Game Development Essentials An Introduction

1
Game Development Essentials An Introduction
2
Chapter 4

• Storytelling
• creating the narrative

3
Key Chapter Questions

• How do stories in games differ from those in
  films and other entertainment media?
• What are some traditional story structures and
  how do they relate to plot?
• What is interactivity and how can it be applied
  to storytelling?
• What are some dramatic storytelling devices
  used in games?
• How does story affect immersion in a game?

4
Traditional Storytelling
5
Traditional Storytelling
6
Story Elements

• Premise (High Concept)
• Backstory
• Synopsis
• Theme
• Setting
• Plot

7
Plot

• Balancing conflict
• Shifting focus
• Foreshadowing events
• Suspension of disbelief
• Realism

8
Game Story Devices

• Interactivity
• Non-linearity (story layers/pathing)
• Player control
• Collaboration
• Immersion
• Cinematics cut-scenes
• Scripted events

9
Adaptations
The Lord of the Rings The Battle for
Middle-earth
Enter the Matrix
10
Machinimamachine cinema
Steelwight
Tum Raider
11
Summary

• Traditional storytelling
• Story elements
• Plot
• Game story devices
• Adaptations
• Machinima