"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...
The Epics (grand poems)
Homer, Sophocles, Herodotus - Legit.... why?
THE DREADED CANON
Novels/Short Story
Did people respect these at first?
Spoiler: NOPE
Why???
Novels & Short Stories were for 'weak minded-women' who couldn't cope with the Latin Epics
Silent Film
POISONED THE MIND OF THE YOUTHS
‘The Talkies’
TOOK AWAY FROM THE TRUE STYLE OF CINEMA
Video Games
POISONED THE MIND OF THE YOUTHS
.... Starting to see a pattern here?
"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)
Topic of the Week: STORY MECHANICS
Narrative in Games
Ludo Vs. Narrative
In the past there was a real debate over whether story/mechanics should be 'most important' in a game.
Could they co-exist?
Could they co-exist successfully?
Traditional Narrative
Telling somebody else that something happened’ (Ryan, 2004, Pg.13)
What's needed to 'tell' somebody about something happening?
A 'Narratee'
What is the weakness of tell?
Narrative as a Mental Construct
David Herman & David Bordwell - Cognitive Narratology
‘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)
The Human mind is 'programmed' to think in stories, we 'construct' a sequence.
A Narrative Schema
It's how we make sense of the world, an adaptation of humanity.
“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).
Where does environmental storytelling as an idea come from?
'Environmental storytelling is a concept borrowed from theme park design' (Fernandez-Vara, 2011)
‘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)
Mechanics - "Means to guide the player into particular behaviour by constraining the space of possible plans to attain goals" (Järvinen 2008: pg.254)
Mechanics - ‘Game mechanics are methods [behaviours] invoked by agents, designed for interaction with the game state’ [Sicart, 2008, Pg.23).
Essentially, anything you can do in the game whilst abiding by the game's rules.
Narrative Game Mechanics
'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)
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.
About the life & first relationship of Florence Yeoh
What did you think about it? Take a few minutes to gather your thoughts.
What mechanics did you see? Or, which ones do you recall best? Hop into groups & make a list!
Interview with Ken Wong (Creative Director)
“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.”
Player's 'take on' the role, i.e. have agency in progressing the story & feel more in-tune with Florence.
“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.”
Visual element of puzzle mechanic to convey emotion & tone - very clever
Solving a puzzle isn't just 'solving a puzzle' it's having a conversation, being a part of the conversation.
"Simplicity allows players to imagine more, and fill in the gaps"
What are they saying? Player's will infer.
This works great as a style in different genres & media too.
Music as voices
Each character was represented by an instrument
Florence - Piano
Krish - Cello
Matrix of Ideas
Filled in the first 24 in Wk.1
Now we'll expand!
Begin to fill in the 'Matrix of Forms', pulling first from your Matrix of Ideas
Basically you can fill in 24 of the 64 slots using those prompts
Then (if time) discuss in groups & see ways in which ideas can be combined
i.e. could your Racing Game ideas & Action (Horror) ideas somehow be combined?
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:
"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)
We (writers) do this so that by the end of the story, the climax, everything makes sense.
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.
But remember, satisfied doesn't always mean happy.
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)
But I was also bored since I saw it coming early in the film.
If we're good writers, our audience will be invested enough in our characters to celebrate or commiserate as the climax plays out.
In books, films, tv (mostly) & linear games, writers have complete control over this process.
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)
So... how do we make sure a player reaches the climax of a non-linear game & ensure it'll make sense to them?
Techniques to Write a Non-Linear Story
Merge the Story & Game
Here are four story-game combinations (DeMarle, 2007 Pg.75-80)
Implicit Narrative
The story is in the player's mind
You can do so much, but the story never changes. e.g. Grand Theft Auto
Player can jump ahead, earn loads of money, BUT the MC will still complain about a desperate need for money during some cutscenes.
Being mugged in Skyrim
Them: "Your money or your life!"
Me: Slayer of Dragons, Master of all the guilds, Master of Winterhold College: "... Sure."
Formal Narrative
A 'mostly' linear story
Break Game & Story apart - you interact with the game but the story isn't interactive and very static.
e.g. giving 'yes or no' answers but you can only chose yes.
Beating a boss only to have them beat you in a cutscene afterwards anyway
Often breaks immersion
Acceptable but has limits. If you're only telling the story through cutscenes... make a film.
"Wow that was an amazing opening cinematic sequence... I wish I could've done something in it."
Interactive Narrative
Exposition relates to player action (ludo success = narrative advancement.
A risky but often rewarding technique difficult for smaller indie developers.
Leverage Player Experience
High Story & Immediate Story
High Story - Plot of game.
Pokémon
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.
... You are also 10 years old.
Immediate Story - What we did in the game. This is what we usually talk about.
