Gamasutra: Linda Effinger’s Blog – 28 Questions for a more Cohesive Narrative Design

Designing a recreation’s narrative is a way more concerned course of than writing dialogue and merchandise descriptions. Narrative design is a kind of disciplines that may unfold into all components of the sport growth course of, as all components of a recreation can contribute to its narrative. For a lot of video games, a purpose within the design course of it to goal all components of the sport in direction of a single cohesive expertise. A complete narrative design may be the binding agent between them. 

To assist obtain a design like this, researchers have created frameworks to assist builders higher perceive their narratives and to encourage them to consider completely different approaches to narrative design. One in all these frameworks was printed by Huaxin Wei in 2011 as a part of their PhD thesis Analyzing the Sport Narrative: Construction and Approach, primarily based on Wei’s work with video games akin to Heavy Rain, Fable 2 and Assassins Creed. This framework consists of a listing of questions to contemplate when creating the narrative design in your recreation. 

A be aware earlier than we get into the framework: as a part of my Grasp of Sport Expertise thesis, I examined this framework to determine how helpful it could be to builders. One main results of this analysis was that the phrasing of the questions may be very tough to work with. Whereas the concepts are good and have been deemed helpful and fascinating, the language used within the framework makes it considerably inaccessible to builders. For that reason, the questions as listed in the remainder of the article have been rephrased and abridged. If you happen to’re within the unique questions, there are hyperlinks to Wei’s paper and my thesis on the finish of the article. 

Half 1: Composing the Sport Textual content  

This part is all about how your recreation tells its story. It encourages you to suppose each about mechanics and story construction. The questions right here ask about what mechanics are used to inform the story to the participant, the place the participant is allowed to work together with the story, and what the outcome and advantage of that interplay is. 

Listed here are the questions that make up Half 1: 

1. Which mechanics does the sport use to inform its story? 

   1. Is the sport menu used to inform the story? 

2. Who’s the narrator of the story? 
3. Is the whole story advised by the identical narrator? Are there shifts in perspective, time, or actuality? 

   1. Are there sections of the story advised by different narrators? 
   2. What’s the impact of those shifts in narrator? 

4. Does the narrator ever cross their boundaries typically? If that’s the case, what impact does this have? 
5. How can the participant work together with the narrative? 
6. Can the participant management or change the story? 
7. Are components of the story computer-generated? Which components? 

   1. What’s the sample/traits of this emergent narrative? 

Half 2: Structuring the Sport Plot 

This a part of the framework is in regards to the organisation of the story, in addition to who’s telling it. Right here some hardly ever examined questions get introduced up, with a spotlight being the sport’s narrator, and their neutrality. This concept of who’s telling the story is straightforward to use to a e-book however will get extra complicated when utilized to a recreation. The second a part of the framework asks you to contemplate: who’s holding the digital camera as much as the sport’s occasions, and are they presenting the reality? 

Listed here are the questions that make up Half 2: 

1. How are characters launched and established? 

   1. Have they got traits that make them credible? 

2. Whose imaginative and prescient is the digital camera? Are they a personality within the recreation? 

   1. Does this transformation at any level within the recreation? If sure, is there a sample to those adjustments? 
   2. Is the ‘imaginative and prescient’ subjective? 

3. What sort of plot does the sport have? Does the story focus totally on the principle character and their actions (epic plot)? Does it give attention to an online of characters and their relationships (dramatic plot)? Does it give attention to occasions up to now and their discovery (thriller plot)? 

   1. Whether it is an epic plot, what are the distinct levels of the plot? Are there any archetypical characters performing sure roles? 
   2. If it’s a dramatic plot, does it observe the three-act construction? 
   3. If it’s a thriller plot, are there a number of plotlines? 

4. Are the story arcs computationally managed in any means? 
5. Are flashbacks used as framing system? 
6. Does the visible perspective and the way in which it presents the area present clues as to who the narrator is, and whether or not they’re goal? 
7. Are there another ideas for structuring the plot? 

Half 3: Time 

As soon as once more, the questions on this half seek advice from each the story and the gameplay. Aside from specializing in how the story is structured, whether or not it’s advised linearly or not, this part additionally brings consideration to the time in moment-to-moment gameplay. Some video games have performed with the pace of time passing (one instance being Pink Useless Redemption’s Useless Eye mechanic), however components akin to time skips, freezing time to point out the participant scores for the extent, or displaying flashbacks are all decisions by the developer to change the movement of time within the narrative. 

Listed here are the questions that make up Half 3: 

1. Does the time it takes to play the sport equal the time the story covers? 
2. Are all of the occasions within the recreation advised chronologically? 

   1. If not, are there flashbacks, flash-forwards or another change so as? 
   2. What narrative impact does this produce? What gameplay operate do these units carry out? 

3. Is there a sample to adjustments within the tempo at which the narrative is advised / the pace at which period passes within the story? 

   1. Does time ever cease, decelerate, pace up, or skip forward? 

4. Are recreation occasions ever repeated? Does this have an effect on the participant’s expertise? 
5. Are there methods for the participant to affect the story, or is it fully linear? 

   1. Can the participant change the order, pace and frequency of the occasions within the plot? What number of orderings are doable within the recreation? 
   2. Does that freedom create narrative affect? 

6. Is there any temporal system that can also be a recreation mechanic? 

Half 4: House 

The questions right here cowl how the sport area is constructed and the way it’s used within the story. The questions direct builders to contemplate each how the area might react and alter as a part of actions of the participant, in addition to which components of the area might serve particular features for the participant. Whereas this part will not be straight asking questions in regards to the narrative design, it raises consciousness of how the sport areas are laid out and which components of it may be used to inform the story. 

Listed here are the questions that make up Half 4: 

1. How is the sport area laid out? 

   1. Are there areas designed for various makes use of? If sure, what’s the implication for narrative and/or gameplay? 

2. Are there any paths the participant has to observe to progress within the recreation? 
3. Are there any cell or motionless characters? How do they affect the narrative and gameplay? 
4. Is the area of the world steady? If not, how is the participant transported from one location to a different? 
5. What are the choices of digital camera management for the participant? 

   1. How is the participant’s view restricted? Are there any edited sequences? 

6. How does the sound work in and with the area? 

   1. Does it intensify the narrative expertise? 
   2. Does it carry out steering or different features in gameplay? 

7. What roles does the digital camera preform? Is there any stylistic use? 
8. How is the interface data laid out on the display? Is there any particular use of the display? 

Ideation Deck 

Not all these questions might apply to your recreation. And never all of them could also be helpful to work out fully. Nonetheless, contemplating all of them after which selecting one or a number of to actively have interaction with when working in your narrative design can create a stronger and extra sturdy narrative that engages the participant not solely via lower scenes and dialogue, however via many different components of your recreation. 

For simpler entry to those questions, obtain the ideation deck primarily based on Wei’s framework by following the hyperlink beneath. 

Effinger Narrative Design Ideation Deck: https://linktr.ee/abottleoftales

Full Thesis: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.23038.87366

Huaxin Wei – Analyzing the Sport Narrative: Construction and Approach: https://www.academia.edu/35539670/Analyzing_the_game_narrative_Structure_and_technique