps us understand how players interact with & understand game rules as well as games' wider meanings.
*
Aarseth argued for the inclusion of Social Semiotics
>
A Social-Semiotic Approach
>
Video games must be considered multimodal works or texts.
*
Not only audiovisual narrative and game design coexist (the narrative & the ludo), but other semiotic modes that need to be considered, such as written text, music or 3D design.
>
The complex semiotic connections between these expressive modes that occur pose a fundamental challenge for social-semiotic research
*
It is often difficult to analyse games from pre-existing theory because of their multi-model nature as an artefact.
*
Video games didn't exist as a mainstream concept when these theories were first put forward.
*
In several cases, video games didn't exist at all.
>
To take this approach, game rules & game patterns are the first "semiotic resources" (van Leeuwen, 2005 Pgs. 3-25) you can consider. So immediately there's a change in terms; from semiotic signs to semiotic resources.
>
Traditional Semiotics
*
Sign - Signifier - Signified
*
Tree - Me saying 'tree' - You constructing the image of tree in your mind.
>
Social semiotics place "semiotic resources" and "signifying potential" above the traditional semiotic notion of sign as "signifier" and "signified"
>
In this case, language becomes "not a code, not a set of rules for producing correct sentences, but a 'resource for making meanings'" (Halliday, 1978 Pg.192; quoted in van Leeuwen, 2005 Pg. 3).
>
It's much more open to interpretation from players & researchers.
*
e.g. so you can press the 'X' button to jump, but why?
>
"Gameplay design necessarily presupposes a player with an attitude of minimum cooperation or interpretative consistency with the rules of the game and its overall design." (Óliver, Mercè, Reinald, 2017)
*
So, it's assumed YOU the player, will have a developed schema for game rules & design to help you better construct your understand of the game from its semiotic resources.
>
And that YOU the player will adhere to the rules of the game and its overall design.
>
But will we?
*
Remember "because we can"
*
Though players will rarely go into a game 'blind' and start looking for ways to 'misplay' it.
>
A Social Semiotic Approach to Game Design (Óliver, Mercè & Reinald, 2017)
*
Social_Semiotic_Game
>
Audiovisual Narrative
*
Nice and simple.
*
Break down what you see, what you hear and what you experience in a game.
*
By the end you'll usually discuss what you felt the game was about (even internally)
>
Look at what we do in class every week :)
*
Florence
*
Her Story
*
Firewatch
*
Limbo
*
We talk about what these 'do' and how we interacted with them.
>
Ludo-Narrative Dimension
>
Representation of the Player/Character
>
Action Rules
>
The repertoire of possible actions the character/player can do and how they affect the game world
>
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Extinction
*
Extinction
*
Can hunt enemy creatures to extinction & they'll cease to appear.
*
Could be interpreted as commentary on humanities hunting?
>
September 12th - Shooting
*
Sept_12
*
Can chose to shoot enemies which only causes them to multiply.
*
Critical discourse on Bush's governments 'preventative war' in Iraq
>
State Rules
*
Can be physical states (e.g. higher/lower level of health) - a high enough level to unlock a quest.
*
Or psychological states, sociological variables - Wealthy enough to buy different items/infamous enough to garner fear or aggression from NPC's on sight.
>
Game Mechanics
>
Papers Please - Time Pressure, Work Demands, Unstable Politics
*
Nightmarishly complex, bizarre & illogical Kafkaesque bureaucratic tone.
*
Harvest Moon - Farming = an escape from city life.
>
Behaviour-Inducing Mechanics
*
Team Building in online role-playing game.
>
Teams in Final Fantasy 14
*
FFXIV_Teams
>
Representation of the Fiction World
>
Design of the space-time environment
>
i.e. The world around you changing as time progresses
*
Firewatch changing between day/night or becoming full of smoke as the fire spreads.
*
Certain shops only opening depending on the time of day (Harvest Moons/Stardrew Vally)
>
Rules of specific areas and states of the game
>
The change in gameplay between environments
>
Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
>
Overworld Gameplay
*
Gameplay
>
Mining Gameplay
*
Mining
>
NPC behavioural patterns
>
NPC's behaving in specific ways to follow rules
*
Harvest Moon NPC reactions to gifts:
>
Good
*
HM_Good
>
Bad
*
HM_Bad
>
Operating rules of objects/instruments
>
Objects behaving in specific ways to follow rules
*
Dark Souls 3 The Ringed-City
*
Ladders only dropping dependant on your character's appearance
>
Representation of Activities
>
Patterns of action-objective
>
The main activity or activities represented in the story
>
Sim City - A bigger city is always a BETTER city
*
A Capitalist Perspective.
>
Victory and defeat conditions
>
How do you 'win' the game? How do you complete levels?
*
Kill all enemies?
*
Find a traitor?
*
Progress time?
>
Game mechanics
*
Harvest Moon - Collecting items/selling items/building structures
>
Design of redundancy vs. variability
>
Is the activity flexible or rigid?
*
Harvest Moon - can you only grow one item?
*
Bioshock - can you only fight with one weapon?
>
Tactical/strategic structures
*
"Any strategy is linked to a certain coupling of opportunities and risks, strengths and weaknesses." (Óliver, Mercè & Reinald, 2017)
>
McDonalds Video Game
*
McD_Game
*
Moral actions - organic farming, fair wages, safe working conditions = little profit.
*
Immoral actions - animal cruelty, deceitful advertisement, corruption = big profit
>
System-Game Dimension
>
Objective
*
From a 'system' perspective (removed from the narrative) objectives can be 'find an item' 'kill an enemy' 'master the gameplay mechanic'
*
When the story may be 'find the cure fo the disease' 'slay the beast who killed your partner' 'become the best pokémon trainer in the region'
*
This change in viewpoint helps you further understand the game.
>
Rules
*
Completing the puzzles in front of you by following the structure the game desires.
*
Paper's Please - increasingly difficult, maybe even 'un-winnable'
*
Open world survival games = you 'win' by surviving.
>
Ludic roles of the game's agents
*
Remember, a character's ludic role may be far from their role and characterisation in the narrative dimension, even indicating almost opposing values.
>
The Last of Us - Joel
>
Ludic standpoint - the agent who moves the player through the game world
*
Joel = Progression
>
Narrative standpoint
*
Initially against exploration, prefer to avoid combat, wants Ellie gone.
*
He wants things to be simple and end.
>
Game representation disassociation
*
You beat the final boss, achieve a 'victory' and progress insofar as the system thinks.
*
But you then experience a tragic narrative ending = tragedy & sadness are then linked with victory.
*
What does this say about the game?
>
Final Fantasy XIII-2
*
Beat the final boss & then the protag dies & the world is swallowed by darkness
>
Designer-Player Dimension
*
The designer–player relationship is not only a communication relationship in video games, but also (and above all) a mentor–pupil relationship.
>
The design style guiding the player through learning processes is key to assessing the video game interpersonal semiotic function
*
How does the game teach you how to play it? Does it 'hold your hand' does it 'gate information' does it give you nothing? And rely on you having a developed enough schema to cope?
>
Why do we care?
*
We care cause we like games.
>
We want to write games GOOD games, play games & discuss games.
*
So, by "developing sharper analytical methods for understanding the signification potential of videogames" we improve our knowledge of them. Our skills as writers, coders, designers, actors, etc.
>
Games get better because we research what works and what doesn't.
*
.... With the odd moment of serendipity in-between :P
>
Limbo
>
So! Let's think on Limbo
>
Try breaking the game down to:
*
Audiovisual Narrative
*
Ludo-Narrative Dimension
*
System-Game Dimension
*
Designer-Player Dimension
>
Write Task
*
Introducing a new piece of tech to help you along!
>
Ren'Py
*
A free, open-source visual novel engine.
*
Have a play with it and see if you think it suits the game & story you've worked up so far!
*
Week 6 - Reading Week
*
Week 7 - Pitch Workshops
*
Week 8 - Pitch Presentations
>
Week 9 - Game Characters & Player Agency
>
First things first…
*
Congrats
*
Well done on completing your pitch assignments!!! :D :D
>
Assessment 2: Portfolio - Due beginning of WK.14 (Monday, 6 January 2025, 4:00 PM)
*
This is where we'll be shifting focus now.
>
Developing scripting ideas in class such as:
*
Which section you'll be scripting (if not the whole game)
*
What your approach to your script will be
*
Your confidence to fulfil the assignment brief.
*
So, let's go back over the assignment brief:
>
Readings for the Week:
*
Game of the Week: The Stanley Parable
>
Critical Readings for the Week:
>
Video game storytelling: what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques by Evan Skolnick
*
Please read Chapters 9, 10, 11, pages 115-147, on level design and character development.
>
Hamlet on the Holodeck : The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace by Janet Murray
*
Please read Chapter 5 'Agency,' and the 2016 update, before the session.
*
The university has a 3-person license for this text, so to free up the book for other students, please download the chapter you need so you can read it offline.
>
Narrative As Virtual Reality 2 Marie Laure Ryan
*
Please just read p.162-5 of Chapter 7 'The Many Forms of Interactivity.' It is important you understand the distinctions between Internal-Ontological, Internal-Exploratory, External-Ontological and External-Exploratory.
*
A PDF of the book has been uploaded to the Learning Space for you to use.
>
Game-Centric Videos
*
Parachuting into the Story by Dan Pinchbeck
*
Forget Protagonists: Writing NPCs with Agency for '80 Days' and Beyond by Meg Jayanth
*
Flow, the Secret to Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
>
Topic of the Week: GAME CHARACTERS & PLAYER AGENCY
>
Character
>
Andrew S. Walsh - On Characters
*
'The packet is shiny. On the cover is an oiled, muscled fighting machine of a man and his sidekick who is sleek, silky, sexy and massively underdressed, particularly when bearing in mind the effect of gravity on her prodigious bosom. On the back of the box the blurb entices you to play the seven-level story-line, unlock extra thongs for the lead characters, and play the game from the perspective of either of the two leads. Eagerly loading the game, the player is instantly immersed in a fast-moving cascade of action. However, aside from a certain amount of anatomical jiggling, there's no difference in the gameplay regardless of which of the two characters you select. The distinct perspectives sold on the back of the box only stretch as far as two unique combat moves and the characters contrasting abilities to strain leather.
*
This is the view of game characters that many nongamers hold.' (Walsh, in Bateman 2007, Pg.103)
>
And it is UTTERLY wrong.
*
But, it has has its roots in fact.
*
‘When platform was king, creating a character was easy/this is because what many games called and still call a character is really just an icon' (Walsh, in Bateman 2007, Pg. 103)
>
Mario, Doom Guy, Racing Cars... Tetris Blocks - They were just what you used to interface with the game.
>
Mario - Personality?
*
.... Not so much.
>
Doom Guy - Personality?
*
He loves an inventive kill.
>
Racing Cars - Personality?
*
Not outside of Disney.. and even then the were lacking.
>
Tetris Blocks - Personality?
*
Not outside of Family Guy...
*
Screenshot_2022-11-15_at_14.35.42
>
But, they're brands:
>
Mario
*
Mario_Pencil_Case
>
Doom Guy
*
Doom_Pencil_Case
>
Racing Cars
*
Forza_Pencil_Case
>
Tetris
*
Tetris_Pencil_Case
*
And brands sold.
>
Think about console launch titles:
>
PlayStation 4
*
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
*
Injustice: Gods Among Us
*
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
>
Xbox One
*
Forza Motorsport 5
*
Angry Birds Star Wars
*
Battlefield 4
>
Nintendo Switch
*
Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
*
Super Bomberman R
*
Shovel Knight: Spector of Torment
*
Several of these could be argued as in-depth narratives with complex characters but... Are you really buying them for that?
*
But now? Now we have CHARACTERS
*
"Characters are actors/who exist in the game world and perform in-game actions." (Dansky, 2007 Pg.2)
>
"Every character in a game should be designed to serve a purpose." (Dansky)
*
In fact, they should always be dual-purposed:
>
Narrative use & Ludo use
*
Think back to the week on Semiotics: - A character's ludic role may be far from their role and characterisation in the narrative dimension, even indicating almost opposing values.
>
E.g. Ashley Resident Evil 4
*
RE4_Ashley
*
Narrative Role: Inciting Incident, surrogate child for Leon, grows into a stronger character over the course of the story unfolding.
*
Ludic Role: GET IN THE WHEELIE BIN AND STAY THERE
>
Death Dante's Inferno
*
Dante_Death
*
Narrative Role: He’s the guardian of all of the souls in Hell, tasked with the purpose of harvesting and watching over them.
*
Ludic Role: He's a tutorial boss..
>
As a game writer you need to be aware of the different functions characters can fill that are separate from film, TV & books.
>
After all, "the quality of a game's characters will have a direct impact upon the potential strength of its storytelling." (Skolnick, 2014 Pg. 120)
*
I came to Dream Daddies for the Meme, I stayed cause I caught feels for the Daddies.
>
I took great and vicious pleasure in sending hate mail to an Animal Crossing Villager (Becky) who told me my flowers arrangement was a mess
*
Your turn: gimme a video game character you like and why?
>
Now, in a larger team the process of character development is split:
>
Design
*
Again, coming back to the reason why:
*
Why do they exist? What purpose do that serve? What actions can they take?
>
Main Character
*
Mario
*
Runs, jumps... 'wahoos'
>
Final Boss
*
Bowser
*
Shoots fire and kidnaps Princesses
>
Quest Giver
*
Toad
*
Yells for help
>
Fodder Enemies
*
Goomba
>
Oops, wrong one
*
Goomba1
*
... Are brutally murdered.
>
It's easy to fall into narrative here (I'd often encourage it) but at its base level we're looking purely at their function.
*
Having these base elements written down somewhere will be very useful for you when it comes to building your characters into your scripts.
>
Narrative Design
*
This approach can vary a great deal, especially for games pulling from existing brands or ancient myths.
>
When you have that initial concept pulled from something that already exists, then you can have an interpretation built to fit your style of game:
>
Cthulhu
>
Example 1
>
Cthulhu
*
Cthulhu Saves The World
*
An RPG Maker Parody Game where Cthulhu has never looked more adorable.
>
Example 2
>
Ebriatas
*
Bloodborne
>
London but everyone's mad and wants you dead + Lovecraftian Horrors
*
... So basically London.
*
^That's the key aspect though... DOES the character you've developing fit the design requirements you've thought of?
*
Cthulhu Saves The World - Cuter, Pixel Art, RPG Maker Design & Protagonist
*
Bloodborne - Monstrous Eldritch being content to linger until provoked.
>
LudoNarrative Harmony
*
You've discussed what your character needs to serve as a function & now you've thought about their story, who they are, where they've come from, where they're going, what they had for dinner last night, did they think the dress was black and blue or white and gold...
>
But do both sides match up?
>
Mario and Pipes
*
Mario is a plumber.. Not that it's ever really brought up.
*
Pipes are how you get around.
>
Kratos & Killing
*
Kratos is a Spartan soldier. Sparta was a society built on combat and brutal war skills
*
So when you're hammer, every situation looks like nail...
>
Uncharted
>
One of the few criticisms in the game was it's LudoNarrative harmony:
*
Nathan_Drake
*
Nathan ‘Happy-go-lucky joke cracking adventurer in cutscenes' (Skolnick, 2014 Pg. 132)
*
Nathan_Drake_Shoot
*
‘Heavily armed, relentless killer of hundreds' (Skolnick, 2014 Pg. 132)
*
Doesn't break the game by any means because it does so many other aspects so well
*
You may not be working on as grand a title.
>
Think of it this way:
*
Main Design Mechanic - Cutting Down Trees
*
Narrative Options - Should this character be an optician or a lumberjack?
*
I'm sure you could make both work.
*
But for the sake of simplicity - Lumberjack
*
These are conversations you'll have with yourself as a sole designer or with your creative team if you're part of a company (no matter the size)
>
Concept Art
*
Initial designs of look & feel, can help provide tone to a game
>
Often very different from the finished product
*
Sora_CA_
>
Final Art
*
In-game appearance fitting with the design style, realistic, cartoony, 2D, Pixel, etc.
>
Animation
*
Movement - fluid and light (Celeste, Hollow Knight, etc.) or slow & heavy (Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human)
>
Casting
>
In some (richer) cases, the actors BECOME the character through modcap
*
Modcap
>
Often this means there are two people playing the character:
*
One provides the 'face' the other the voice and movements.
>
Audio Performance
*
Voice & Performance can make a game - Think Firewatch
>
Implementation
*
Now you mix it all together and you have a character in the game world serving multiple roles through the use of assets, voice acting & coding (among other things)
>
Player Agency
*
Agency
*
So, we have characters... but what can players DO with them?
>
'When the things we do bring tangible results, we experience the second characteristic delight of electronic environments - the sense of Agency.' (Murray, 1997 Pg. 126)
*
There MUST be agency of some degree, it's a specificity of the media.
>
If there's no agency in a game it's like having a film with no images
*
A film with no images is a radio play/podcast
*
In the same vain a game with no agency is a film/animation
>
This is something we've discussed before throughout the module
*
And something I'll keep bringing up till you hear it in your sleep like the whisperings of the Eldritch Truth
>
We've always expected agency in games:
*
You move the line in pong - you keep from losing the game
>
You punch the boulder blocking your path - the boulder breaks and you can move forward
*
And we all have a good laugh at Chris Redfield...
>
But, it's not until recently we've truly began to expect agency in a narrative environment
*
Not properly, until video games.
*
So we MUST take advantage of it, show what this media can do.
>
Can anyone think of a kind of narrative where you could act with *some* agency.
>
Hmmm?
*
Panto
*
Pantomime & Interactive Theatre!
*
‘If the audience decided that Tinkerbell was a pest and refused to clap her back to life, the play would come to a halt' (Murray, 1997 Pg. 126)
>
So, insofar as participatory theatre is concerned, audiences are often funnelled by expected social norms:
*
e.g. 'He's behind you!' 'Oh no he isn’t!’
*
Technically the audience can remain silent, or they can chose to yell anything else. But they don't.
*
People rarely go into a pantomime, dinner theatre, comedy show, etc. looking to subvert expectations and potentially 'ruin' the show. We're there for fun.
*
And... we don't wanna become the butt of the joke.
>
There are patterns we learn and follow to engage 'correctly' with the narrative and still feel that level of satisfaction because we can say 'I helped'
*
I brought Tinkerbell back to life
*
I warned the knight that a dragon was behind him
*
I boo'd the evil queen till she left the stage, etc.
*
What are these though?
>
These unwritten rules we all know to follow to engage....
>
SCHEMA!
*
Schema
*
 
*
It always comes back to schema :P
*
We build these rules for everything we do in life and by actually paying attention to them you can see the 'correct' forms agency takes in both theatre and games.
>
Then if you're very snazzy you mess with it to make something new:
>
Like Theatrical Asides
>
These were groundbreaking in the late 17th Century
*
Things like The Country Wife used them to manipulate an audience's support
*
The Rake or Heroine would step 'aside' and tell the audience their hopes, dreams, let them in on jokes, etc.
>
Electronic Environments
>
They're very similar when it comes to rules and responses
*
Megaman_
*
You see an open screen and now it doesn't always have to say start, you may just button mash since you expect it's there.
*
Or, you wait, and when you don't see a 'press start' anywhere get confused since you Schema has been missed with.
*
Either way, you are performing a response to the 'call' of the machine
>
Janet Murray compares it to square dancing
>
'When we are placed inside a simulation environment and allowed to experiment with a changing set of parameters as we see fit (more nitrogen, less algae) we are acting more like a leading partner' (Murray, 1997 Pg. 128)
*
You perform an action and see a change - and this can be applied to almost anything from dancing, to making tea to cleaning your bedroom.
*
Now, sure you can influence your dance partner, but the musicians and other dancers aren't going to change what they're doing, so there's a limit.
*
But on a computer you can move beyond one partner, you can open files, make excel formulas and watch their execution, design & animate creatures to move however you want.
>
'When things are going right on the computer, we can be both the dancer and the caller of the dance' (Murray, 1997 Pg. 128
*
You're deciding the dance, the music, the actions of other dancers.
*
You're making choices that result in something you can see, hear and respond to.
*
That's agency.
>
Games
>
The way theorists argued game vs. story impacted the debate on agency since…
*
'Stories do not require us to do anything except pay attention as they are told' whereas
*
'Games always involve some kind of activity and are often focused on the mastery of skills '
>
Myst
*
Myst is a puzzle game released in 1993 where you explore an island and work to escape it.
*
The game has several endings and the 'bad' endings where you could state the player has failed the game are often argued to be more well-presented than the 'good' endings where the player succeeded on a ludological level.
*
So, again, it doesn't have to just be one or the other.
>
Agency within an interactive world doesn't have to equal ludo success
*
Remember moral choices? You're moving the narrative along, succeeding at that base level, but you still chose who got eaten by zombies.
*
So rather than think of the story element in terms of 'success' think of it in terms of drama
*
Symbolic Dramas
*
^Very similar to surrogate experiences.
>
Games can take everyday situations and heighten them to further engage players in the narrative & mechanics:
>
I encounter a confusing world and I figure it out
*
A student in their first year of uni
*
Nathan Drake navigating ancient ruins
>
I encounter a world in pieces and assemble it into a coherent whole
*
Building a university schedule for yourself with assignment deadlines, lecture times and free time.
*
Exploring worlds that have been cut off from one another and protecting them from The Heartless then sealing their keyholes
>
I take a risk and am rewarded for my courage
*
Pitching you game idea to the class and your lecturer
*
Entering a boss fight where you could be very easily one-shot.
>
I encounter a difficult antagonist and triumph over them
*
You pass the module despite the lecturer being mean.
*
... Stuff you Whitney and your horrible Miltank.
*
^The obligatory Pokémon reference
>
I encounter a challenging test of skill or strategy and succeed at it
*
Completing all your assignments to a good level and handing them in on time.
*
Finishing time trials in Crash Bandicoot.
>
I start off with very little of a valuable commodity and end up with a lot of it (or vice versa)
*
(I'm not gonna talk about money cause that'll make me sad…
*
No friends at the start of uni, now you have some friends!
*
Building your island in Animal Crossing
>
I am challenged by a world of constant unpredictable emergencies and I survive it.
*
... Covid.
*
RNG (Random Number Generator) effects like Darkest Dungeon.
>
In games we have a 'chance to enact our most basic relationship with the world - our desire to prevail over our adversary' and we build more complex plots around that.
*
Goes right back to our first survival instincts as humans
*
Game's encompass the best part of narrative - the surrogate experience, and we don't just live it in our minds or see it on a screen, we ENACT it and it feels good
*
Using this knowledge of agency, thinking about your games in this way can help you not only build up the satisfying acts your characters may take but also why that character can and does act that way and how a player will respond to it
>
Week 10 - Environmental Storytelling
>
Readings for the Week:
*
Game of the Week: Gone Home by Fullbright
>
Critical Readings for the Week:
>
Game Design as Narrative Architecture in First person: new media as story, performance and game by Henry Jenkins
*
Available on the Learning Space
*
Make sure you understand the difference between evocative, enacted, embedded and emergent narrative ahead of the workshop
>
Video game storytelling: what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques by Evan Skolnick
*
Please read Chapter 12: Environment, pages 148-62.
>
Game-Centric Texts & Videos
*
Level Design in a Day: The Level Design of Gone Home by Kate Craig & Steve Gaynor
*
Environmental Storytelling in Gone Home by Shahrez Aziz
*
Video games and the art of spatial storytelling by Sharang Biswas
*
Environmental Storytelling: Indices and the Art of Leaving Traces by Clara Fernandez Vara
>
Topic of the Week: ENVIRONMENTAL STORYTELLING
>
Where did it all start? - Don Carson
>
Environmental Storytelling is one of the biggest and most oft discussed tools in a game creator's arsenal... But where did the term come from?
>
Theme Parks!
*
Don Carson (game developer, theme park designer, software engineer) wrote a piece relating his work in all of these fields:
>
'Whether it's a 100 million dollar Disney ride, a 3D shooter, or a kid's entertainment title, it is my objective to tell a story through the experience of traveling through a real, or imagined physical space.' (Carson, 2000)
*
Real - Everything from exploration of ruins done by older explorers up to going for a walk in the a forest where you haven't before.
>
Imagined Physical Space:
*
Play - Remember our BIGGEST evolutionary advantage
>
Surrogate - It's happening, but not really
>
So because of this these spaces can be a huge variety of things:
>
Exploring a killer’s lair
*
Killer_Lair
>
Escaping a locked room
*
Escape_Room
>
He noted three things he wants a space to be able to do in any computer game:
>
Let me go somewhere I could never go.
*
Outer Space
*
Bottom of the Sea
*
Center of the Earth
*
Basically anywhere Jules Verne wrote about...
>
Let me be someone I could never be.
*
Astronaut
*
Explorer
*
Detective
>
Let me do things I could never do.
*
Save the world
*
Defeat evil spirits
*
Solve a murder
*
Again, it's all play, all surrogate experiences.
>
But, despite how far technology has, the gameplay has remained fairly similar:
*
FFVII
*
'We may be transported into ever engrossing and elaborate theatrically lighted cathedrals, but the fact is, we are still simply killing each other.' (Carson 2000)
*
We may be in utterly realistic serial killer lairs or space ships but you're still just solving puzzles.
>
So, where's the connection?
*
It's in the same sought-after goal:
*
'True, their audience demographics may be slightly different, but in many ways they face the same challenge: How to bring people into their created worlds and keep them immersed and entertained.' (Carson 2000)
>
We can even see a few similarities:
>
Duelling Dragons Ride:
*
Duelling_Dragons_Coaster
>
Duelling Dragons Game:
*
Duelling_Dragons_Game
*
Duelling Dragons Game
>
Haunted Hospitals Ride:
*
Haunted_Hospital_Ride
>
Haunted Hospitals Game:
*
Haunted_Hospital_Game
>
Carson describes the thrill of next-gen rides: 'No longer are rides simply a short lived thrill, now guests are fully immersed in stories, where they play the main character.' (Carson 2000)
>
Fully immersed in stories? Acting with agency?
*
'The pleasures of immersion stem from our being completely absorbed within the ebb and flow of a familiar narrative schema.' (Douglas & Hargadon, 2000 Pg. 154)
*
These rides are designed to leverage our experience, our developed schemata to help immerse us in the experience.
*
'Armed only with their own knowledge of the world, and those visions collected from movies and books, the audience is ripe to be dropped into your adventure.' (Carson 2000)
>
The trick is to play on those memories and expectations to heighten the thrill of venturing into your created universe.' (Carson 2000)
*
Comes back to a favourite adage of mine:
*
Learn the structure and then mess with it.
>
You have to think about your story
*
But not story in a traditional sense of 'events over time'
>
But the big picture - what is this world?
>
Is it a pirate world?
*
Pirate_World
>
A fantasy world?
*
Fantasy_World
>
A Hellish world?
*
Hellish_World
>
'If you are creating a game or attraction based on, let's say "pirates", you'll need to play your audiences expectation like a violin.' (Carson, 2000)
>
I.e. play into their schemata expectactions:
*
Pirates - men with beards who say 'ARRRGHHHH'
*
Fantasy - men with beards who cast spells
*
Hellish - ... men with beards and cloven hoofs.
>
Establish - "Where am I?”
>
'No matter how well designed your environments are, if your audience can not answer this question in the first 15 seconds, you are already lost.' (Carson 2000)
*
Relate this back to your narrative writing:
>
Where do you put your hook? Your 'Inciting Incident?'
*
If it's several pages in and it's not there? .... I shall take ISSUE
*
It's the same with your environment
*
It should be almost immediate where the player is.
>
So how can do this?
*
Play of tropes
>
Big up the specifities of the media:
>
Sound, image, exploration, text, agency
>
e.g. Pirate Cove
*
sound of rushing waves, damp wood, creaking ships, listening at the door and hearing angry men yelling 'AARRRGH'
>
Fantasy Land
*
Soothing harp music, woodwind instruments, exploring enchanted lands where everything glows, texts written in archaic languages
>
Hell
>
Screams of the damned, everything's red, thunderstorms, endless mazes
*
Or working in retail at Christmas
>
Storytelling Through Cause and Effect
*
Or: 'Something went down I should be worried...'
>
Outlast
*
Outlast
>
Designing the Familiar
>
Or: Never forget the toilet
*
Batman_Toilet
>
Remember, this is theatre!
>
Or: Less is more:
>
Less
*
Less
>
More
*
More
>
Using contrasting elements to your advantage
>
Or: It's bigger on the inside
*
Cathedral_of_the_Deep
>
Or: Gasslands, Desert, Ocean, Jungle, Canyon, Ice world, Fire world, Boss
*
(If any of you get that... well done.)
>
Narrative Architecture - Henry Jenkins
>
Starter Points:
>
Not all games tell stories. Games may be an abstract, expressive, and experiential form, closer to music or modern dance than to cinema:
>
e.g. Tetris
*
Tetris
>
Snood
*
Snood
*
This isn't to say you couldn't build a narrative out of these games
>
Many games do have narrative aspirations
*
Most do but some games are just there for a person so engage with a challenge & see how long they can last or see if they can beat their friend.
>
There is not one 'future' of games
*
Much like everything in life... we have no idea where the medium is going.
*
We can only make coherent predictions & run with what for us so far.
*
The experience of playing games can never be simply reduced to the experience of a story
>
If some games tell stories, they are unlikely to tell them in the same ways that other media tell stories.
*
Remember, play to those specificities.
>
'Game designers don't simply tell stories; they design worlds and sculpt spaces.' (Jenkins, 2003)
>
Even some of the earliest game's were designed around players being able to move, to explore 'narratively-compelling' spaces.
*
Inform 7 Games, Zork, Myst, etc.
*
You moved through the spaces.
>
Some very early 'graphically engaging' games like early Super Mario were called 'side-scrollers'
*
We situate them alongside a much older tradition of spatial storytelling: many Japanese scroll paintings map, for example, the passing of the seasons onto an unfolding space.
>
E.g. The Landscape of the Four Seasons by Sesshū Tōyō in 1486
*
Landscape_of_the_Four_Seasons
*
So, insofar as Mario's world progression is told, the creators were pulling from an ancient form of storytelling
>
Choices about the design and organisation of game spaces have narratological consequences.
*
Every choice should be deliberate, just like with your characters.
>
Your environment may craft ludological hazards to challenge progression, but (especially if you're building a narrative-heavy game) they should help tell your story
*
Demon's_Souls_PS5_Ballista
>
Again, going back to characters:
>
Design
*
What is this place?
*
It's a prison.
*
Dark, damp, enclosed, maze-like.
>
Narrative Design
*
A once proud nation now ruled by a tyrant
*
Former citizens & gentry imprisoned
*
Evil guards & sinister traps guard against escape.
>
Ludo-Narrative Harmony
*
Creepy-ass prison that's hard to escape, full of monsters to battle & environmental hazards that both tell the story & challenge progression.
*
A former statue of the land's queen has been transformed into a ballista designed to kill those who try to escape.
>
Some games tell stories with their environments that go across instalments:
>
Dark Souls 1
>
Fair Lady
*
Fair_Lady_DS1
>
Quelana of Izalith
*
Quelana
>
Dark Souls 3 The Fair Lady & Quelana of Izalith
*
Fair_Lady_DS3
>
Now, that level of detail does two things:
*
1) Highlights the depth of planning & prep that went into the game's narrative
*
2) Rewards long-standing fans & observant players with a conclusion to a side-narrative.
>
The Four Kinds of Environmental Storytelling: (Jenkins, 2003) & Bevensee et. al (2012)
>
1) Evoked Narrative:
*
‘Have the ability to enhance an already existing narrative through the level of detail in the spatial design.’
>
Assassin's Creed: Origins
*
AC_Origins
*
Pulling from something that already exists, e.g. a past location, a well-known myth, adapting/continuing an existing piece, etc.
*
If done properly, the skill 'evokes' a sense of place to help immerse a player in the storyworld.
*
Origins (cause big budget) brought in numerous archaeologists & historical architects in the creation of its Ancient Egypt.
>
Now, it's on some university readings lists as 'recommended reading' because it's the best resource to have a chance to explore an accurate depiction of that place
*
... Except with Cleopatra, they dropped the ball there.
*
'In the case of evoked narratives, spatial design can either enhance our sense of immersion within a familiar world or communicate a fresh perspective on that story through the altering of established details.' (Jenkins, 2003)
>
2) Enacted Narrative:
*
‘Provide narrative elements which are built up around characters’
>
Persona 5
*
Persona_5_
*
Persona 5 progresses its narrative through exploring people's distorted perceptions of reality.
*
e.g. An abusive teacher see's himself as a king and the school his castle.
*
A pressured lawyer see's court as a casino and herself as the number one player.
*
The environment serves as a reflection for these character's motivations, beliefs, tactics and more. They are 'enacted' through every aspect of the environment, even down to the music and names of enemies in those areas.
*
'In the case of enacted narratives, the story itself may be structured around the character's movement through space and the features of the environment.' (Jenkins, 2003)
>
3) Embedded Narrative:
*
‘The game world is a “memory palace” where the object and the staging within the game contain clues which enable one to reconstruct the plot’
>
Gone Home
*
Gone_Home
*
This is one of the most common forms of Environmental Storytelling.
*
Essentially, everything happens before you arrive and you're left to try and uncover what happened and how by closely exploring the environment. Games like Dark Souls, Prey, The Sinking City & Subnautica do this too.
*
'In the case of embedded narratives, the game space becomes a memory palace whose contents must be deciphered as the player tries to reconstruct the plot.' (Jenkins, 2003)
>
4) Emergent Narrative:
*
‘Set up a universe where the player can construct their own narrative based on encountered events.’
>
Darkest Dungeon
*
Darkest_Dungeons
>
This can come about in two ways:
*
The game is designed to be different with each playthrough and the RNG will determine how things works out story-wise.
*
Or the game has a set high-narrative but you're much more invested in the immediate narrative that may generate an immediate narrative based on player decisions.
*
In Darkest Dungeon we have the former, every 'hero' you acquire, every enemy you encounter (save bosses) and every item you find is all left to chance.
*
In Skyrim you have a set high narrative but a plethora of side-quests and semi-random events to discover that can lead to an (arguably) more satisfying immediate narrative.
*
'In the case of emergent narratives, game spaces are designed to be rich with narrative potential, enabling the story-constructing activity of players.' (Jenkins, 2003)
>
‘Game levels are frequently capable of, and indeed designed to, elicit affective responses.’ (Yannakakis and Togelius, 2016 Pg. 1)
>
Journey
*
Journey
*
The environment helps build the sense of isolation & combined with the multiplayer mechanic can really play with your emotions.
*
The game makes use of both evoked & embedded storytelling, both of which are fantastic at telling a story without the use of dialogue.
*
So, by making use of this amazing specificity of video game media, you can really elevate your storytelling beyond dialogue and clunky exposition.
>
Week 11 - Audio & Visual Storytelling
>
Readings for the Week:
*
Game of the Week: Game of the Week: Night in the Woods
>
Critical Texts
>
Show and Tell in 'Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art' by Scott McCloud
*
The whole of this book is very good (brilliantly laid out) but here you've only got chapter 6 to look through.
>
Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know About Narrative Techniques by Evan Skolnick
*
Please read Chapter 14: Audio, pages 171-84.
>
Non-Critical Texts
*
The Psychology of Music and Sounds In Games by eonmusic
*
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: writing a score for the end of the world by Keith Stuart
*
Tackling VR storytelling challenges with spatial audio by Matthew Bobb
>
Game-Centric Videos
*
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture | Launch Trailer 2015
*
Virginia | Trailer | Variable State [1080p HD]
>
Thirty Flights of Loving Trailer
*
This is a 13-minute game worth playing, or you can watch a walkthrough video. Have a think about its approach to visual storytelling.
>
Topic of the Week: AUDIO & VISUAL STORYTELLING
>
Audio
>
'Both Narrative & Audio are heavily slanted toward enhancing the core gameplay experience' (Skolnick, 2014 Pg.171)
>
'Like a video game's story, good audio is rarely noticed, but bad audio always is' (Skolnick, 2014 Pg. 171)
*
Like a computer interface - the good ones are the kind you don't notice because you do everything right.
*
However, the best ones are the kind where you take a moment to just sit back and admire them because they work so well it stands out.
>
Good Game Audio
>
Soundtrack
>
Bloodborne - Upper Cathedral Ward
*
Developed by FromSoftware in 2015
>
Subnautica - Music Queues
*
Developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment
>
Sound Effects
*
100 Most Iconic Video Game Sound Effects (1980-2019)
>
Questionable Game Audio:
>
Soundtrack
>
Revolution X
*
A Shooter Gallery game developed by Midway (Arcade) and Rage Software & Software Creations (Ports)
>
Sound Effects
*
HEY! Listen
*
Get up on the Hydra's back!
>
Obviously we've come a long way since the early 90's but that isn't to say those earlier games all had bad audio...
>
Pokémon Red - Champion Theme
*
I don't care what anyone says, this is amazing and was the most epic moment of my childhood.
*
And also a strong justification that 8-bit audio can still hit home as well as larger orchestral sound pieces.
*
But regardless, the audio (sound effect & soundtracks) can be extremely useful tools in enhancing that overall immersion into gameplay.
>
There are different distinctions for audio in games: (and we borrow these terms from film studies)
>
Diegetic
>
Sound that comes from the setting of the film
*
Characters talking to one another
>
Ambient sounds
*
Birds chirping, kettle boiling, etc.
>
Almost anything done in the film/game world that produces a sound those characters could feasibly hear
*
Think of it a little like characters in a play. They obviously hear the other actors speaking, but they act as though they can't hear that one audience member unwrapping a sweet during the third act twist.
>
Non-Diegetic
>
Sound that comes from 'our' world
*
Soundtracks
*
Scores
>
Voice Overs (sometimes but not always)
>
E.g. Pepper Pig
*
The (arguably useless) voice over repeats what's happening/just happened. Pepper & co. don't hear the voice over but the people watching do.
>
Into The Woods (Stage Play)
*
The Narrator begins appearing at the stage's edge & speaking directly the audience ignored by the other actors.
*
But as the play moves on he becomes known and interacts with them.
*
So this sound moves from Non-Diegetic to Diegetic
>
Then these terms can be separated further into:
>
Dynamic
*
Able to change on its own
*
The sound may be on a time loop/trigger and can change without player input.
>
Non-Dynamic
*
Remains static
*
Will not change unless the player does something to move the audio onwards.
>
And again into:
>
Interactive
*
The player can influence the appearance/end of this audio element
*
Through movement, event triggering, etc.
>
Non-Interactive
*
The player cannot change this audio element
*
It will begin when it begins and then play through to the end
>
Things like unskippable cutscenes for example:
*
I still wake up screaming thinking about the pre-Yunalesca Cutscene in Final Fantasy X...
>
And even then examples can move between these distinctions:
>
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Collins, 2008 Pg. 125)
>
During the tutorial in Kokiri forest, it remains daytime & the Kokiri theme plays throughout, unless Link enters a characters home or encounters an enemy
>
So, at this point in the game, the Kokiri theme is:
*
Interactive - Because the player can influence when it plays
*
Non-Dynamic - Because the piece stopping/starting is dependent wholly on the player
*
But, once you're past the tutorial area the game's day/night cycle begins and if you return to the forest at night... it's silent.
>
Then, as daylight breaks, the music starts up again. So now the Kokiri theme is:
*
Interactive - Because the player can still influence its starting and stopping
*
Dynamic - Because the piece will also stop/start bashed on a coded timer
*
So, it's possible for audio elements in game's to constantly be changing their classifications and that presents challenges development teams need to think about.
>
Let's look at some classification examples:
>
'The most basic level of nondiegetic audio for games is the nondynamic linear sounds and music found most frequently in the introductory movies or cinematics' (Collins, 2008 Pg. 125) - Loads of game's make use of these.
*
You know in games where you hang about on the opening menu for too long and a cutscene starts?
*
That's what Collins is getting at here. Dark Chronicle has a great one if you ever wanna have a look.
>
Non-Diegetic, Non-Dynamic, Non-Interactive - Music themes for game locations.
*
Not heard by the game characters, static, uncontrolled by the player,
>
Non-Diegetic, Dynamic, Non-Interactive - Music themes fading/starting up as the game moves through day & night cycles.
*
Not heard by game characters, can change by itself, the player cannot control it
>
Non-Diegetic, Dynamic, Interactive - Music changing as the player approaches an enemy that will change back to the environmental score when the play creates distance.
*
Not heard by game characters, can change, the player can control this change
>
Diegetic, Non-Dynamic, Non-Interactive - 'the sound event occurs in the character’s space, but the character has no direct participation with it' (Collins, 2008 Pg. 126)
*
Heard by game characters, cannot change on its own, cannot be controlled by the player
*
Grim Fandango - At one point a character is trying to tune a radio, we and Manny (The player character) can both hear it, but the static doesn't change to a station & we cannot interactive with/change the sound.
>
Diegetic, Dynamic, Non-Interactive - Day/Night Ambient sounds in Zelda games, e.g. birds tweeting in the day, wolves howling & crickets chirping at night
*
Can be (feasibly) heard by game characters, can start/stop on its own, the player can't control it
>
Diegetic, Dynamic, Interactive - Chris & Jill playing the piano in Resident Evil or the slashing/cutting sounds made by Link when he wields his sword.
*
Can be heard by game characters, can start and stop, the player controls this
>
But what is the function of game audio?
>
And this varies HUGELY with the kind of game you're talking about:
*
It was something there to enhance the game in arcades, it was loud, fast, repetitive, designed to get you pumped up.
>
It was really an afterthought in some respects: 'The game should be playable without the sounds' (Nokia, 2005)
*
Handheld & mobiles games, were at first designed so that the sound was superfluous
*
This way they could be played in public without annoying other people.
>
Whereas now: 'recent statistics suggest that game audio plays a significant role in consumer preference in product selection, and that audio is viewed as an important component of games' (Bush et al. 2007).
>
There are even orchestral evenings dedicated to the music of larger game franchises, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, etc.
>
Much like game icons, the music is now a branded, sellable aspect.
*
Sony really 'bigged up' Bloodborne as a launch title using its music, specifically the use of a live orchestra & choir
>
And other games have shown off these 'behind the scenes' aspects of their music as well, like Cuphead
*
They went a step further and used music to announce their long-awaited DLC
>
Plus, these soundtracks aren't cheap and often sold as Vinyls
*
So it's adding an 'artefact' element to the music
>
But, more pragmatically, stealth games make use of audio queues so a player knows when they've been spotted - Think Metal Gear Solid sound. By this point it's almost become a meme and appeared in other franchises like Smash Bros.
>
This is now often supplemented with a visual queue to help further accessibility
*
metal-gear-alert
>
Another example: in New Super Mario Bros on the DS the enemies were programmed to jump in time with the music, so having the game muted would put a player at a disadvantage.
>
Another another example: Stifled
*
Developed by Gattai Games in 2018
*
Described as a 'Echolocation Horror Mystery'
*
In this game, sound IS the mechanic. You make sound to echolocate but enemies can hear the sound YOU make. Again, the agency really bumps up the fear.
>
However, one important thing to remember is: 'image and music cannot synchronize as closely in games as they can in film, because of the unpredictable temporal aspects of games' (Collins, 2008 Pg. 128).
>
Film/TV have the added benefit of edits, shooting angles & cuts to make music & image match up.
*
They can take it as many times as they need and fiddle with it afterwards.
>
Games are played in real time so it's a lot more difficult... but when it works:
*
Like here for example: 5:00
*
Then it makes things feel EPIC.
>
So it's fair to say game audio has become increasingly important to games as the media has evolved
>
'Although it is possible to play games with audio turned off, this can considerably lengthen the learning curve of a game' (Collins, 2008 Pg. 130) - And this is something YOU as budding game developers need to consider.
>
Think about accessibility, would someone hard of hearing or unable to play the audio really struggle with your game?
*
Like New Super Mario Bros - It wouldn't seem fair for the enemies to jump up at 'random' intervals, which they would if the player was deaf or unable to play the audio.
>
Aaron Marks goes even further saying 'Without [the audio], the player doesn’t have any foreshadowing and won’t know to take out their weapon or to get out of the room until it is too late' (2002 Pg. 190).
*
This is why game's introduced visual queues to go along with the audio but not all games do it.
>
'Music may focus one’s attention/However, sound effects, such as footsteps or gunshots, more commonly serve this purpose' (Collins, 2008 Pg. 130).
>
So the audio can serve as a ludic indicator for all manner of things:
*
Safety - Save Room music in Resident Evil
*
Danger - Outlast's 'chase' themes
*
Collectables - 'Boo Laughs' in Luigi's Mansion
*
Identification - Pokémon cries
*
Bosses/Mini Bosses - Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker uses the same musical theme for all mini bosses.
*
Success - Post Battle theme FFVII & The 'click' of a sealing Pokéball
>
For the purposes of your script, think about what the sound can be, describe the impact it needs to have:
*
Jolly, soothing, empowering, sad.
*
What are your audio indicators there to portray, and how?
>
And make sure to include them in your script
*
'A sound of triumph' ... okay.
*
'A mixture of tingling bells follow the discovery of the sacred hot-dog - better!
*
'Footsteps sound in the distance' ... okay.
*
'A continual beating of heavy soles dogs the player faster and faster as they move down the corridor' - better!
>
Visual
>
As children we often substitute words & images as we speak:
*
e.g. "I have a toy robot... it does this-" presses button on a robot to make the head spin around
>
We do this because we're learning both forms of communication and sometimes one might jump ahead of the other
*
This evening happens when we try to read and speak:
*
Epitome - uh·pi·tuh·mee
*
Epitome - Ep-ee-tome
>
'Children "show and tell" interchangeably, words and images combining to transmit a connected series of ideas' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 152)
>
And this ability to mix the two is still virtually unlimited, but there are some distinct categories:
>
Word Specific:
*
Word_Specific
*
'Pictures illustrate, but don't significantly add to the largely complete text' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 153)
>
Picture Specific:
*
Picture_Specific
*
'Where words do little more than add a soundtrack to a visually told sequence' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 153)
>
Duo-Specific:
*
Duo_Specific
*
'Panels in which both words and pictures send essentially the same message' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 153)
>
Additive:
*
Additive
*
'Where words amplify or elaborate on an image or vice versa' (McClousd, 1993 Pg. 154)
>
Parallel:
*
Additive_1
*
'Words and pictures seem to follow very different courses--without intersecting' (McCloud, 1994 Pg. 154)
>
Montage:
*
Montage
*
'Where words are treated as integral parts of the picture' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 154)
>
Inter-Dependent:
*
Inter-Dependent
*
'Where words and pictures go hand in hand to convey an idea that neither could convey alone' (McCloud, 1993 Pg. 155)
>
But the weighting of the words & pictures can vary too
*
If the words clearly explain the situation, the images are more free to be designed exploratory
*
And vice versa
>
In comics at its best, words and pictures are like partners taking turns leading a dance
*
Remember Janet Murray 'Agency is like square dancing' -- it's all connected
>
So... how does this relate to your games?
>
Welllllll.... Lookie here!
*
Night_in_the_Woods
>
And lookie here!
*
Undertale
>
Games often deal with this mix of image & words on screen
>
Knowing how these different approaches have evolved can really help you from a scripting prespective:
*
Envisioning that mix of words & images on-screen and working to get that down onto your script.
>
Some game's even borrow from this comic-like form of storytelling, like Bayonetta utilising both comics & films
*
Bayonetta
>
Remember, you're going to be showing in both your writing & your images in the finished product, so start that same way with your script.
*
e.g. Tell your Monster's mechanics (so the coder knows what they need to instruct the monster to do)
>
But show the design through your description, communicate the vision you have, the robot you have in your head, and let your designer run with it.
*
And if you happen to be the designer... still run with it!