Task 1 – Understanding Storytelling – Game Designer Article
You have been asked to write an extended article for a professional gaming magazine about how game designers use story to enhance a player’s gameplay experience.
This article must cover:
· Forms of Storytelling.
· Game genres.
· Approaches to storytelling.
· Representation within videogames.
· Emotional themes.
· Interactive story.
· Writing strategies.
The article is intended to be useful as a guide to new developers.
You are aiming to comprehensively explain the elements of storytelling for games with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly.
Storytelling comes in many forms such as books, cave paintings, games, films, and comics. these forms of storytelling appeal to various people depending on their preference. Each one has its own benefits and disadvantages. Books are great fo when you want to relax or take them on the go, it has been scientifically proven that reading relaxes the brain, which is why most people do it before bed. Another advantage is that people can use their own imagination or books as well, leading you to be more creative in the way you think as well as help you with your own writing skills. However, some people find books to be tedious and boring because it is not interactive. You will find that the newer generations will find books boring due to them growing up around technology. Cave paintings are not done anymore, but when they were done in the past and can be used now to help us piece together history in certain areas. There aren't any disadvantages with cave paintings because people don't do them anymore but for a historian then trying to identify what the drawings represent because they are so old. Games are a big part of modern society, they can tell the story in the most interactive way possible by making you a part of it and can produce other fun aspects such as multiplayer games where you can play the story with friends. The only disadvantage is that people can become addicted to games and it will "swallow" their lives. Films, on the other hand, are less interactive, they allow you to watch what other people are experiencing. Many people watch films and they can be entertaining, however, they can be badly made, such as modern horror films are lacking in the "scare factor". Comics are for a selective crowd, they combine both the book version of storytelling as well as giving you illustrations to look at while you read. Some people don' like them due to stereotypes of people reading comics being "geeks or nerds". The negative side of comics is that it can cost a lot of money over time.
Game genres span across many games and appeal to different people. I will give some examples in the following paragraph and their advantages/disadvantages. Game genres separate all the games we play, from Horror to First Person Shooters, some developers specialize within a certain genre, some companies such as Treyarch have gone from third person action games to First Person Shooters. Treyarch is the developers of Call Of Duty, the biggest FPS franchise of our generation and yet it is the most controversial for fans and other gamers. Ove the years it was the perfect FPS, providing a fantastic experience in campaign and the multiplayer mode. Originally, it was the competitor for Medal Of Honor another great FPS, that's why Call Of Duty started with WW2 based games. Over the years it provided innovation and a hardcore experience, each game had a new story for the players, providing an emotional attachment to the player and characters. It combined stealth in some missions and all-out war, in the WW2 games they sent you into battle in real life situations such as the battle on Omaha beach. Call Of Duty revolutionized FPS with Modern Warfare, this separated Call Of Duty from other generic shooters of that time, giving a brand new multiplayer system with ranking capabilities and the first time Call Of Duty introduced multiplayer DLC. This game also produced one of the most iconic missions in FPS history. As the game has progressed throughout the years it has lost a lot o its audience from selling 2 million on release back on Modern Warfare, to only selling 500,000 on release for Infinite Warfare. And this is why Call Of Duty has turned from an iconic FPS to a bad FPS, by not listening to the community. This will all be changing in 2017 when they are "going back to their roots" according to Activision. A bad FPS game would be destiny, this is because it is just a source of money and was an incomplete game. The story was short, controls were clunky and the "MMO" element wasn't successful. The story was short, according to IGN it took them 6 hours to complete the main story and for a game which was supposed to be ever expanding but was the same completion time for an average Call Of Duty game which is a linear FPS. Also, it has release expansions on over the 2 years it has been out in order to complete the game you have to pay. FPS games are usually war games and try to emulate realism.
Another genre is RPG, meaning Role Playing Game, these are usually fantasy type games where you take the role of a character and use a multi-choice combination fo dialogue because you are playing the role of that character. A good example of an RPG is The Witcher 3, it is a massive open world providing over 200-hour of gameplay (without DLC) and has 32 endings each one affected by your dialogue choices as well as actions. The reason this is a good RPG is due to the fact that it allows you to fully be the character rather than the character being a linear path. Even the DLC added to this game is worth the money as it adds new monsters, story and an addition to the already massive map. The DLC still includes the multi choice elements. Also, the game includes huge sections of alchemy for the people who want to upgrade with oils and other elements. The Witcher 3 also has side quests which, if failed, you can't play again, making the game more realistic. A bad example of an RPG is The Elder Scrolls Online, even though this can be classed as an MMORPG, it failed as a game. Leaving the content lacking and the gameplay became monotonous, also it was riddled with bugs and glitches and eventually left in the dust.
Furthermore, Horror is also an ever growing genre and is full of both iconic series' and bad games. Horror uses either gore or jump scares, however, this can be done badly. An example of a bad horror game is Slenderman, it uses tacky jump scares (which gives you a forewarning to the event) and has no compelling storyline, even though statistically this game has had many sales over the many platforms. An example of a good horror game is the Evil Within, even though it si a psychologically game it does it very well and combines gore heavily as a feature. The psychological aspect continues throughout the game until the very last cutscene. The game sold well and the DLC added more to the character's as well.
Approaches to storytelling.
There are many approaches to telling a story, this includes the hero's 12 steps which were made by Joseph Campell. This journey is so that you route for the character, you will see them go through hell and then have the main event where they will usually be an underdog, for example in the hunger games the games themselves and then the journey ends when the games end after Katniss becomes the hero, this is good because it makes you emphasise for the main character, the only bad part is that the hero's journey is very cliche. As well as this in a game, the hero will usually be your character or one of the characters you play as. Another approach to storytelling is episodic, which TellTale games have made popular over the years with games for Game Of Thrones and Batman, the negative side of this is that many people might not be able to buy the episodes continuously and can work out cheaper waiting for the game to end and buy it as a bundle. This offers each episode and can form a season, like the Walking Dead, has multiple seasons. Each season can form a different or continuous story, allowing more stories to be told rather than in a single game. It also separates stories. Many stories can be told by starting with an action, with WW2 game such as Medal Of Honor Frontline, where it is starting with Hitler commencing war, the bad part about actions starting off a game is that the ending is usually predictable, you will counter-act the action and end the war. The location is also a good place to start, for example, the Sims starts with a location. Even though this game doesn't have much of an s story to it, it does start your life in a town and you build your own story through the location, as I mentioned before where you start with a location might leave not much of a story to be built up. Many games are symbolic gestures to build up their story, Assassins Creed uses the fact that you are a predator as symbolism, making you above everyone else and a hunter. This lets the player feel like they are unstoppable and it makes the Templars seem weak compared to you. However, the symbolic approach can make the game appear cheesy, such as Brutal legend, which overuses symbolism for Heavy Metal.
Furthermore, the most common form of approaching a story is the beginning, middle, and end. This is found in most linear games, such as Call Of Duty or the resistance series. The beginning includes an introduction to the characters of the game and can give the plot to the player by saying that they need to kill someone or steal something. The middle of the game will introduce a dilemma that the players will have to resolve in order to progress, within the Call Of Duty franchise it will usually someone who you grow an attachment to so that you want to kill the end person more than before, using emotions to attract the player to the game and compel them further. The end of the game will be usually a significant event if the game is solo or end on a cliffhanger for a franchise like The Last Of Us did. The end of an FPS will result in you killing the final boss or enemy.
representation in video games:
This is when real life situations and issues are represented in games, things such as racism can be found in Assassins Creed Black Flag, where you see black people being treated as slaves throughout the game. As well as this you see people fighting against racism throughout the game such as your character freeing some of the slaves ta the beginning. Equal rights can be found within the sims before gay marriage was legal, this game allowed you to marry two fo the same genders. This would allow people to become aware that gay marriage was acceptable to people who weren't around gay people during that time very often unlike the modern day.
Some games have bad representation in games, for example, a game called Shellshock 'Nam. This was a bad representation due to the fact that you were bale to kill children and woman as well as the soldiers, even though it was supposed to emulate the actual war, you were overpowered amongst the soldiers (you played as an American) so it was seen as putting the Vietcong as weak and also even though it represented the stages of war, ti was controversial due to this. However, a good representation of war is the Spec Ops games where you were able to play war fairly and it never stepped over the line, it enabled the war to be fair and not be condescending.
Emotional themes:
Emotions in games are becoming more and more common, they use it to attach the player to the game and allow them to emphasize more with the characters. The Last Of Us uses a lot of emotional themes, mainly sadness from the cutscenes allowing you to emphasize with Joel throughout the game and make you root fo the character. A game which includes happy emotions is Little Big Planet. This is a child's game but includes a "go happy" feeling about the game. This is so that you don't have to emphasize with the character but it wants to compel you into the story further while using slapstick humor for children. Emotions can be conveyed through various themes, such as the cinematics you see or music. In Resident Evil the music creates tension, installing fear into the player with suspense while building up your expectation for a jump scare. Also, the setting plays a key part in fear, if you have bright scenery like in "Everybody's gone to the rapture" then it is calming, meanwhile if it is dark and gloomy like Outlast then it creates tension.
Interactive Story:
This is when you can interact with the story of the game, these games usually are known as interactive movies because of they are filed with cinematics. Beyond Two Souls is a good example of the interactive story because your choices with the events affect the outcome of the game. Also, most of the events in this game are put towards the ending event of the game so it is truly your choice what happens. A bad example of an interactive story is a linear game because you are forced to do the events and have no choice in them. Another type of interactive story is the illusion of choice such as The Walking Dead. This is where you are given multiple choices but the final event is already set from the start, many tellTale games use this.
Writing Strategies:
These strategies are used when you are writing a script for a game or a descriptive scene. Before writing many people use these strategies: brainstorming and mind map to gather ideas. Brainstorming is useful for putting down quick ideas, however, a bad point of this is that you can't put your ideas in depth and they are unorganized. However, mind maps are more organized but if it is done on paper then it can be lost. However, if it is on a computer then it takes a lot longer to create it organized, even though there are certain software that enables you to create detailed mind maps. Many people will use various strategies as they suit them more and their preference. In games writing planning can be used, for example in Minecraft you can write in books, this can be used to create mini-games.
References:
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/09/10/heres-how-long-it-took-us-to-complete-destinys-story
http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/games/everybodys-gone-to-the-rapture/
http://www.gamesradar.com/activision-says-call-of-duty-is-going-back-to-its-roots-which-could-mean-a-new-ww2-game-yes-please/
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/11/07/take-call-of-duty-infinite-warfare-uk-sales-doom-and-gloom-with-a-grain-of-salt/&refURL=https://www.google.co.uk/&referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty_4:_Modern_Warfare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt
http://uk.ign.com/wikis/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/DLC_and_Expansion_Packs
http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/
Storytelling comes in many forms such as books, cave paintings, games, films, and comics. these forms of storytelling appeal to various people depending on their preference. Each one has its own benefits and disadvantages. Books are great fo when you want to relax or take them on the go, it has been scientifically proven that reading relaxes the brain, which is why most people do it before bed. Another advantage is that people can use their own imagination or books as well, leading you to be more creative in the way you think as well as help you with your own writing skills. However, some people find books to be tedious and boring because it is not interactive. You will find that the newer generations will find books boring due to them growing up around technology. Cave paintings are not done anymore, but when they were done in the past and can be used now to help us piece together history in certain areas. There aren't any disadvantages with cave paintings because people don't do them anymore but for a historian then trying to identify what the drawings represent because they are so old. Games are a big part of modern society, they can tell the story in the most interactive way possible by making you a part of it and can produce other fun aspects such as multiplayer games where you can play the story with friends. The only disadvantage is that people can become addicted to games and it will "swallow" their lives. Films, on the other hand, are less interactive, they allow you to watch what other people are experiencing. Many people watch films and they can be entertaining, however, they can be badly made, such as modern horror films are lacking in the "scare factor". Comics are for a selective crowd, they combine both the book version of storytelling as well as giving you illustrations to look at while you read. Some people don' like them due to stereotypes of people reading comics being "geeks or nerds". The negative side of comics is that it can cost a lot of money over time.
Game genres span across many games and appeal to different people. I will give some examples in the following paragraph and their advantages/disadvantages. Game genres separate all the games we play, from Horror to First Person Shooters, some developers specialize within a certain genre, some companies such as Treyarch have gone from third person action games to First Person Shooters. Treyarch is the developers of Call Of Duty, the biggest FPS franchise of our generation and yet it is the most controversial for fans and other gamers. Ove the years it was the perfect FPS, providing a fantastic experience in campaign and the multiplayer mode. Originally, it was the competitor for Medal Of Honor another great FPS, that's why Call Of Duty started with WW2 based games. Over the years it provided innovation and a hardcore experience, each game had a new story for the players, providing an emotional attachment to the player and characters. It combined stealth in some missions and all-out war, in the WW2 games they sent you into battle in real life situations such as the battle on Omaha beach. Call Of Duty revolutionized FPS with Modern Warfare, this separated Call Of Duty from other generic shooters of that time, giving a brand new multiplayer system with ranking capabilities and the first time Call Of Duty introduced multiplayer DLC. This game also produced one of the most iconic missions in FPS history. As the game has progressed throughout the years it has lost a lot o its audience from selling 2 million on release back on Modern Warfare, to only selling 500,000 on release for Infinite Warfare. And this is why Call Of Duty has turned from an iconic FPS to a bad FPS, by not listening to the community. This will all be changing in 2017 when they are "going back to their roots" according to Activision. A bad FPS game would be destiny, this is because it is just a source of money and was an incomplete game. The story was short, controls were clunky and the "MMO" element wasn't successful. The story was short, according to IGN it took them 6 hours to complete the main story and for a game which was supposed to be ever expanding but was the same completion time for an average Call Of Duty game which is a linear FPS. Also, it has release expansions on over the 2 years it has been out in order to complete the game you have to pay. FPS games are usually war games and try to emulate realism.
Another genre is RPG, meaning Role Playing Game, these are usually fantasy type games where you take the role of a character and use a multi-choice combination fo dialogue because you are playing the role of that character. A good example of an RPG is The Witcher 3, it is a massive open world providing over 200-hour of gameplay (without DLC) and has 32 endings each one affected by your dialogue choices as well as actions. The reason this is a good RPG is due to the fact that it allows you to fully be the character rather than the character being a linear path. Even the DLC added to this game is worth the money as it adds new monsters, story and an addition to the already massive map. The DLC still includes the multi choice elements. Also, the game includes huge sections of alchemy for the people who want to upgrade with oils and other elements. The Witcher 3 also has side quests which, if failed, you can't play again, making the game more realistic. A bad example of an RPG is The Elder Scrolls Online, even though this can be classed as an MMORPG, it failed as a game. Leaving the content lacking and the gameplay became monotonous, also it was riddled with bugs and glitches and eventually left in the dust.
Furthermore, Horror is also an ever growing genre and is full of both iconic series' and bad games. Horror uses either gore or jump scares, however, this can be done badly. An example of a bad horror game is Slenderman, it uses tacky jump scares (which gives you a forewarning to the event) and has no compelling storyline, even though statistically this game has had many sales over the many platforms. An example of a good horror game is the Evil Within, even though it si a psychologically game it does it very well and combines gore heavily as a feature. The psychological aspect continues throughout the game until the very last cutscene. The game sold well and the DLC added more to the character's as well.
Approaches to storytelling.
There are many approaches to telling a story, this includes the hero's 12 steps which were made by Joseph Campell. This journey is so that you route for the character, you will see them go through hell and then have the main event where they will usually be an underdog, for example in the hunger games the games themselves and then the journey ends when the games end after Katniss becomes the hero, this is good because it makes you emphasise for the main character, the only bad part is that the hero's journey is very cliche. As well as this in a game, the hero will usually be your character or one of the characters you play as. Another approach to storytelling is episodic, which TellTale games have made popular over the years with games for Game Of Thrones and Batman, the negative side of this is that many people might not be able to buy the episodes continuously and can work out cheaper waiting for the game to end and buy it as a bundle. This offers each episode and can form a season, like the Walking Dead, has multiple seasons. Each season can form a different or continuous story, allowing more stories to be told rather than in a single game. It also separates stories. Many stories can be told by starting with an action, with WW2 game such as Medal Of Honor Frontline, where it is starting with Hitler commencing war, the bad part about actions starting off a game is that the ending is usually predictable, you will counter-act the action and end the war. The location is also a good place to start, for example, the Sims starts with a location. Even though this game doesn't have much of an s story to it, it does start your life in a town and you build your own story through the location, as I mentioned before where you start with a location might leave not much of a story to be built up. Many games are symbolic gestures to build up their story, Assassins Creed uses the fact that you are a predator as symbolism, making you above everyone else and a hunter. This lets the player feel like they are unstoppable and it makes the Templars seem weak compared to you. However, the symbolic approach can make the game appear cheesy, such as Brutal legend, which overuses symbolism for Heavy Metal.
Furthermore, the most common form of approaching a story is the beginning, middle, and end. This is found in most linear games, such as Call Of Duty or the resistance series. The beginning includes an introduction to the characters of the game and can give the plot to the player by saying that they need to kill someone or steal something. The middle of the game will introduce a dilemma that the players will have to resolve in order to progress, within the Call Of Duty franchise it will usually someone who you grow an attachment to so that you want to kill the end person more than before, using emotions to attract the player to the game and compel them further. The end of the game will be usually a significant event if the game is solo or end on a cliffhanger for a franchise like The Last Of Us did. The end of an FPS will result in you killing the final boss or enemy.
representation in video games:
This is when real life situations and issues are represented in games, things such as racism can be found in Assassins Creed Black Flag, where you see black people being treated as slaves throughout the game. As well as this you see people fighting against racism throughout the game such as your character freeing some of the slaves ta the beginning. Equal rights can be found within the sims before gay marriage was legal, this game allowed you to marry two fo the same genders. This would allow people to become aware that gay marriage was acceptable to people who weren't around gay people during that time very often unlike the modern day.
Some games have bad representation in games, for example, a game called Shellshock 'Nam. This was a bad representation due to the fact that you were bale to kill children and woman as well as the soldiers, even though it was supposed to emulate the actual war, you were overpowered amongst the soldiers (you played as an American) so it was seen as putting the Vietcong as weak and also even though it represented the stages of war, ti was controversial due to this. However, a good representation of war is the Spec Ops games where you were able to play war fairly and it never stepped over the line, it enabled the war to be fair and not be condescending.
Emotional themes:
Emotions in games are becoming more and more common, they use it to attach the player to the game and allow them to emphasize more with the characters. The Last Of Us uses a lot of emotional themes, mainly sadness from the cutscenes allowing you to emphasize with Joel throughout the game and make you root fo the character. A game which includes happy emotions is Little Big Planet. This is a child's game but includes a "go happy" feeling about the game. This is so that you don't have to emphasize with the character but it wants to compel you into the story further while using slapstick humor for children. Emotions can be conveyed through various themes, such as the cinematics you see or music. In Resident Evil the music creates tension, installing fear into the player with suspense while building up your expectation for a jump scare. Also, the setting plays a key part in fear, if you have bright scenery like in "Everybody's gone to the rapture" then it is calming, meanwhile if it is dark and gloomy like Outlast then it creates tension.
Interactive Story:
This is when you can interact with the story of the game, these games usually are known as interactive movies because of they are filed with cinematics. Beyond Two Souls is a good example of the interactive story because your choices with the events affect the outcome of the game. Also, most of the events in this game are put towards the ending event of the game so it is truly your choice what happens. A bad example of an interactive story is a linear game because you are forced to do the events and have no choice in them. Another type of interactive story is the illusion of choice such as The Walking Dead. This is where you are given multiple choices but the final event is already set from the start, many tellTale games use this.
Writing Strategies:
These strategies are used when you are writing a script for a game or a descriptive scene. Before writing many people use these strategies: brainstorming and mind map to gather ideas. Brainstorming is useful for putting down quick ideas, however, a bad point of this is that you can't put your ideas in depth and they are unorganized. However, mind maps are more organized but if it is done on paper then it can be lost. However, if it is on a computer then it takes a lot longer to create it organized, even though there are certain software that enables you to create detailed mind maps. Many people will use various strategies as they suit them more and their preference. In games writing planning can be used, for example in Minecraft you can write in books, this can be used to create mini-games.
References:
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/09/10/heres-how-long-it-took-us-to-complete-destinys-story
http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/games/everybodys-gone-to-the-rapture/
http://www.gamesradar.com/activision-says-call-of-duty-is-going-back-to-its-roots-which-could-mean-a-new-ww2-game-yes-please/
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/11/07/take-call-of-duty-infinite-warfare-uk-sales-doom-and-gloom-with-a-grain-of-salt/&refURL=https://www.google.co.uk/&referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty_4:_Modern_Warfare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt
http://uk.ign.com/wikis/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/DLC_and_Expansion_Packs
http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/
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