Storytelling in Games
Game-stories are unique both in their scope and capacity to interact with the user. Unlike other storytelling mediums (film, television, literature) in which a linear narrative is directed to a passive, captive audience, a game must simulate an environment in which the player has the ability to freely interact with his surroundings, make important choices, and change the course of his game-experience in various ways. In other words, the plot itself must be influenced by the characters actions.
And in this sense, designing a game-narrative is a powerful and difficult responsibility. It requires that the writer accommodate many different potential stories within her meta-story, and that she balance her own narrative goals with a certain degree of flexibility in order to make the player feel “in charge” of his experience.
Writing Lab 1: Different Perspectives
Objective:
This lab encourages the writer to think creatively and “non-linearly” about her meta-story, by accommodating multiple perspectives within a single narrative framework.
Assignment:
(1) In three separate short shorts, adopt the perspective of three different characters witnessing and interacting with the same set of events. Using these characters, tell a short story (at least one 2 pages, double-spaced, each) in which these events unfold. The stories can be told in 1st or 3rd person (or some combination) but in one of the three stories, the narrator must not be one of the major acting characters nbsp;
(2) Produce a very short (less than 1 page, single-spaced) design rationale explaining some of the choices you made, as well as what you found interesting and challenging.
Compile these essays, zip them up into one file called "lab1writing.zip", and submit that through CMS .
Oxland discusses what he finds to be compelling in game characters and stories. Oxland Gameplay and Design pg. 154-161.
If you’d like to read anything on what makes game-stories unique mediums, email me bws23@cornell.edu and I’d gladly recommend some material. Also please email me if you have any questions.
Due Friday, September 8, 2006 at 11:59pm through CMS.