Collaborative Writing and Vast Narratives

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Collaborative Writing and Vast Narratives

• Principles, Processes, and Genteel Truculence

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Who Are We?

• Ken Rolston
• Designer Paranoia, RuneQuest, ADD, WFRP, Tales
  of the Arabian Nights
• Lead Designer Morrowind, Oblivion, Big Huge RPG
• Mark Nelson
• Lead Designer Shivering Isles
• Lead Narrative Designer Big Huge RPG

We Create Vast Narratives.
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We Disagree About What Makes Vast Narratives Work

• and were both right.

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What Ken Believes In

• Setting
• Exploration, Pilgrims, and Tourists
• Theme
• Faction, Loose Narrative Threads

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What Mark Believes In

• Story
• Plot, Pacing, and Revelation
• Character
• Dialogue and Voice

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Setting and Theme Are Incredibly Important

• Coherence
• Ownership
• Immersion
• IP

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Except For the Horrible Problems

• High Overhead
• Static
• Less Memorable

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Setting and Theme Done Right

• Bioshock
• Fallout
• Myth

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Setting and Theme Done Right

• Morrowind
• Detailed Faction Gameplay
• Early Focus on Consistency of Theme

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Setting and Theme Done (Not So) Right

• Oblivion
• Too Massive
• Too Generic
• Cautionary Tale
• Of Ashurnibibi and Nchuleftingth

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VERY IMPORTANT RULE

• Setting and Theme must be the Designers primary
  focus, as they are the building blocks of vast
  narratives without them, players are left
  without any narrative touchstones.

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Story and Character Are Incredibly Important

• Dynamic Elements
• Player Attachment
• Low Overhead
• IP Retention

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Except For the Horrible Problems

• Difficult to Maintain Consistent Voice
• Story Demands Exposition
• Games Rarely Do Story Well

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Story and Character Done Right

• Chronicles of Riddick
• Half Life 2
• Eternal Darkness

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Story and Character Done Right

• Shivering Isles
• Focus on Individual Characters
• Simple, Fast-Paced Story

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Story and Character Done (Not So) Right

• Oblivion
• Again, Too Massive
• Too Many Cooks
• Cautionary Tale
• Of Jack Bauer and the Search for the Da Vinci
  Code

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VERY IMPORTANT RULE

• Story and Character must be the Designers
  primary focus, as they are the engines by which
  we drive players to continue to play our games.

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SoWhats a Designer to Do?

• Focus on Story?
• Focus on Setting?
• Focus on Both?
• Yes
• and No.

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Early DesignFocus on Setting and Themes

• Create Simple Themes
• Ex., East vs. West
• Make a Map
• Major Geographical Features, Unique Topography
• Establish Factions
• Built-In Motivations and Conflicts

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and When Ken Isnt Looking

• Create Keystone Characters
• Listen to the Voices in Your Head
• Imagine Big Events
• Discover the Scenes You Really Want to Write

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VERY IMPORTANT RULE

• Early focus on Setting and Theme is imperative,
  as all good stories and characters are derived
  from their associated environments.

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Late DesignFocus on Story and Character

• Write Character Bios
• Backstory, Common Archetypes, Reference Images,
  Sample Dialogue
• Draft Your Plot
• Act Structure, Key Moments, Narrative Reversals

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and When Mark Isnt Looking

• Integrate Faction Conflict
• Find Places Where Theme Has Accidentally
  Appeared, and Expand on It
• Look for Unexploited Hooks
• Tug On Loose Narrative Threads

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VERY IMPORTANT RULE

• Later focus on Story and Character is necessary,
  as settings devoid of conflict and resolution are
  unable to sustain player interest.

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Approaches Weve Taken to Manage The Process

• The Black Box
• The Evil Overlord
• The Combo Platter

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The Black Box

• Individual Designers on Individual Storylines
• Internal Consistency
• Scalable
• No Interaction
• Insular

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The Evil Overlord

• Shared Design With One Vision-Holder
• Consistency of Voice
• Variety of Style
• Bottlenecking
• Seagulling

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The Combo Platter

• Early Overlord/Late Black Box
• Tone Established Early
• Increased Individual Ownership
• Greater Accountability

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VERY IMPORTANT RULE

• Large teams are necessary to create vast
  narrativesmanaging these large teams requires
  strict oversight.

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SoWhat Have We Learned?

• There are many VERY IMPORTANT RULES for designing
  vast narratives.
• These rules must never be broken.

• These VERY IMPORTANT RULES should be understood.
• These rules should be broken whenever necessary,
  convenient, or perversely enjoyable.

WRONG!