Game Stories
The first reading called 'what every game developer needs to know about story' talks about what a story is and how to approach stories in games.
A story in games is similar to a story in movies but in different forms. The first attempts to make stories into movies were a failed attempt.
The common misconceptions or mistakes that have been made in games are:
- Story is dialog
- Story doesn't matter
Some people think that the story doesn't matter but that is not true, to get on the level that movies have reached, the same story problems have to be figured out for games just like the movies.
If we develop games into the advanced story form that movies have become, we have to start learning everything that movies had to learn.
McKee pointed out that the real substance of the story is conflict.
Also, what a character eats, wears and drives is important but shallow, whats really important is what he chooses to do and what defines his character.
A good story will put pressure on the character to make important choices.
The second reading is an academic paper called 'A case study in the design of game narrative'
The paper looks at Mass Effect 2 and its narrative poetics while also providing insight into the narrative in games. The reading shows that there are a number of strategies that have to be used to balance the tension between the players choice and intent to communicate a specific narrative.
You can achieve this by using the character as a vessel for communicating narrative details and as a way for the player to express themselves.
The last thing we cover today is a video about telling stories with systems.
The video covers games that have interactive stories, in a lot of these games, the characters remember the decision you make but your ability to really change the story of the game is limited
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