The convergence of narrative in film, video games, and virtual reality will funda- mentally change the entertainment industry in coming years. Chris Solarski’s book gives content creators essential insights into interactive story composition and how to adapt these concepts for transmedia storytelling. Marc Forster Film Director and Producer The clever thing about this book is that it bridges the worlds of game design and story telling. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get into game design and understand what’s going on beneath the surface. It reminds me of Robert McKee’s Story, the classic book on screenwriting. You read it and you think: Aha, this is how storytelling works in film, it really can be explained! And you can see this book as a companion volume that is essentially doing the same thing for games. Tom Standage Deputy Editor and Digital Strategist of The Economist and New York Times Bestselling Author As a gamification designer you look for inspiration from multiple sources to create behavior change and evoke emotions that help your audience make decisions. Chris Solarski brilliantly captures how dynamic composition techniques for transmedia story telling can assist in reaching your audience through shapes, flow, positioning, and much more. An Coppens Chief Game Changer at Gamification Nation Ltd. INTERACTIVE STORIES AND VIDEO GAME ART A STORYTELLING FRAMEWORK FOR GAME DESIGN INTERACTIVE STORIES AND VIDEO GAME ART A STORYTELLING FRAMEWORK FOR GAME DESIGN Chris Solarski Cover portrait photo: Erica Swearingen, Photographer ([email protected]) CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2017 by Chris Solarski CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper Version Date: 20160922 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-8150-3 (Paperback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. While all reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, neither the author[s] nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. 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For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http:// www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For orga- nizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Name: Solarski, Chris, author. Title: Interactive stories and video game art : a storytelling framework for game design / Chris Solarski. Description: Boca Raton, FL : Taylor & Francis, 2016. Identifiers: LCCN 2016022988 | ISBN 9781498781503 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Video games--Authorship. | Video games--Design. | Storytelling. Classification: LCC GV1469.34.A97 S65 2016 | DDC 794.8/1536--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016022988 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com For my two joys, Chickpea and Charlie. Contents Preface xv Acknowledgments xvii Author xix Permissions xxi Introduction xxiii Section I Primary Shapes and Dynamic Composition 1 Character Shapes and Poses 9 Iconic Character Design ....................................... 9 Psychological Gestures..................................... 11 Group Shapes ............................................ 11 Simple Silhouette Concepts for Intricate Characters .............. 11 Dynamic Character Poses ..................................... 13 Summary .................................................. 16 2 Lines of Movement 17 Guided versus Synchronized Characters.......................... 17 The Shape of Movement.................................... 18 Speed, Line Tension, and Continuity of Movement ............... 19 ix