Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: A Player-Centered Approach to Creating Memorable Characters and Stories

332 Pages·2011·4.128 MB·English

by  Josiah Lebowitz, Chris Klug

Interactive Storytelling
for Video Games
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Interactive Storytelling
for Video Games
A Player-Centered Approach to Creating
Memorable Characters and Stories
Josiah Lebowitz
Chris Klug
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Contents
Special Thanks...........................................................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1 Game Stories, Interactivity, and
What Players Want.........................................................................1
The Importance of Stories.....................................................................................1
Stories in Video Games..........................................................................................5
Interactive Stories vs. Traditional Stories: The Great Debate.................8
Summary...................................................................................................................11
Things to Consider............................................................................................12
Chapter 2 A Brief History of Storytelling in Games........................13
The Beginnings of Game Stories.....................................................................13
Text Adventures and Interactive Fiction......................................................16
RPGs, Adventure Games, and the Growing
Importance of Stories...........................................................................................18
The Cinematic Evolution of Game Stories...................................................23
Game Stories Today..............................................................................................26
The Limits of Storytelling in Games...............................................................34
Summary...................................................................................................................37
Things to Consider............................................................................................38
Chapter 3 The Hero’s Journey and the Structure
of Game Stories............................................................................39
Types of Stories Best Suited for Games.......................................................40
The “Best” Story Types....................................................................................43
Using Nonideal Stories....................................................................................45
The Hero’s Journey...............................................................................................46
What Is the Hero’s Journey?.........................................................................46
Structure of the Hero’s Journey..................................................................47
Modifying the Structure..................................................................................56
v
CONTENTS
Common Themes and Cliche´s in Game Storytelling..............................61
Common Cliche´s and Themes......................................................................62
Why Cliche´s Are Used......................................................................................65
When to Use and When to Avoid Story Cliche´s...................................66
Summary...................................................................................................................68
Things to Consider............................................................................................69
Chapter 4 The Story and the Characters...............................................71
Story Flow and Progression..............................................................................71
The Importance of Proper Flow and Pacing..............................................71
Don’t Neglect the Little Things.......................................................................74
Keeping the Player Engaged.............................................................................76
General Pacing Do’s and Don’ts..................................................................78
Character Development......................................................................................81
Common Character Archetypes...................................................................81
Advantages of Using Archetypes................................................................84
Disadvantages of Using Archetypes..........................................................85
Making Characters Believable.......................................................................88
Character Actions and Decisions.................................................................89
How Much to Tell and Not Tell Players.......................................................94
The Importance of Backstory............................................................................95
How to Tell the Backstory..................................................................................96
Deciding What to Tell..........................................................................................98
Sometimes a Mystery Is Best..........................................................................101
Summary.................................................................................................................105
Things to Consider.........................................................................................106
Chapter 5 Making Stories Emotional....................................................107
Connecting with the Characters....................................................................107
The Fine Line Between Drama and Melodrama.....................................110
Making the Player Cry........................................................................................111
Summary.................................................................................................................115
Things to Consider.........................................................................................116
Chapter 6 Defining Interactive and Player-Driven
Storytelling...................................................................................117
What Makes a Story Interactive?...................................................................117
What Makes a Story Player-Driven?.............................................................119
Interactive Storytelling as a Spectrum........................................................119
vi
CONTENTS
Fully Traditional Stories................................................................................120
Interactive Traditional Stories....................................................................121
Multiple-Ending Stories................................................................................121
Branching Path Stories.................................................................................121
Open-Ended Stories.......................................................................................121
Fully Player-Driven Stories...........................................................................122
How Stories Are Classified..........................................................................122
Games Without Stories......................................................................................123
Summary.................................................................................................................123
Things to Consider.........................................................................................124
Chapter 7 Fully Traditional and Interactive
Traditional Stories....................................................................125
Fully Traditional Stories.....................................................................................125
Fully Traditional Stories, Video Games,
and Why They Don’t Mix.............................................................................127
Interactive Traditional Stories.........................................................................130
Creating Interactive Traditional Stories......................................................134
The Strengths of Interactive Traditional Stories................................140
The Weaknesses of Interactive Traditional Stories............................144
Summary.................................................................................................................147
Things to Consider.........................................................................................148
Chapter 8 Multiple-Ending Stories.........................................................149
Creating Multiple-Ending Stories...................................................................151
What Types of Endings Should
a Game Have?..................................................................................................151
Choosing Where to End the Game.........................................................155
How Many Endings Does a Game Need?.............................................159
Determining Which Ending the Player Sees........................................163
Multiple-Ending Stories and Sequels......................................................166
The Strengths of Multiple-Ending Stories..................................................171
The Weaknesses of Multiple-Ending Stories.............................................175
Summary.................................................................................................................178
Things to Consider.........................................................................................180
Chapter 9 Branching Path Stories..........................................................181
Creating Branching Path Stories....................................................................184
Types of Branches..........................................................................................185
vii
CONTENTS
Deciding Where to Place Branches.........................................................190
How Many Branches Should a Story Have?.........................................192
Japanese Visual Novel Games........................................................................192
The Strengths of Branching Path Stories...................................................197
The Weaknesses of Branching Path Stories..............................................200
Summary.................................................................................................................203
Things to Consider.........................................................................................204
Chapter 10 Open-Ended Stories.................................................................205
Creating Open-Ended Stories.........................................................................209
The Main Plot...................................................................................................211
The Branches....................................................................................................212
The Distractions...............................................................................................212
The Strengths of Open-Ended Stories........................................................217
The Weaknesses of Open-Ended Stories....................................................220
Summary.................................................................................................................224
Things to Consider.........................................................................................225
Chapter 11 Fully Player-Driven Stories..................................................227
Creating Fully Player-Driven Stories.............................................................231
Creating a Setting...........................................................................................231
Creating Rules of Interaction.....................................................................232
The Problem with Fully Player-Driven Stories
in Video Games....................................................................................................234
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)..........................................237
The Strengths of Fully Player-Driven Stories............................................242
The Weaknesses of Fully Player-Driven Stories.......................................243
Summary.................................................................................................................244
Things to Consider.........................................................................................245
Chapter 12 The Argument for the Supremacy of
Player-Driven Storytelling....................................................247
The Evolution of the Art Form.......................................................................248
Giving the Writer Greater Freedom.............................................................249
Strengthening the Player–Character Bond................................................250
Giving the Players What They Want............................................................250
Summary.................................................................................................................253
Things to Consider.........................................................................................254
viii
CONTENTS
Chapter 13 The Argument Against the Supremacy of
Player-Driven Storytelling....................................................255
The Fine Art of Storytelling.............................................................................256
Time, Money, and Player Interest.................................................................257
The Added Time and Expense of Creating
Player-Driven Stories......................................................................................257
Adding Interaction at the Expense of Other Elements...................257
Who Is Going to See It All?........................................................................258
Keeping the Story Interesting........................................................................259
Story Structure and the “Ideal” Chain of Events...............................259
The Problem with How We Think...........................................................261
Trying to Correct a Mistake........................................................................262
Loss of Impact..................................................................................................264
The Illusion of Control.......................................................................................265
Giving the Players What They Want............................................................266
Summary.................................................................................................................266
Things to Consider.........................................................................................268
Chapter 14 What Players Really Want: The Most Important
Issue.................................................................................................269
Do Players Know What They Really Want?...............................................271
The Survey..............................................................................................................272
How Important Are Game Stories to Players?....................................272
What Players Say They Want.....................................................................273
Story Preferences by the Numbers.........................................................274
What Players Really Want............................................................................275
Further Analysis...............................................................................................277
Do Stories Sell Games?.................................................................................278
Summary.................................................................................................................283
Things to Consider.........................................................................................284
Chapter 15 The Future of Storytelling in Games..............................285
Stories Then and Now.......................................................................................285
The Key Arguments............................................................................................286
What Players Want..............................................................................................286
Looking Toward the Future.............................................................................286
The Most Popular Types of Storytelling................................................287
ix