Developing a New Major

key questions that might make some good discussions - how are game stories different from stories in movies/tv - (could we compare games based on movies wiht the movies?), what is interactivity, how does story affect immersion in a game, - at the end of hte chapter be able to answer #1 (good discussion quesion and good exam question), #8 (since we’re going to make board games and they’re playing videogames - this question has them tie the two together), #5 - but could change it to be a little project - find a game with cut scenes and tell how you’d change the game to do away with the cut scene

story combines with other game elements - gameplay, genre, platform - game stories have dramatic elements just like other stories, there are universal stories - archetypes - that we can work into games and everyone recognizes and understands - not every game has a story (tetris) and some much more dependent (rpg’s)

story ideas - could come from real life - news stories, other fiction you like - combo elements from several stories, good to write down ideas as they occur to you - she recommends keeping a notebook with ya all the time

good stories need intresting twists, characters that seem truthful to the story and who drive the action and compelling settings and for games stories should be short and direct because they’ll become more complicated as they’re worked into hte non-linear videogame

hollywood 3 act - beginning (capture the reader’s attention give background info, focus on the character’s problems, help us identify with the character which is esp important in a game where the player plays as the character), middle (provides tension, obstacles in the character’s way that they have to overcome, for games it has to set up various paths to success), end (problems solved)

talks about the hero’s journey from Campbell - see notes from the Vogler book - 12 steps - ordinary world call to adventure refusal of the call meeting iwth hte mentor crossing the first threshold, tests, allies, enemies, approach to the inmost cave, ordeal, reward, the road back, resurrection, return with the elixir

story elements (from fiction that apply to games)

• premise (high concept) - one or two sentences of the game’s overall theme that shows what’s unique about the game  with a second person perspective to draw in the player — board games often only have a premise because they focus on gameplay and not story
• backstory - story leading up to where the game begins usually written in the form of a paragraph and helps the player bond with the character and understand the purpose of the game
• synopsis - a running storyline thru out the game
• theme - what the story is really about with the main obstacle laid out and some defining question like is the violence justified? laid out
• setting - the world, the backdrop and you have to think is it a real place or imagined and how will the players live/act in it and when is it set
• plot - how the story unfolds
• balancing conflict - dramatic tension, when cnadidate is on the brink of disaster and barely escapes, balance between players
• shifting focus - could add more subquests to widen scope of the game
• foreshadowing events - ominous alerts to upcoming changes
• suspension of disbelief - something about your story has to get the player to accept the game world reality and that what’s happening is important
• realism - where the game matches reality as much as possible especially if the characters and actions are harmonious

game story devices

• interactivity - stories aren’t interactive but rather htey’re linear and meant to be watched/read passively; in a game the player helps tell the story or creates theikr own story
• non-linearity - interactive stories give players choices, like a choose your own adventure story
• player control - players can manipulate the game, can choose (a finite number of) paths thru the game, can customize characters, can build worlds and levels, helps make game replayable
• collaboration - like in mmorpg’s - players can tell the story together and modify the environment
• immersion - when the gameplay and characters and setting work together to suck the player into the story, can get the player to feel real emotions
• cinematics - opening and closing sequences, cut scenes are in the game to intro a character or set up a plot point - film makers think these videos help make game more immersive like at a movie - but players often see them as unwelcome interruptions because they can’t bmake any decisions during a cut scene
• scripted events - time based or triggered by something player does - could be a bit of dialogue or some character action, goal is to redirect player or give some backstory or tellus more about a character

documenting your story - gotta make sure everyone on the project knows the story the game is supposed to tell

• concept document - tells everyone the game premise, could be expanded into the game proposal wiht more details about the story
• story treatment - one or 2 pages that summarize the overall story, doesn’t go into all the details about paths player could take, just a theme and some major plot point
• story tree/flowchart - map out hte structure of the story - show the branching of the story
• game design document - reference doc for the developers, plot elements they need for creating the game play

could say gameplay is the most important story element in games, gameplay sometimes can make the player into hte storyteller - - many games don’t have writers to create the story rather the game designer does the story creation - more important to create challenges thanstory plot devices

writers who want to get into game writing have to make sure they know about game play - and can convey that knowledge to others - can’t turn in a linear traditional script

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Game design, Game designer, Gameplay, Games, Nonlinear system, Video game