The Narrative Design Exploratorium™ http://www.narrativedesign.org/ The NDE is a Stephen Dinehart publication dedicated the the craft of storytelling, and the convergence of cinema and interactive media, popularly known as video games. en Copyright 2008 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Masters of Narrative Design™ 7: Flint Dille Flint Dille 2008This is an ongoing NDE series featuring interviews with Masters of Narrative Design™.  While 'narrative design' is not a term in common usage, the design of story experiences is nothing new.  As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, looking at the lessons learned by these masters becomes increasingly valuable.  Today's master is writer and author, Flint Dille.  As a storyteller whose works have spanned from Dungeons and Dragons campaign modules to Pic-a-path novels, films and videogames and the book The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design, Flint brings an acute narrative sensibility from his vast experience in interactive narrative design. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his wealth of knowledge and wisdom.

Stephen E. Dinehart: You have been writing for years under the label GZP, can you explain what that is and how it came about?

Flinte Dille: GZP is Ground Zero Productions. That's my company formed in 1991, before the term Ground Zero took on a whole different meaning. I now refer to it mostly as GZP for obvious reasons.  It was formed as a holding company for my work and for some copywrites and trademarks.  At various times it has served as a film production company, a videogame production company and worked in both the private and public sectors.  When I came up with the name, it was both the sense of starting at Ground Zero (the beginning) and the idea that ground zero was the focal point of an explosion.  Its served me well because I always feel like I'm just starting out. I had no idea what ghastly implications it would take on. Ironically, Ground Zero Productions has done a lot of work in counter-terrorism efforts with various government agencies.

300 March to Glory boxartSED: Is that the same as the Bureau of Film and Games?

FD:  No.  Bureau of Film and Games is a company I own with John Zuur Platten. I've always liked the name. Rich Liebowitz came up with it. We ran with it. It is mostly a holding company.

SED:  When did you first know you wanted to be in the business of stories?

FD:  I tried to write my first novel when I was in 7th Grade and wrote a fraternity House murder mystery when I was in college (which has mercifully escaped publication).  Went to USC for a masters degree in writing (cinema) and have been doing it pretty much ever since. I'd always known I wanted to do games, but I had no idea how to get into that business. That happened, mostly by chance, a couple of years later.
 
SED: You have written fiction within high profile franchises like 300, Batman, Dungeons and Dragons, G.I. Joe, James Bond, Superman, and Transformers; just to name a few, how do you approach authoring for pre-established franchises?

FD:  I really enjoy translating a franchise from one medium to another.  I grew up loving James Bond movies, so it was great to be able to do a James Bond game and live in that universe for a couple years.  Same thing with Batman and Superman.  With Transformers, it was a little different, we were kind of making up the franchise as we were going along (other people had done the spade work, but we were figuring out the rules and the mythologies, etc.).  In some cases, you get to put parts of yourself into them (Flint). 

The approach, technically, is first to break down the franchise into Franchise Elements. If you're doing Scooby-Doo, you have to know about Scooby snacks and 'Jinkys' and all of the little things that make a franchise a franchise.  With Bond, we isolated 135 things that are part of the franchise, ranging from 'Shaken, not stirred' to "Bond, James Bond' to the mandatory presence of an Aston Martin.  You can't fit all of them in, and in some ways the definitive thing about a particular expression of a franchise is what you leave out. Look at what's missing from the new James Bond movies, for instance.

That word, 'expression' is very important.

Who is the BatmanEvery franchise that's been around for a while has had different 'Expressions.'  For instance, the Dark Knight is wildly different than the '60's Adam West Batman.  Still, they are both Batman, they both have an Alfred and  Joker and a Batmobile.  But there are franchise elements missing. The Adam West version stays away from Crime Alley. Its not about that. It is the fun, camp Batman.  Brutal parental murders aren't a lot of fun.  Likewise, you don't see Zap and Pow in the Dark Knight.  Different expressions.  Frank Miller said something very insightful about Batman.  "There are 50 ways to do it, and all of them work."

]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/masters-of-narrative-design-7.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/masters-of-narrative-design-7.html Masters of Narrative Design™ Narrative Design game writing Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0600 My new shoes - Narrative Designer/Lead Writer at Day 1 Studios Fracture Box ArtI'm happy to announce that as of November 1st I am Narrative Designer and Lead Writer for Day 1 Studios, LLC in Chicago. It's been a rapid process from application to the negotiation table and it feels good to be part of such a talented independent studio. This is the first such position for Day 1, having worked in the past with contract writers and/or publishers to deal with most of the storytelling, and I'm glad to say everyone I work with seems very happy to finally have a FT storyteller in-house. Everyone at Day 1 understands the narrative needs of modern interactive entertainment, and I'm happy to fill that gap.

The studio's most recent title, published by Lucas Arts, Fracture, has had mixed reviews with a current metacritic score of 64, but overall has come out strong (85 being the highest rating) for it's terrain modification tech, which allows the player to modify the terrain for tactical purposes. The studio has received acclaim in the past for it's titles Mechassault, Mechassault 2 and the port of F.E.A.R. which is to see a continution in the franchise this year with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin by Monolith and Warner Brothers Games.

The original Battletech RPG cover from the Japanese ReleaseAs a bit of a side-note the studio is run by the talented team from FASA Interactive. They created the Battetech transmedia franchise in 1984 which I enjoyed very much as a teenager. My favorite manifestation of which was the location based-entertainment (LBE) at North Pier and the Real-time Tacitcal game (RTT) known as Mechcommander.  These great games allowed the player to step into the the cockpit of their favorite mech and do battle in real-time with other players.

The pressure is on and as a department of one my job is to insure that the narrative experience in our products is compelling and in-sync with the studio's vision of the games in development. As a "two game" studio dealing in AAA-game development I have my hands full trying to catch up with all the work going on at the studios 2 locations (Hunt Valley and Chicago) and 130+ employees. After working with THQ on PC titles its good to cross back into the world of cross-platform development.

The FASA Interactive Battletech LBEBeing that I am a Midwesterner, and native Chicagoan, it feels great to get involved in entertainment production outside the west coast, where I've spent the better part of the last 5 years. Chicago has been a hot bed of development as of late with new studios popping up after the dissolving of EA Chicago; Midway games also continues to be a great source of talent for the city. 

I'll be sure to keep NDE readers informed as developments in our products are made public. Thanks to the Day 1 team, particularly Denny Thorley and TJ Wagner, for believing in the future of Narrative Design as an integral part of next-generation video game development and for placing me in the cockpit as I prepare to co-author a new landscape in the possibilities of videogame storytelling.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/my-new-shoes---narrative-desig.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/my-new-shoes---narrative-desig.html Editorials Narrative Designer Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:00 -0600 Game Writers in the Trenches™ 3: Sande Chen NDE series featuring interviews with Game Writers in the Trenches™.  The game industry is riddled with the unsung heroes of interactive storytelling.  As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, listening to the real-world wisdom of these writers can help everyone on the development pipeline understand their trials, tribulations, and needs, in hopes of enabling them to do their job as they know best. Today's game writer is Sande Chen, her experience spans from RPG's to Serious Games. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from her experiences in the trenches of game development.

Stephen E. Dinehart: How did you become a game writer?

Sande_Chen_2008.jpgSande Chen: Unlike other game writers, I don't have a wild breaking-in story.  My professional writing career has only been in games.  Basically, I pursued academic majors that were relevant to game development.  Then, I applied for a job.  

I was a double humanities major at M.I.T., which is known for its computer science and engineering programs.  After M.I.T., I attended the London School of Economics and USC's School of Cinema-Television.  I specialized in screenwriting, but I wanted to learn more, so I asked production students to teach me what they knew and I took classes like Avant-Garde Cinema.  I started making music videos and while still in film school, I was nominated for a Grammy in music video direction. During a visit to M.I.T., I chanced upon a flier for a game design contest.  A military contractor was interested in expanding into entertainment.  With this first taste of game design, I started applying to game companies.    

My first game writing credit is on Vicarious Visions' space combat RPG, Terminus, which won two awards in the first Independent Games Festival at the GDC.  I have a very analytical side to me as well as a creative side and so, I think that game design successfully merges my strengths.  

SED: Can you describe your work with Writers Cabal?

The Witcher Box ArtSC: We write for games and we also do consulting on story or game design.  Each project is really different from the others.  It definitely makes life interesting.  Anne and I have different writing backgrounds and diverse experiences in the industry.  I've worked as a producer and I find that's really helpful in understanding how to mesh our work into a company's production process.  Meanwhile, Anne has worked as a Head Writer in charge of a MMO writing team.  My background is more in single-player RPG's.

We're mostly known for The Witcher, which was our first joint project.  We were nominated for a 2007 Writers Guild of America Award in videogame writing for The Witcher.  Our next big game was the kids' MMO, Wizard 101, which was released recently.

In our consulting work, I find a lot of it comes from the serious games sector.  In 2005, I co-authored a book with David Michael called Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train, and Inform.  So, Writers Cabal helps companies incorporate learning objectives into fun gameplay.  We recently contributed a chapter on writing for serious games to the upcoming IGDA Writers SIG book.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/game-writers-in-the-trenches-3.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/11/game-writers-in-the-trenches-3.html Game Writers in the Trenches™ Narrative Designer Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:51:46 -0600 Galatea 3.0 - Writing Great Game Characters AGDC08 Tom-Abernathy-AGDC08.jpgTom Abernathy gave a stellar talk at the Austin Game Developers Conference entitled "Galatea 3.0: Designing and Writing the Great Game Characters of the Future". His focus was on how the symbiosis between writing and design can create richer experiences and help play designers better do their job. His fundamental thesis: Good characters, and subsequently story, make good design better. It is his belief that a tighter integration of writing and design will create better experiences for future players.

Story is derived from characters. It emerges from the internal desires of a character. When a character acts to achieve an object of desire, hence externalizing internal desires, those desires come in conflict with the outer world. It is here in this conflict that story emerges. This is truly a classical Aristotelian approach, emphasized by Tom's references to the Iliad and Casablanca. It is also very reminiscent of Robert Mckee's screenwriting techniques, which too are derived from Aristotle's Poetics.

Tom took it a step further and suggested that characters not only make a story, they sell a franchise, creating hot intellectual property (IP) and marketing hooks. It's true, and as storytellers we must remind the pockets and purses that our craft drives sales and deserves development dollars. It is only through emphasizing the fiscal prudence of investing in story that we can convince producers and investors that we deserve just as many dollars as the art or play design pipelines. As too many of us are familiar with the opposite and clearly see the detriment in product quality, and subsequent sales, which results from a lack of investment in story development.]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/galatea-30-writing-great-game.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/galatea-30-writing-great-game.html Conferences Characters Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:57:26 -0600 The Future of Interactive Entertainment AGDC08 Bruce Sterling, legendary science fiction author, was unable to make it as our keynote speaker as scheduled.  He instead sent a graduate student of his from the future to address the conference, or so said an individual representing Bruce on stage, who looked remarkable like the man himself.  At almost 90, with the skin of a ten year old and the hair of a rocker, he was unable to make with his Segway from 2043. The good news is that in 2043 Austin is still weird, because as Bruce, or his representative said "they kept it that way." According to Mr. Sterling's representative, computers in 2043 are boring; they are really quite boring, in fact they are quite like towels, paper, and other normal things of mundane human existence. His General Electric Pocket Mediator, apparently a handkerchief, didn't function as it should, since the cloud isn't existent in our time, and I'd say the same for most of his aspiration filled techno-jargon.

Bruce's representative spoke at length, rather poetically, about the incoherence of the future. His performance at first glance seemed to add little to the conference in the way of real substance.  The main hall was empty, and virtually silent, less the lonely laughter of a few forced giggles, as if to say "I get it". Though I did enjoy his rather slanted take on a GDC keynote, it was a performance, and superficially contained little helpful substance for the world of today's game makers.  If I were to take anything away, beyond a glimpse into living on the edge of keynote infamy, it would be:

1) Redefine video games for the future.
2) Don't be a clog in modern video game publishing.
3) Explore other forms of interactive media.

Looking back it was quite refreshing, there were no product pitches, no self-comparisons to Walt Disney, he did not even try to wow the audience. Instead he was honest, humble, and insisted on 'taking the piss' out of all us self-righteous gamemakers. He threw off the rules, and that's exactly what he called upon industry vanguards to do.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/the-future-of-interactive-ente.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/the-future-of-interactive-ente.html Conferences AGDC08 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:53:15 -0600 Death of three-act structure AGDC08 Andrew Walsh presented the session posed on the question 'Are game writers witnessing the death of three act structure?  Mr. Walsh was alive, full of passionate self-reflexive humor.  His talk was a great postmortem on how layered interactive storytelling can further game experiences while maintaining their classical roots.  Clearly defending the form forged by Aristotle, he went on to explain how he used the form in Prince of Persia and how it lent to creating a next-generation interactive story experience.

Andrew Walsh AGDC08

In creating his installment in the Prince of Persia series he had set some clear markers for successful storytelling:

  • A strong identifiable story.
  • A simple playing experience.
  • A deep story world.
  • Allow the player choice and control.
  • Making the characters feel alive.
  • Providing a next generation experience.

What is his conceptual tool?  "Ondemend storytelling"  Just what is it?  Andrew went on to explain, "Ondemand storytelling is a story design that allows the player to choose when to access the story and how much of it they want to experience."   It is a layer of interactive depth that is available to the player at the designers discretion to give the story hungry player additional content.  The Ondemand elements are not required to forward gameplay, they exist to provide depth to the player, in that they allow the player to customize their own experiences.  Anyone who has played Gears of War will be familiar with such systems.  By holding a button (Y) on a console controller a player can shift focus, shift control, to the game makers, so they (writers/designers) may direct their focus to story points of interest.

]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/death-of-threeact-structure-ag.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/death-of-threeact-structure-ag.html Conferences AGDC08 Narrative Design interactive worlds narrative strucutre Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:52:57 -0600 Moving From Games to Interactive Storytelling AGDC08 Chris Crawford AGDC08At this point Chris Crawford is a legend, since his beginnings as a game designer for Atari in the 1970's he has been a proponent of dramatic games, ones which push the boundaries of the the medium to new heights.  In this 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference (AGDC) Session, Crawford focused on the creation of a new medium, one which focuses on interactive storytelling.  As creator of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) he was one of the first to speak at this years conference, over 20 years since he held the first GDC in his living room.

Apparently Chris's first proposal for this talk "14 Conceptual Shifts..." was turned down, and most recently he was asked to speak and rewrote the talk to be "15 Conceptual Shifts"' When asked why he was turned down he quickly replied, "Because I'm an asshole." Apparently Chris does not care for games, and as a result has made some sworn enemies. He seeks divergence from the game industry as interactive storytelling is to create a new form of entertainment; one beyond useless interactivity not driven by compelling human drama.  Storytron, Inc. is in fact his venture into creating this new industry. His company's website proudly displays the copy "Play a Storyworld".

He was/is a big shot, 14 hits, wrote the first book and journal on Game Design, about 16 years ago he walked away from it during the creation of the game Wing Commander.  He saw the industry falling down a dark path, away form drama and towards toys, puzzles, things which are antithetical to the dramatic potential for interactive storytelling.  Games are supposed to be about people, there is no real feelings, emotion and people. It's taken him 16 years.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/chris-crawford-agdc.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/chris-crawford-agdc.html Conferences AGDC08 Conferences Story drama interactive worlds narrative Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:30:09 -0600 Game Writers in the Trenches™ 2: Tom Abernathy Tom_Abernathy_NDE.jpgThis is an ongoing NDE series featuring interviews with Game Writers in the Trenches™.  The game industry is riddled with the unsung heroes of interactive storytelling.  As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, listening to the real-world wisdom of these writers can help everyone on the development pipeline understand their trials, tribulations, and needs, in hopes of enabling them to do their job as they know best. Today's game writer is Tom Abernathy, his journey as writer began in film, and now continues into video games. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his experiences in the trenches of game development.

SED: You are currently a Writer at Microsoft Game Studios. Your career has had you focused full-time on storytelling in some of the worlds top-tier studios, what is the most challenging part of writing stories for games?

Tom Abernathy: Without  question, the interactive element.  Those of us who have worked as writers in other narrative media are trained and experienced (if we ARE trained and experienced) in linear narrative.  The spin that interactivity - which is to say, non-linearity - puts on things can really mess with your head.  There are so many tools we're used to having at our disposal - timing, sequence, parceling out information in a certain way, dramatic irony, on and on and on - that increasingly fly out the window the more control over the direction of things you give to the player.  We writers are used to driving the experience, and then in games, suddenly we're not.  That's a tough transition to make, and, after ten years in this industry, I'm still making it.

That being said, the challenge it presents is incredibly rewarding; you're forced to take out and reexamine all your habitual ways of doing things and to ask yourself WHY you've done them that way and, now that you can't, how else you can do them and still get the kind of effect on the player that you want.  Certainly, the more linear the narrative, the easier it is.  But I've really come to appreciate and embrace the challenge of giving some control over to the player.  It's a Zen experience; it's all about letting go.

DAH! Box ArtSED: Was there a realization at some point in your life that you wanted to write specifically for games?

TA: I think so, yeah.  Not in the sense of an apple-on-the-head moment, but I remember quite clearly when I was in film school at USC getting my MFA in '95 or '96, being in my apartment and looking to video games to give me a break from the grind of that program, firing up the PS1 and playing the stuff that was out that had any pretension to narrative, and just wanting to hurl the controller at the TV set.  The kindest thing I can say about most of those games was that the writing seemed to have been done by a well-meaning amateur with some innate ability but no craft, no sense of what separates good writing from bad or good storytelling from mediocre storytelling or flat, boring characters from characters that pop off the screen and get you interested.  (Never having been a big PC gamer, I wasn't aware at the time that, even then, there were some PC games that aspired to more, writing-wise, and even a few that achieved more.  But even if it had, I think the contrast would have just made me angrier.)

And the thing was, given my varied background as an actor, a theatre director, a filmmaker and a screenwriter, I just KNEW I could do better.  I didn't know how well I could do, but I knew I could do better than what I was seeing, just by bringing some of my skills gained in other media to games.  (One thing I think helped was that, with such a varied background, I was already used to approaching a new medium and figuring out how I could take what I had learned in another and bring it to bear; I'd had to do that several times already.)  So I went on a crusade to find someone in the games industry who would give me a chance to do that.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/game-writers-in-the-trenches-2.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/game-writers-in-the-trenches-2.html Game Writers in the Trenches™ Narrative Design game design game drama game screenplays game writing narrative strucutre Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:25:29 -0600 Masters of Narrative Design™ 6: Ken Rolston Ken Rolston in Elder Scrolls OblivionThis is an ongoing NDE series featuring interviews with Masters of Narrative Design™.  While 'narrative design' is not a term in common usage, the design of story experiences is nothing new.  As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, looking at the lessons learned by these masters becomes increasingly valuable.  Today's master is game author, developer and designer Ken Rolston.  As an early innovator in 'pen-and-paper' role-playing games he brings to video games a unique sensibility from 20+ years of experience in interactive narrative design. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his wealth of knowledge and wisdom.

Stephen Erin Dinehart:  Ken thank you for taking the time to interview with the NDE.  You are currently Lead Designer on a computer role-playing game (CRPG) at the Toy Headquarters (THQ) studio Big Huge Games?

Cover of Ken Ralston's ParanoiaKen Rolston: Yes.

SED: You have created both 'pen-and-paper' RPGs and CRPGs how are these experiences different for you?

KR: 'Pen-and-paper' RPGs can be authored by a single person [though they aren't so much anymore], and produced and distributed using mature technology... paper printing and publishing.

CRPGs are far from a mature medium. You make everything up, nearly from scratch, each time.  CRPGs are also vast production challenges, involving many people, many disciplines, and huge budgets, and they represent far greater risks of time and capital.  And they are far harder to test and iterate rapidly.

Finally, as Sandy Petersen says, the worst tabletop RPG session I ever played is far better than the best CRPG [computer role-playing game] I ever played... because of the dynamic relationship between the players and the GM [game master] in tabletop RPGs, and because of the more satisfying relationships among players and their avatars.

The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Box ArtI've also had the pleasure of watching people play my paper games like PARANOIA, and it's like watching productions of a play you've written... exceedingly gratifying.

CRPGs are just way-too-much work, take way-too-long to produce, and cost way-too-much-money to produce as a medium of personal self-expression.  And they don't evolve in the hands of your users as much as paper RPGs do.

But... I've recently been replaying OBLIVION, and it was pure delight.  So perhaps the gratification for the labor is somewhat delayed... but profound.

SED: Do you have a paper prototyping testing phase for your CRPG?

KR: We make real working prototypes as fast as possible to explore systems, interfaces, and graphic presentation.  We often make small brute-force paper prototypes of system elements, more for communication than testing... using cards or markers or Lego's.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/masters-of-narrative-design-6.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/masters-of-narrative-design-6.html Masters of Narrative Design™ Avalon Hill Interactive Dialog Narrative Design Narrative Designer Narrative production RPG game design game writing Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:12:35 -0600 Game Writers in the Trenches™ 1: Haris Orkin Haris OrkinThis is a new NDE series featuring interviews with Game Writers in the Trenches™.  The game industry is riddled with the unsung heroes of interactive storytelling.  As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, listening to the real-world wisdom of these writers can help everyone on the development pipeline understand their trials, tribulations, and needs, in hopes of enabling them to do their job as they know best. Today's game writer is Haris Orkin.  His experience as writer runs the gamut of media types, with a most recent focus on games.  I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his knowledge and experience.

Stephen Erin Dinehart:  Haris thanks for taking the time to interview with the NDE. Your most recent project was Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, can you explain your role and duties?

Red Alert 3 on the cover of PCGamerHaris Orkin: I was hired to work with the team on the story for the game and write the script for the live action cinematics.   The story was collaboration between Mical Pedriana, who functioned as the narrative designer, Jason Torres, the lead game designer, Mike Verdu, head of EALA, and me.   We wanted the tone and the concept to be a continuation of Red Alert 2, which came out about seven years ago.  Mical was the audio lead on RA2 and wrote all the unit responses. I was a big fan of that game and the Command and Conquer series in general.  So I knew the tone and the story and the characters and was thrilled to be included.   A bare bones outline of the basic story was already in place by the time I was brought on board.   But I suggested some changes, fleshed out the existing characters, came up with some new ones, and created the relationships and conflicts and many of the specifics.   I also wrote and/or rewrote what we call the "Talking Heads"; live action head shots of various characters that appear in game that help steer the player in the right direction vis-à-vis game play.  I helped Mical on unit responses and co-op commander responses and barks as well.

SED: Is that a full-time or contract position?

HO: Contract.

SED: Was there a significant change in the format of your solely the cinematics versus writing for an entire game as you did on Call of Juarez?

HO: I wrote the cinematics for RA3 with Final Draft, a screenplay program.    But all the unit responses and barks were written in Excel.   COJ was written entirely in Excel.   While RA3 has clearly delineated cut scenes (and the talking heads), COJ has fewer cut scenes and more scripted events, so you're still within the game world.  (Much like Half Life 2.)  All the cut scenes used in COJ used Techland's proprietary graphic engine, so it was easier to keep a feeling of seamlessness between the game play and the story.  We also told a lot of the story with artwork and audio monologues while the levels were loading.   RA3 uses the same story-telling mechanic that Command and Conquer series has always used.  I think it still works for an RTS game, since we're cutting from live action scenes to a top down RTS view.   To cut from a live action scene with real actors to a first person view with CGI characters could be pretty jarring and possibly pull you out of the narrative.  RA3 does use CGI cut-scenes that show off the units and big story moments and I contributed ideas for those as well.

]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/game-writers-in-the-trenches-1.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/game-writers-in-the-trenches-1.html Game Writers in the Trenches™ War-games Narrative Design RPG RTS game writing war-games Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0600 Training for War: on the origins of serious war-gaming
Hobby War-gamesI like simulating war, at least, as a hobby. As a child I marveled at Axis and Allies, and games like Risk. Writing and designing the war-game Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts was the fulfillment of a boyhood dream for me, working on a realistic computer war-game, or a Real-Time Strategy Game (RTS) as it is more commonly called. In talking about any RTS, we are talking about war-games. Even if the setting has fantasy influences, the core combat systems of all RTS is that of a war-game: Multiple Player Units, Resource Management, Building, and Command level strategy. No origin story would be complete without the mention of breakthrough game maker and publisher Avalon Hill, and their 1960 game Tactics. Even those table-top games owe what they are to the ideas of their predecessors in antiquity.

Tactics IIGame makers have been driving for realism in war-games for thousands of years, and at some point hobby games became tools of learning for military strategists.  Where did this fascination come from, and where is the line where hobby crosses into serious war-gaming?  War-games are most certainly serious in the current age, some of the best strategy game makers alive work for Uncle Sam creating war simulations.   While at first the notion may seem odd, the reality is war-games have become tools for military training and strategics.  Serious war-games are teaching tools, practical for professionals in the field and students of military strategy.  With the models created by war-game systems the military argues it saves lives.  Any training we can have in lessening the taxes of war is most certainly a worthy endeavor.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/the-origins-of-serious-war-.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/the-origins-of-serious-war-.html Game History Narrative Analysis War-games Avalon Hill RPG RTS narrative role-playing simulations strategy videogames war-games Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:16:00 -0600 Military War-games and World War III Putin, Bush, and Cheney play a War-game in the parlorAccording to The Department of Defense a war game is "a simulation, by whatever means, of a military operation involving two or more opposing forces, using rules, data, and procedures designed to depict an actual or assumed real life situation."[1]  It seems that Russia, the European Union and the United States of America, are in a very real war-game about the future of new Europe.  Grabbing "living-space" for Russia in Georgia must be a move made with a greater strategy.  Certainly it must be part of a larger campaign, but what is the goal? 

Not long ago, 'total annihilation' had the United States and the former USSR both engaged in war-games to determine the outcome of such a scenario should it escalate to "World War III".  Thanks to war-game strategic studies by the likes of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), only three outcomes where determined to be possible in the confrontation between the two powers: "1. Loss of Command and Control 2. Unleashing Tactical Nuclear Weapons 3. Gas or Biological Attack". [2]
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/wargames-and-world-war-iii.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/09/wargames-and-world-war-iii.html Editorials Narrative Analysis War-games War-games Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:30:03 -0600 Masters of Narrative Design™ 5: Scott Miller Scott MillerThis is an ongoing NDE series featuring interviews with Masters of Narrative Design™. While a seemingly new term, the design of story experiences is nothing new. As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, looking at the lessons learned by these masters becomes increasingly valuable. Today's master is engineer, game creator and producer Scott Miller. As an early innovator in game development and marketing methodologies, Scott now has his focus on pioneering the future of games, storytelling, and cross-media entertainment experiences. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his wealth of experience.

Stephen Erin Dinehart:  Scott, thank you for taking the time to interview with the NDE. Your approach to game development and marketing seems to be a symbiotic approach whereby the gameplay, system design, and story are interwoven to create a more rich experience for the player.  What drives you to create such concinnity within these game elements?

Max Payne Movie PosterScott Miller: The key is that I want to be involved with games that embrace good storytelling methods, as well as deliver a unique, fulfilling gameplay experience.  And of course I'm not referring to puzzle or arcade oriented games, but games like Max Payne, Bioshock, Half-Life 2, Assassins Creed, GTA4 and Call of Duty 4, that all represent a higher bar in terms of narrative delivery and impact.  These are the games pointing the way to our industry's future.  And they all deliver both on the story and gameplay fronts.

SED: Your most recent venture is with The Radar Group, can you explain what you do there?

SM: Radar Group is a new model for the industry, focused on original properties designed to be successful in both the game industry and linear entertainment, such as the film industry. Max Payne is our first film [See video clip to right], due out Oct. 17th, plus we have several games in progress.

SED:  Why is original IP important to video games?

SM: Several reasons.  Including these two:  It builds much more value within the game industry, and especially for independent studios (assuming they are owners or co-owners).  This value can be leveraged to create even more entirely original games.  For example, 3D Realms co-created Max Payne with a start-up indie studio, Remedy Entertainment.  This net result is that Remedy because a successful financially independent studio capable of created more original games, such as their current game-in-progress, Alan Wake.

The second reason is that licensed properties, in most cases, lack elements that make for compelling gameplay.  This is why, of the 10's of 1000's of films, novels and TV shows, less than a dozen have made a meaningful impact in the game industry.  The rare few that have been successful all have elements that translate into unique gameplay, such as Spider-Man (web-slinging), Star Wars (force powers, light saber dueling), and James Bond (gadgets).  Star Trek, by comparison, doesn't appear to have elements that translate into unique and compelling gameplay.  This is why most Star Trek games are doomed--they simply have nothing to offer, gameplay-wise, that we can't get from other games set in space.  I recently presented this view to a former executive of Activision, one of the guys who was originally involved with Activision's long-term signing of the Star Trek brand.  He fully agreed that, in hindsight, Star Trek doesn't have the unique ingredients to make great games.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/masters-of-narrative-design-5.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/masters-of-narrative-design-5.html Masters of Narrative Design™ Interactive Movie Max Payne Prey Transmedia cross-platform narrative interactive worlds storyverse Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:00:00 -0600 Masters of Narrative Design™ 4: Louis Castle
Louis CastleThis is an ongoing NDE series featuring interviews with Masters of Narrative Design™. While a seemingly new term, the design of story experiences is nothing new. As game developers are increasingly looking to create meaningful virtual narrative experiences, looking at the lessons learned by these masters becomes increasingly valuable. Today's master is game creator and producer Louis Castle. Beyond being behind some of the most ground-breaking titles of recent years, Lou is a visionary and one of the leading game producers in the world. His work in games is one of the reasons many industry professionals find themselves making games today. I'm hoping to see what we can learn from his wealth of experience.

Stephen Erin Dinehart: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, I know you are a very busy man. Your career has lead you to be VP at EALA and Executive Producer at EA's Blueprint, can you explain what you do there?

Louis Castle: My role in the studio is to engage with all the teams and bring my experience into today's development. I help cultivate talent, consult and test their design ideas and become more clear on their vision. I also work with external partners to see how we can find more ways to work together. It is the best job in the world!

Louis Castle's adaptation Blade RunnerSED: What is "story" to you and what purpose does that "story" serve in games?

LC: "Story" in a game is the setting and events that serve to drive the fiction in the game world.  It may consist of dialog or plot lines or it could simply be a very rich, detailed world that the game activities exist within.  Since all games are interactive, the extent to which players choices affect others in the world is the extent to which the player can be participant rather than viewer of the fiction.  I believe that difference allows our medium to have the best emotional tie between the consumer and the story among all the narrative mediums.

SED: As a gamemaker how does well-crafted gamestory affect your work and vision?

LC: The crafting of the setting, events and characters in a game's story make the difference between a software toy and a true interactive experience.  I think a game story, as defined above, is critical to the game and franchise's long-term success.

Louis Castle and Steven Spielberg collaborating on BOOM BLOXSED: Being on the cusp of the collaboration between the film and game industry, how do you see game development changing to meet the growing expectations of today's audiences?

LC: As the devices that we use to deliver our entertainment improve in power and scale we continue to drive toward the elusive goal of a fully interactive world in which a dramatic story of the player's choosing unfolds.  Although technology has been the largest inhibitor to date we are now at a point where the creative decision of how much interaction can be allowed has become the major issue to resolve.  I believe this is the biggest change ahead of the industry over the next few years.  Every genre is moving beyond the base mechanics and into the realm of how much interaction the player should have within their respective game worlds.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/masters-of-narrative-design-4.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/masters-of-narrative-design-4.html Masters of Narrative Design™ Narrative Design drama game drama gamestory mature games Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:00:00 -0600 Creating a Universal Open-source Game Writing Tool Cetlx LogoAs elected co-leads of the IGDA WSIG Tools Initiative Ron Toland and I are happy to announce the forging of a partnership between our special interest group and open-source writing toolmaker Celtx. Celtx was first point out by Tools Initiative facilitator Corvus Elrod and he was right, Celtx is exactly the partner we need to create this potentially wall shattering tool. As AAA titles grow in magnitude having standardization in the tools used for our industry is of dire importance. Game writing increasingly affects all parts of game design, from help text to NPC dialog and beyond. Game writing tools and systems tend to remain proprietary, and subsequently leads designer and writer alike to reinvent the wheel for every title. Seeing this as a barrier to entry for talent, developers, and publishers alike, the International Game Developers Associations Writers Special Interest Group has created the Tools Initiative to forge the creation of an Universal Open-Source Game Writing Tool. Based on the free open-source writing tool Celtx, the tool will be free and modular.
]]> http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/creating-a-universal-opensourc.html http://www.narrativedesign.org/2008/08/creating-a-universal-opensourc.html Editorials Products and Works game screenplays game writing game writing tools Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:20:53 -0600