The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses

1. The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses Chapter 15-16 Mats Wouters

2. Chapter 15 One Kind of Experience is the Story

3. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Traditionally: Story <-> Gameplay • Early games werelike traditional games • More and more games withcombination of story andgameplay

4. One Kind of Experience is the Story Gameplayruins a good story. <-> Games with story have been cheapened. “Story andgameplay are like oil and vinegar. Theoretically they don’t mix, but if you put them in a bottle and shake them up real good, they’re pretty good on a salad. ” -Bob Bates-

5. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Story does addtogameplay • Thick or subtle • Abstract game: make up yourown story

6. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Fundamentally, interactive storytelling = non-interactive storytelling • Decisions are made in both • Interactive: ability to take action • Interactive storyteller must anticipate player’s actions

7. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Never complete freedom -> limited options • Whatworks: • The String of Pearls • The Story Machine

8. One Kind of Experience is the Story • The String of Pearls (A.K.A. RiversandLakes): • Non-interactive story segment followedbygameplay -> gameplayfollowedby non-interactive story segment • Nice balance

9. One Kind of Experience is the Story • The Story Machine: • System thatgeneratesstoriesthroughinteraction • Players string together events • No author -> no real stories?

10. Lens #65: The Lens of the Story Machine • When players have different choices about how to achieve goals, new and different stories can arise. How can I add more of these choices? • Different conflicts lead to different stories. How can I allow more types of conflict to arise from my game? • When players can personalize the characters and setting, they will care more about story outcomes, and similar stories can start to feel very different. • How can I let players personalize the story? • Good stories have good interest curves. Do my rules lead to stories with goodinterest curves? • A story is only good if you can tell it. Who can your players tell the story to thatwillactually care?

11. One Kind of Experience is the Story • The Problems: • GoodStories Have Unity Story is onefrombeginningto end; multiple endingscan feel watered down • The CombinatorialExplosion Choices lead tosameconclusiontopreventtoomanyoutcomes • Multiple EndingsDisappoint Notallendings are equal

12. One Kind of Experience is the Story • The Problems: • Notenoughverbs Games consistmostlyaround actions; notidealforbranching storytelling • Time Travel MakesTragedy Obsolete Interactivity means no inevitability

13. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Goals, Obstacles, and Conflicts • Character (player) has goal, has to face obstacles and conflicts • Surprising, engaging • Obstacles not congruent with goal -> bad story

14. Lens #66: The Lens of the Obstacle • What is the relationship between the main character and the goal? Why does the character care about it? • What are the obstacles between the character and the goal? • Is there an antagonist who is behind the obstacles? What is the relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist? • Do the obstacles gradually increase in difficulty? • Some say “The bigger the obstacle, the better the story. ” Are your obstacles big enough? Can they be bigger? • Great stories often involve the protagonist transforming in order to overcome the obstacle. How does your protagonist transform?

15. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Provide Simplicity and Transcendence • Game worlds are simpler than reality and provide the player with more power • Popular themes: • Medieval • Futuristic • War • Modern

16. Lens #67: The Lens of Simplicity and Transcendence • How is my world simpler than the real world? Can it be simpler in other ways? • What kind of transcendent power do I give to the player? How can I give even more without removing challenge from the game? • Is my combination of simplicity and transcendence contrived, or does it provide my players with a special kind of wish fulfillment?

17. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Consider the Hero’s Journey • The Ordinary World • The Call to Adventure • Refusal of the Call • Meeting with the Mentor • Crossing the Threshold • Tests, Allies, Enemies • Approaching the Cave • The Ordeal • The Reward • The Road Back • Resurrection • Returning with the Elixir

18. Lens #68: The Lens of the Hero’s Journey • Does my story have elements that qualify it as a heroic story? • If so, how does it match up with the structure of the Hero’s Journey? • Would my story be improved by including more archetypical elements? • Does my story match this form so closely that it feels hackneyed?

19. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Put Your Story to Work • Adjust the story to beter suit the rest of the game • Keep Your Story World Consistent • If you have a set of rules that define how things work in your world, stick with them, and take them seriously

20. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Make Your Story World Accessible • Accessibility for audience > Reality • Integrate weird things in a way that doesn’t make them seem weird -> normal thing in an unusual world

21. Lens #69: The Lens of the Weirdest Thing • What’s the weirdest thing in my story? • How can I make sure that the weirdest thing doesn’t confuse or alienate the player? • If there are multiple weird things, should I may be get rid of, or coalesce, someof them? • If there is nothing weird in my story, is the story still interesting?

22. One Kind of Experience is the Story • Use Clichés Judiciously • Feel free to use clichés, but don’t overuse them • Sometimes a Map Brings a Story to Life • Stories can form not only through words, but through visuals as well

23. Lens #70: The Lens of Story • Does my game really need a story? Why? • Why will players be interested in this story? • How does the story support the other parts of the tetrad (aesthetics, technology, gameplay)? Can it do a better job? • How do the other parts of the tetrad support the story? Can they do a better job? • How can my story be better?

24. Chapter 16 Story and Game Structurescanbe ArtfullyMergedwith Indirect Control

25. Lens #71: The Lens of Freedom • When do my players have freedom of action? Do they feel free at these times? • When are they constrained? Do they feel constrained at these times? • Are there any places I can let them feel more free than they do now? • Are there any places where they are overwhelmed by too much freedom?

26. Story and Game StructurescanbeArtfullyMergedwithIndirect Control • Feeling of freedom • Best of two worlds: player has freedom, designer has control • Possible through indirect control

27. Story and Game StructurescanbeArtfullyMergedwithIndirect Control • Indirect control methods: • Constraints Give the player a limited amount of options • Goals Clear goals can lead the player • Interface Gives the player a sense of what they can and cannot do • Visual Design Layout can control a player’s actions • Characters Good characters can motivate the player • Music Can give the player an idea of what to do

28. Lens #72: The Lens of Indirect Control • Ideally, what would I like the players to do? • Can I set constraints to get players to do it? • Can I set goals to get players to do it? • Can I design my interface to get players to do it? • Can I use visual design to get players to do it? • Can I use in-game characters to get players to do it? • Can I use music or sound to get players to do it? • Is there some other method I can use to coerce players toward ideal behavior without impinging on their feeling of freedom?

29. Story and Game StructurescanbeArtfullyMergedwithIndirect Control • Collusion: • Multiple design aspects used for unified effect

30. Lens #73: The Lens of Collusion • What do I want the player to experience? • How can the characters help fulfill this experience, without compromising their goals in the game world?