LAFS Game Design 1 - Dramatic Elements
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This document provides guidance on developing game narratives. It recommends defining the desired player experience first before creating the story. Key elements to consider include challenge, theme, premise, characters, and story structure. Challenge should be dynamic based on player skill. Theme sets the context while premise establishes the goal. Characters should have agency for the player and potential for empathy. Story can emerge from gameplay rather than a predetermined structure. The goal is an uncertain outcome resolved by player actions rather than a traditional authored conclusion.
LAFS Game Design 1 - Dramatic Elements
- 1. Level 4 David Mullich Game Design 1 The Los Angeles Film School
- 2. How To Start Your Game Narrative Extra Credits: How To Start Your Game Narrative
- 3. Take-Away Don’t start planning designing a new game by creating the game’s story. Start with defining the experience you want the player to have, and then create a story that will provide that experience.
- 4. DRAMATIC ELEMENTS Challenge Theme Premise Character Story
- 6. Challenge Most people would agree that the one thing that engages them in a game is challenge. Challenge is very individualized and is determined by the abilities of the specific player in relationship to the game. Challenge is also dynamic. A player might find one task challenging, but after becoming accomplished in the task, they’ll find it no longer challenging.
- 7. Flow Most games tend to build up each level to a boss battle of some type to test if they are ready for more difficult challenges.
- 9. Theme Theme places the games actions within a setting to provide immersion. Location or Time Period Story or Film Character
- 10. Abstract Games While many games are thematic, some are abstract, meaning that they don’t have a theme.
- 11. Pro Tips Have every detail in your game support the theme.
- 13. Premise Premise establishes the game’s goal within metaphor. Without dramatic premise, many games would be too abstract to become emotionally invested in their outcome. Game Premise Space Invaders Defend the planet from invaders Pitfall Harry Explore the jungle and find hidden treasures Diablo Defend the town from Diablo and his undead army Myst Unravel the puzzles of a deserted island
- 14. Tasks of the Premise Makes the experience richer for the player Unifies the game’s structure and theme Make a game’s mechanics more playable for the user
- 16. Characters Characters are the agents through whose actions a drama is told. Protagonist: The main character, whose engagement with the premise creates the conflict that drives the story Antagonist: A person or some other force that works against the Protagonist Major Characters: Have a significant impact on the story’s outcome Minor Characters: Have a minor impact on the story’s outcome
- 17. Methods of Characterization Characters are defined by: What they do What they say What others say about them Round Characters: A character with well-defined traits and a realistic personality or undergoes a significant change of personality during the story Flat Characters: Show little or no change in personality, and they are often used as foils to show off elements of another character
- 18. Agency vs. Empathy What is unique to game characters: Agency: The practical function of a character to serve as a representation of the player in a game Empathy: The potential for players to develop an emotional attachment to the character, to identify with their goals, and consequently, with the game’s objectives.
- 19. Characters vs. Avatars Predesigned Characters: Backstories, motivations Player-Created Characters (Avatars): Role- playing, growth, customization Both have potential for empathy; the question is which is best for the game’s design and player experience goals.
- 20. Free Will vs. Player Control AI-Controlled Characters: Characters exhibiting “free will” by having their own personality and inner thought process Player-Controlled Characters: Player assumes agency for the character’s actions Mixture: Player-controlled characters with elements of simulation that provide character (such as Sonic the Hedgehog tapping his toe)
- 21. Pro Tips Characters should have iconic qualities that the players can identify with or aspire to. Character traits should manifest themselves in the character’s words, actions, and appearance. Characters should change in ways that are interesting and surprising, yet believable.
- 22. STORY
- 23. Backstory In many games, story is limited to backstory, an elaborate version of the premise. The backstory gives a setting and context for the game’s conflict, and it can create motivation for the character, but its progression is not affected by gameplay.
- 25. Backstory
- 26. Introduction
- 27. Complication
- 28. Body
- 29. Climax
- 31. Coda
- 32. Pacing in Star Wars
- 33. The Hero’s Journey From the 1949 Joseph Campbell book, The Hero With A Thousand Faces: 1. The Ordinary World 2. The Call to Adventure 3. Refusal of the Call 4. Meeting with the Mentor 5. Crossing the Threshold 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies 7. Approaching The Cave (setbacks) 8. The Ordeal 9. The Reward 10. The Road Back 11. Resurrection (greater crisis) 12. Returning with the Elixir
- 35. The Call To Adventure
- 36. Refusal of the Call
- 37. Meeting With The Mentor
- 41. The Ordeal
- 42. The Reward
- 43. The Road Back
- 44. Resurrection
- 45. Return With The Elixar
- 46. Outcome The outcome of a game must be uncertain. The same is true of a story. However, the outcome of a story is resolved by the author, while the outcome of a game is resolved by the player. Because of this, it is difficult to integrate traditional storytelling methods into games.
- 47. Branching Storylines The problem with branching storylines is that they have limited scope.
- 48. Emergent Storylines The story emerges from gameplay rather than from a predetermined structure. The Sims: Players can take snapshots of gameplay and arrange them in a captioned scrapbook Black & White: Combines elements of simulation with strategy and gameplay Half-Life: Story sequences are triggered by character actions
- 49. Pro Tips The aesthetics, technology and gameplay should support the story and vice-versa. Don’t have your story match the Hero’s Journey so closely that it feels backward. Avoid lengthy “dialog dumps” to tell your backstory and other story elements.
- 51. Designer Perspective: Shigeru Miyamoto G4 Icons Episode #6: Shigeru Miyamoto
- 52. Extra Credits: Design Analysis Design Club - Super Mario Bros: Level 1-1
- 53. 1. Download GD1 4 Resources from the LAFS GD1 website Session 4 page 2. Create a Platform game
Editor's Notes
- #17: By identifying with a character and the outcome of their goals, the audience internalizes the story’s events and empathizes with its movement toward the resolution.
- #33: Star Wares: A New hope instantly grabs the viewer’s attention with the opening scene of the Rebel ship being capture. The engagement sequence then progresses in a series of hills and valleys, building higher and higher until the climactic destruction of the Death Star. Virtually all good entertainment has a similar pacing curve.
- #52: How ere games his destiny? Made puppet shows, drew comic strips Became obsessed with heroic characters like superheroes. Shock and surprise. First job? Industrial designer of board games at Nintendo. Then got reassigned to computer games. First game? Radar scope. Failed. Tried to get Popeye license, but failed. First successful game? Donkey Kong. First character-based arcade game. Premise: rescue girlfriend from gorilla. Smash success for Nintendo. First console game? Super Mario Bros. for NES. Mario character is expressive in his action. Drew inspiration from his childhood – cool caves he explored as a boy. Nintendo becomes most profitable company in Japan. Legend of Zelda: RPG game. Oceana of Time: Mirrors fairy tales.