COMP 585185 Serious Games Narrative Game relationships Triggers Narrative Events InGame Events Player Events Story Models Linear Branching Foldback Emergent Linear stories Aesthetically ID: 524212
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Slide1
narrative and characters
COMP 585/185: Serious
GamesSlide2
Narrative Slide3
Game relationships
Triggers
Narrative Events
In-Game Events
Player EventsSlide4
Story Models
Linear
Branching
Foldback
EmergentSlide5
Linear stories
Aesthetically
Greater emotional capability
Deny dramatic freedom
Practically
Require
less contentEngine simplerLess prone to bugs (absurdities)Slide6
branching stories
Aesthetically
Replayable
Harder to create specific emotions
Event influence
Advise player of significance
Deferred or cumulativePractically
Expensive and complexMerging
Number of endingsSlide7
Foldback stories
Inevitable events that create the story arc
Every play comes through them
Compromise between complexity and dramatic freedomSlide8
emergent stories
No storytelling engine
Story evolves strictly from player
actionsSlide9
considerations
Endings
Dramatic and premature
Multiplicity
Narrative granularitySlide10
Advancing the plot
Mechanisms
Challenges
Choices
Drama (time)
Journey
ToolsCut scenesDialogueSlide11
Three Act Play
Set up
Confrontation
ResolutionSlide12
hero’s journey (campbell
1949)
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
Call to adventure
Road of trials
Boon
Return to the ordinary world
Application of the boonVogler’s
versionSlide13
Resources
Tony
Hirst’s
Digital Worlds
Lee Sheldon,
Character Development and Storytelling for Games (2004)Slide14
CharactersSlide15
Shape shifter
Form changer
Threshold guardian
Progress delayer
Trickster
Mischief maker
Shadow
Ultimate evil
Herald
Used to facilitate change in the story
Character Archetypes
Hero
Outer problem is aim of game
Inner
problem is flaw or dark secret
Mentor
Guide character
Higher self
Hero as he aspires to be
Ally
Meant to aid the heroSlide16
Character Growth
Must include growth to have a meaningful story
Growth varies by genre
Must decide:
Which characters will grow
How they will grow
Implementation in game
Affect on
gameplayRepresentation to playerSlide17
Character GrowthSlide18
Goals of Character Design
Enhance story
Emotional response
Characters to identify with and care
about
Credible within the game styleSlide19
Goals of Character Design
Create characters that
people …
find
intriguing (even if a villain)
can
believe in
can identify withDistinctive enough to be memorableSlide20
Player-Designed Avatars
Flexibility differs by genre
Role-playing games usually greatest
Race, sex, hair, physical attributes, etc.
Typically no personality but what is created
Goal is tools for players to create
themselvesSlide21
Nonspecific Avatars
Designer doesn’t specify anything
Text-based adventure games
Allows very tight connection between player and avatar
Half-Life
’s Gordon Freeman
Limiting for designerSlide22
Specific Avatars
Goals
Personality of their own
Belong in the game
Begins with visual depiction
Player’s relationship more complex
Identify with, not become
In extreme, avatar can reject player’s guidance
The Longest Journey’s April RyanSlide23
Semi-Specific Avatars
Only partially characterized
Better to make cartoonish
Common with action game avatars
Mario
Lara Croft
“Beyond the bare facts of her biography, her perfect vacuity means we can make Lara Croft into whoever we want her to be.” – Steven Pool, “Lara’s Story”Slide24
Controlling avatars
Indirect (“point and click”)
Doesn’t steer avatar, points to where to go. Player as disembodied guide friend
More likely specific avatar
Direct
Player steers avatar through game world, doing a variety of actions as necessary
More likely nonspecific or semi-specificSlide25
Designing the Avatar
Nonspecific, semi-specific or specific
Visual, psychological, social
Direct or indirect control
Goal: character the player can identify with qualities can appreciateSlide26
Art-Driven Character Design
Creating a character by first thinking about his visual appearance
Visual design
Character physical types
Physical design
Defining attributes
SidekicksSlide27
Visual Design
Realism doesn’t matter, self-consistency does
Pac-Man
Lara Croft
Purely artistic characters tend to be more superficial and one-dimensional
Lets the player impose his own personalitySlide28
Character Physical Types
Humanoids
Non-humanoids
HybridsSlide29
Physical Design
Methods to attract
Hypersexualization
Cuteness
Cartoonlike qualities
Cool, tough, cute, goofy
Culture differences in art styles
Japanese: large eyes and tiny/huge mouths
Cute faces with sexually provocative
women
European: often ugly and strange to AmericansSlide30
Defining Attributes
Clothing, weapons, symbolic objects, name
Color palette reflects character’s attitudes or emotional temperament
Superman, upholder of “truth, justice, and the American way”: bright/cheery, American flag
Batman, Dark Knight of Gotham City (grittier, more run-down than Metropolis): somberSlide31
Sidekicks
Most prominent common element in game design
Combine qualities (e.g
.,
tough with cute) to provide variety and comic relief
Benefits
Give player additional moves and actions
Extend emotional range of game
Can give player information they couldn’t get otherwiseSlide32
Story-Driven Character Design
Starting with the story behind the character and developing his traits and personality before considering his appearance
Character dimensionality
Language & accent
Developing believable characters
Character growth
Character archetypesSlide33
Character Dimensionality
Zero-dimensional
May display only discrete emotional states
One-dimensional
Have only a single variable to characterize a changing feeling or attitude
Two-dimensional
Have multiple non-conflicting
variables that express their impulses
Three-dimensional
Have multiple emotional states that
can produce conflicting impulsesSlide34
Language & Accent
Key cue to character’s personality
Vocabulary – age, social class, education
Grammar and sentence construction – education and class
Accent – place of origin and social class
Delivery (speed and tone) – excitement, boredom, anxiety, suspicion, attitude or emotional state
Vocal quirks – distinguishing
Sound effects also tell about personality
Confirm player’s command
Signal injury, damage, death
Pitch describesSlide35
Believable Characters
Major characters need rich personalities
Answer many questions about them
Where was he born?
What is his education?
What are his favorite activities?
What were his biggest triumphs in life?
What are his interesting or important possessions?
Etc.
Show through appearance, language, and behaviorSlide36
Believable Characters
Attributes – location, health, relationships, etc.
Can change as the player plays the game
Status attributes: change frequently and by large amounts
Characterization attributes: change infrequently and only by small amounts or not at allSlide37
Believable Characters
Three golden guidelines to developing effective, believable characters
Needs to intrigue the player
Needs to get the player to like him
Needs to change and grow according to experience