4. Action items

The narrative is probably the most controversial aspect to game design as different developers sometimes have opposing views of how a narrative should be implimented in the first place.

The narrative postpartum should be essential to any development process for some great reasons fully addressed by the above article. What seems to be missing (and this may be an entirely different topic of discussion) is how to impliment the narrative into the game itself as oppossed to throwing out more CG sequences, or giving the player a chapter's worth of text to read through.

Another question to ask is how important is the narrative to the game itself. For example, if a publisher hires a developer to do the next version of Tetris, and they want it to be an outer space theme with aliens and robots, it would be acceptible to option the player skip the "story" as it is purly gratuitous to the game itself, and you can still satisfy the publisher by having some side graphics that express the space feel. However, if you are doing a survival horror title where the narrative is crucial to not only the players experience, but also to the direction of the gameplay itself, you may not want to put it in a virtual book that's sitting on a table for the player to read and possibly skip.

Would love to see people take this advice to heart, love reading post-mortems and I think seeing this applied directly to story design could be a huge help for many aspiring designers.

I agree with Tom that in certain current genres (puzzles, casual gaming, etc.) story can be less important, but I think for many upcoming console titles, the blockbusters like God of War or Bioshock, story is a very important component. Starting a professional discussion about the pros and cons of a title, heard directly from the people who worked on it, can only benefit the industry.

Tom, thanks for the kind words. I think you're right, though -- the execution and integration of game narrative is a topic for a completely different article. In fact, there's enough material there for a series of books. I'll probably address the topic in an upcoming edition of Screen/Play, but there are as many approaches to storytelling as there are dev teams.

Winston -- thanks! To be honest, I hadn't considered the publication of the narrative postpartum (I envisioned it as more of an internal document), but if disseminated publicly, it would definitely be an excellent resource for other developers.

This is a great write up. In my experience it would be hard to get all these people in one room, let alone in one video conference. I also don't think there is anything empirical about reviews. User-stories on the other hand, that's important. As a first step I'd like to see user-story testing, that is having people play through the game and respond to a questionnaire about their perceptions. I've got to do it once, post-launch sadly, but if it could be implemented during development I bet we'd see great returns on our efforts. Hollywood does it, we can too. Thanks again for sharing Rafael!

Thanks, Stephen. I appreciate it! The idea of user testing during development is a great one. I've seen it done on a couple of projects, and it definitely provides the team with food for thought.

You're right, assembling all the developers for the postpartum meeting is like herding cats. But it's so worth it!

I agree with Stephen - testing should always include feedback from actual consumers who would be playing the game (or watching a movie, etc). I'd like to add a couple comments of my own, too.

One thing is that I think it's a shame that more writing programs in our educational system do not point out the opportunities in the gaming industry. There's a rather large disconnect, I think. Although the industry is somewhat to blame for that, I think that the onus for recognizing needs weighs more heavily on academia and education, and that they should be more proactive about advising students in this regard as well as approaching the industry about such avenues.

The other thing I wanted to say is that I disagree somewhat with assertions that story and narrative is less essential depending on the game. Perhaps that isn't quite the best way to say it, though. I guess what I'd like to say is that story is always important for any media, but the actual level or detail of the story varies widely with the intent of the final product. For example, Hollywood films include extremely detailed and well-developed dramas (and other genres) that required a great deal of creative writing effort, but also include films with very shallow scripts. Of course, there's everything in between, too. Still, even a film with a shallow script requires a script of some kind. As Dona Bailey pointed out in an interview here on Gamasutra, she programmed the original Centipede to be a game with a story to tell. Many players may not have had that impression while playing it, but that was still her approach and it was still important for creating the final product.

Some writers in the gaming industry, including some rather famous names, have been quoted as saying that writing for games requires that the narrative always takes second-place to gameplay. That is absolutely the wrong attitude, in my view. If a game (or any media) has a compelling story, setting, events, and characters, most audiences are willing to forgive failings in other areas in order to complete the experience of the presentation they are experiencing. There have been numerous games where people state that they enjoy the product despite failings in the gameplay. Of course, the same is true for any media. However, if you don't have a well-written, well-presented story, audiences are prone to leave your work even if other elements are well-produced and well-presented. This is one reason why blockbuster action films almost never receive an Academy Award (except perhaps for special effects).

Hi,

I am an avid gamer, illustrator and aspiring writer. I too believe that the true creative nature of the video game is dead and/or stagnant. I write to you because I desperately need to find designers in the New York area who are willing to dedicate themselves to my idea of taking an open world gaming style, combining it with my ideas and one of the game stories I'm writing, to produce a demo for developers and/or publishers. Now, I have to admit that I know nothing of making a game besides needing to know 3Ds Max, Photoshop and audio production. I know that it's not that simple, but I do have these programs on my computer and am learning more every day. Meanwhile I'm writing controller configurations, story-lines, plot twists, A.I. configurations, strategies and alternate endings. The work on my first story is almost finished. The story is generic as it compares to those on the market, but then again, aren't they all? And I'm really pushing a new game-play style. So the story, in my eyes, is not as important. Though I did put everything I have into making it as intriguing as possible. Picture it,...a drug kingpin, for years, evades law enforcement agencies while his gang floods the streets with drugs, guns, prostitution, chop shops for hot cars and number running. He manages to out smart a particular officer on many occasions. Until one day, betrayal opens him up to minimal prison time for an illegal weapon's charge (That's the basic back story-The game-play then begins ). Shortly before his release, an attempt on his life ( you fight several opposing gang members with jailhouse weapons) puts him in the hospital and on guard. He promises himself that he's made more than enough money and with his legit businesses, that it might be the best time to get out of the "business". As he leaves the prison. The dedicated officer, still bitter from his inability to put him away for life, is there to let the kingpin know that he will be watching his every move. He's picked up by his wife and a few of his closest lieutenants. He gets home to greet his three children and spends the rest of the day with his family. That night, a meeting is set and he goes with his lieutenants to one of his many legitimate businesses ( maybe a nightclub or bar ) to find out what has been happening in his absence and to look into the eyes of all those who could have been responsible for his betrayal, both before and during his incarceration. He has his suspicions, but he needs to play it cool before he can secretly begin consolidating his finances so as to turn the "business" over to the next in charge ( He arrives at the location, you take control of the character and follow your men inside. As you walk through, the screen freezes and backgrounds on the important players pop up as you look at them, all while the music plays and the voice of one of your men talks to you. Most are allies and/or friends, but some are enemies). When you reach the office you find more of your soldiers there ( Some look happy to see you, others don't/more pop-ups and intros ). ( There's more at this point but I don't want to reveal too much ) You get some information from your boys, enjoy a little night life and return home ( Now here's where the game really takes off/ you drive home ). You get home to see your neighbors outside your home and the front door kicked in. You family is missing and a cellphone has been left taped to the front door ( There's more here again, sorry ). The phone has a message, an altered voice explaining that your family has been kidnapped and that you will be given instructions on what you have to do to get them back safely. Your goals are to carry out their demands, use your contacts to try to track down the kidnappers before your family is harmed, find out who betrayed you, find a way to use law enforcement to your benefit and VENGENCE. Now to me this sounds great, but it's still just another story without an innovative STYLE OF GAMEPLAY to take it to that next level. If I could only explain it to you the way I play it in my head, this game could change the way we play the HALOs', RESISTANCEs', GEARS of WARs' and many of the other titles forever. All I'm looking for is an opportunity to play something I know would not only entertain me, but challenge my skills and intelligence as well. So all designers in the New York area interested in creating the next great video game and maybe the next great video game company, the way ROCKSTAR did with GTA III,...Please reply. I am willing to put some trust in you if your willing to put some trust in me. We can get together, sign confidentiality papers and see who really wants to change the gaming world again. , REMEMBER, IT'S THE GAMEPLAY I WANT TO MARKET-THE STORY IS SECONDARY. PLEASE REPLY...THANK YOU

Joseph -- good luck with that!

Dave -- I wouldn't say that "narrative always takes second-place to gameplay," but I would say that story is typically regarded as a production-value element, like the soundtrack or the look-and-feel of the user interface. I think that most developers would argue that gameplay should be the focus during production, as it's the primary draw to the interactive experience. But that doesn't mean story should be neglected -- it should be executed as professionally as possible, just like any other component (soundtrack, user interface, sound design, art direction).

I definitely don't believe that it's a zero-sum game. In other words, focusing on a well-crafted story doesn't mean that the development of gameplay has to suffer. You *can* have the best of both worlds.

Rafael -- I'd just like to be totally clear about what I was attempting to say. My involvement with gaming goes back to Pong and Spacewar on teletypes, so I'm saying this from a rather longview perspective. I agree that many English market developers today would probably argue that gameplay should be the focus during production. Of course, this isn't true globally due to differences in the ways that different markets have evolved.

In any event, what I was attempting to say is that adopting this type of stance about gameplay is absolutely incorrect and, in fact, is essentially suicide (figuratively speaking). I have never heard anyone exclaim, "Wow, this game's story stinks but the gameplay is so awesome that I just have to keep playing!" whereas I've often heard the opposite statement. This is why I was saying that the focus should be on story while everything else (including gameplay) should be done as professionally as possible in order to present the story, events, and characters to the audience. This is what makes any particular media product long-lasting and compelling, and causes it to have a longterm impression on the audience, be used for academic instruction, etc. I think that the history of storytelling in any media, or even orally, supports this statement, plus the fact that this tends to be the formal, professional approach taken in education for other media such as creative writing and film.

As a comparison of different global markets, Japanese media products have evolved in such a way that story, characters, and events tend to be the focus, first and foremost. This is one of the biggest reasons why their pop entertainment products (including games) became so popular in non-Japanese markets. At the same time, I think it's worth remembering that a primary focus on story, characters, and/or events was also how the more mainstream English gaming market began with companies such as Sierra Online and Electronic Arts adopting such a stance when they first began creating games.

Basically, I was trying to say that the choice to focus on gameplay first rather than story, etc has caused the English market to lose sight of what made so many games great in the first place. The primary draw of any media experience is the story, characters, events, etc, regardless of any level of interactivity the media might offer. In this regard, I'm afraid I'll have to respectively disagree with your assertion that gameplay is the primary draw. Or, to put it another way, it is the emotional interactivity that has the greatest impact on most audiences rather than the physical interactivity that might be there for certain media. If the audience does not care about the characters and story, then there's no amount of gameplay that will entice them to continue playing. However, audiences will tolerate failings in gameplay if they connect emotionally with the characters because such a connection causes a desire to experience the story to its conclusion. Reviews, professional and fan, frequently mention these points. Of course, the ideal is to have excellent story with excellent gameplay, but production has finite resources and the focus needs to remain on the story while considering how other elements (including gameplay) can help present the story to the player.

The same observation about games can be said of certain other media such as film. As I said, Hollywood might fund a big blockbuster film, but such a venture seldom wins any awards aside from special effects, and such products do not tend to stand the test of time or make lasting impressions on a wide, diverse section of the population. Exceptions tend to be films that focus on story first and foremost, and then support the story with special effects, fancy camera work, or whatever. Game production should focus on the story and use other elements, including gameplay, in order to present the story as well as possible. For many of today's English market products (I would say most, to be honest), the developers tend to get caught up in ideas that are not story-driven and thus wind up hurting the potential of the final product.

RAPHAEL, thanks 4 ur comment

I'm not totally sure if u understood me. I want to make an outstanding game with a truly compelling story. It's just that I'm tired of playing these game that all, for the majority of games on the market, are the same basic format. It's not that I don't care about the story, It's that I want to change the way games play. Instead of just running, driving and shooting your way from mission to mission. How about adding more player interaction, where the decisions the player makes throughout the game effects the outcome from mission to mission. Well I have a couple of ideas about that and if I could only get someone to genuinly listen with the intent to help me, I think I or we could either change the face of gaming or at least create another genre.

DAVE ENDRESAK , HI

I'm not quit sure I can agree that the story is most important and I'd like to know what game u played where the story drove u through to the end though the gameplay was horrible. I admit that they both should be focused on in any case, even if I would fall on the side of gameplay. I own more than 500 games, combined, for the PS2, XBOX and XBOX360. And I'm a little ashamed to say that it can sometimes be difficult to follow some plots. I find what drives me are the sceneries, the depth of the AI and how hard it is to get past them and the urge to get to the next level. I know I have no experience in making games, and I don't want to insult your knowledge on the subject. I just think that after playing so many games, they all seem to become, sort of,...generic. So if your playing from 30 to 80 hours, I would say it's all in the challenge.

Hi all.
First off, just want to say this is a great article. This kind of postpartum discussion can be an invaluable tool, and I hope that more people in the industry implement them. For me, though, the discussion has touched on some points about narrative and gameplay that I think are important to consider, even in the earliest phases of a project.
Most important is the idea of gameplay and narrative having a hierarchical relationship (which some may know as the "ludology/narratology" debate in academic circles). I don't believe it's as simple as "one is more important than the other." Many games-- perhaps most games nowadays-- utilize narrative as an important part of the experience. And while an unfortunate number of games have sub-par narrative content, I would say it's improving as it becomes more central to game development. As Dave has noted, it's possible for a really good story to carry a player through a game, despite it having flawed mechanics (although I have to say, I do know people who have given up on games because the story was so awful). So I think it's a mistake to relegate narrative to a subordinate position in our thinking.
Now, having said that, I also believe that going the other direction is a mistake. As a writer, I'm prone to take the "story is most important" position, but the truth is, narrative isn't always the most important thing. Tetris is about gameplay, not story. We can imagine a story, but it's not part of the game itself. Centipede may have been programmed with an eye toward a story, but that story doesn't manifest itself as an important part of the game. These games are primarily about mechanics-- and that's fine. (I suspect people will continue to play Tetris for far longer than most games, precisely because its mechanics are so simple and engaging.)
The truth of the matter is that most games are created from both aspects-- they navigate between gameplay and narrative, with one or the other taking the fore at different points. (I call this give and take "creative tension".) My feeling is that we should be building games from day one with this in mind, rather than focusing on one or the other's dominance.
Which leads me to the other interesting, and related, idea. Dave brings up the parallels between cinema and other traditional media and games, of which there are many. He says, "The primary draw of any media experience is the story, characters, events, etc, regardless of any level of interactivity the media might offer," but i would disagree. I think the interactive nature of games fundamentally alters the storytelling process. A film tells its story whether it has an audience or not, but in a game the player has to act, has to move the character or command the squad to attack or whatever it is. We all know that, but we don't acknowledge how much it changes the storytelling dynamic. The tendency is to approach the construction of narrative in game just as for a film-- which leads to, for example, exposition handled through extensive cut scenes that interrupt the flow of gameplay. In my experience, the most "cinematic" games of this kind (like, say, FF VIII, or MGS4) make me want to watch someone else play, not want to play myself. Games aren't movies, they aren't comics or novels or TV; we need to embrace what makes game narrative different, and adapt the tools that other narrative forms have given us to fit the medium of games.
One other note, regarding academic writing programs and the game industry: things are changing somewhat. But you have to remember that students in most creative writing programs are trying to master-- okay, get a basic handle on-- traditional narrative forms like the short story. Dramatic writing programs tend to be more adaptable to games, for obvious reasons, but there is still a lot of insularity in writing programs. As you say, the games industry is partly to blame as well-- there could be a much bigger effort made to reach out to writers, especially young writers, and show how fun and rewarding writing for games can be (this, of course, loops back to the argument that we ignore narrative for gameplay).

...Wow. That ran a bit longer than I anticipated.