In this chapter of “Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-Sized Storytelling” author Toiya Kristen Finley, Phd unpacks the narrative design process for games built for mobile devices.
The following excerpt is the first chapter of “Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-Sized Storytelling” byyToiya Kristen Finley, Phd. The book will be publishedyon August 24th, and is available for pre-orderyon Amazon or directly from publisher CRC Press.
Itas you against the world…
A fight for survival, you have to wipe out all of your enemies, or theyall obliterate you from existence. You must do whatever you can to stay alive. Outwit them before they figure out your plans. If you want to defeat themall of humanityyouare going to have to do destructive things, horrible things.
But youall get to live as a conqueror if you do.
Would you consider the above premise story oriented? (Weall get back to this a little later.)
Get into a discussion about what makes videogames special, and itas not long before someone brings up that theyare an active medium, unlike prose fiction, comics/manga, film, animation, or TV. The game involves players who are involved in what happens. Through gameplay and controls, players change whatas happening to the world. In a level, they may destroy every building on the map while hunting aliens. Or they may help all of the nonplayer characters (NPCs) in a town capture or kill a group of bandits. They can interact with certain NPCs and choose responses in dialogue trees. Other choices they make might alter the storyas plot or charactersa lives. Videogames, an active medium, feed player agency.*
In addition to player agency, many console, PC, and online games offer increasingly realistic levels of immersion. They place player characters (PCs)and players, by extensioninto a world where players can roam around and explore. Whether that world is rendered in 2D, isometric 3D, or VR, it has terrains to walk, run, or climb. Players can look at their screens and see NPCs interact with player characters. They might hear a eBOOM!e followed by shouting behind them, alerting them to backtrack to see what the excitementas about. Through mechanics, sound, animation, art, and other assets, these traditional games* have multiple techniques that engage players and hook their interest.
Because of technological limitations and smaller storage capacities on smartphones and tablets, mobile and social games have historically been at a disadvantage when it comes to facilitating immersion and player agency. With the advancements in mobile devices, more and more mobile and social games have the characteristics of these worlds found in console, PC, and online games. However, many still canat render the complexity of the worlds weave become accustomed to in traditional videogames. They donat allow players to complete a mission based upon a certain play style (like stealth mode or no killing), which would in turn affect variable story and gameplay outcomes. They donat let players side with one character over another, unlocking a new branch in the story. And they donat have multiple endings. In effect, many of these games have linear stories the player doesnat influence at all.
These technological disadvantages of mobile games can lead to a storytelling consequence: players feel as if theyare watching a story instead of participating in it. Players also complain that the typical mobile game does not integrate the story, world, and characters into its gameplay. Additionally, some of the techniques we use in traditional games, like the cutscene, may not be feasible in mobile. A lot of players dread cutscenes in traditional and mobile games because they take away from the action and gameplaythe parts of the game they care about the most. A cutscene in a mobile game may be even more frustrating because it cuts into the limited time players have for sessions while waiting in the doctoras office. Or they donat feel a part of the gameas story because thereas no avatar representing them in the game, and the PC is unseen. Even worse, developers donat take the gameas narrative design into account at all.
But all of these are solvable problems. We can make mobile and social games player-centric even though we donat have the same technological advantages of traditional games.
I was working as a narrative designer with Relevant Games onyyyy a mobile game that was never released. Our story was interstitial between the gameplay segments and linear with no player choices.
We realized the unseen PC was passive and at the whims of the NPCsa decision-making. As we puzzled over fixing this problem, creative director Joshua Mills asked a provocative question, eHow do we keep the player at the heart of the story?e Whether the game is story- oriented or not, there are tricks we can use that aid players in feeling like theyare driving the action and/or plot.
There are a few things we need to keep in mind: (1) we can think of mobile and social games as a game space, (2) we need to remember that narrative design is just as essential in mobile and social games as it is in traditional games, and (3) playersa imaginations are powerful tools that aid us in telling stories. We can use great narrative design to keep players engaged in the game space and use that game space to reflect every aspect of the story.
We can use the gameas space for its story delivery.
Storytelling goes beyond dialogue and cutscenes. Storytelling is more than words, and a gameas narrative design can use any aspect of the game to contribute to its storytelling. A common way for explain- ing the concept of narrative design is eIt serves as a bridge between gameplay and story.e Thatas pretty good, but I donat think itas quite complete. Suggesting there needs to be a bridge between the two says that gameplay and story are separate.
I like to say that narrative design ensures that the story and world embody the gameplay. After all, gameplay and game design are types of storytelling, too. Players use all of the things they can do in a game to create their own narratives. (How many times have you heard a friend recount what they did during a playthrough, as if they were actually there, among the polygons? How many times have you done this?) The story and world can influence and inspire gameplay so that players can stay immersed and tell their own stories.
So, any part of the game players interact with is the game space, and any part of the game space can be a part of the gameas narrative design.
Game writing, then, is what we think of as traditional storytelling:
Narrative design uses writing and other aspects of the game as storytelling vehicles. Depending on the gameas needs, you may implement narrative design and writing, or only narrative design.
We can simplify game writing vs. narrative design even further and say that game writing = story, while narrative design = story delivery. Itas important to note that for some jobs, you may only work on the story part of the game. However, if youare working for smaller studios or clients who are new to game development (or the development team is only you), you may see yourself working on other areas of the game or informing your clients that they need to pay attention to these details.
In addition, narrative designers and game writers work closely with the entire team to implement the gameas story. eA Gameas Narrative Designe covers different aspects of narrative design and game writ- ing and members of the development team who might be involved in implementing them.
These are the details that inform what the world is like and how you present that world to players. It includes
Everyone on the team is involved in worldbuilding. Players interact with the world (game space). Creative leads, producers, programmers, game designers, level designers, artists, animators, and sound designers work together to create the world.
Weall discuss worldbuilding more in Chapter 3, eLivable and Believable, Despite the Limitations: Worldbuilding.e
The narrative designer usually doesnat choose what type of structure the game will have at larger studios, but you may be a part of this decision-making with smaller clients, clients new to game development, or smaller studio teams.
Creative leads, producers, game designers, and game writers plan narrative structure with the narrative designer.
Narrative design influences who and what inhabits the world/game space. Narrative designers work on
Creative leads, producers, game designers, narrative designers, gamer writers, editors, artists, animators, and sound designers help shape characters and creatures. Voice directors may also be involved if the characters/creatures are voiced.
Environmental narrative is what the world tells players about itself. Environmental narrative communicates through
Depending on the assets used for environmental narrative (like sound and animations), narrative designers will need to work with sound designers, ani- mators, and artists. Creative leads, game designers, level designers, narrative designers, and game writers work to create a gameas environmental narrative.
What places will the player visit and explore? The narrative designer thinks about
Location design is a part of environmental narrative and includes the same team members as above.
One of the most immersive tools narrative design has is using the gameplay and mechanics to inform the player about the world. Mechanics can do everything from reflecting PCsa personalities through their abilities to revealing hidden secrets about a place when players destroy obstacles. When thinking about story delivery through gameplay and mechanics, consider
For more on this, please see the analysis on Mystery Match later in this chapter.
Working with the narrative designer, creative leads, producers, and game designers are integral to coming up with a plan for story integration into gameplay.
The gameas narrative design must stay consistent throughout. Otherwise, it can be unbelievable, break player immersion, and work against player agency. Gritty horror writing would clash with surrealist art, for example. Psychedelic horror would be the much better fit.
The entire team is responsible for establishing and maintaining a consistent tone.
If the game has dialogue, youall need to think about how itas presented to the player:
Creative leads, producers, game designers, artists, UI designers, and narrative designers help design the look and placement of the text boxes, and game writers and/or narrative designers compose dialogue.
Weall look at dialogue in Chapter 5, eMore Than Pretty Words: Functional Dialogue.e
How do you deliver scenes for major plot points if your game has them?
As is the case with dialogue, the same team members have a role in creating cutscenes and animatics. Animators, sound designers, and composers are also involved if the cutscenes are animated, involve sound effects for the text, and/or include music.
The look of the UI and menus can also say a lot about the world of the game and can keep players immersed in that world, even when theyare not playing. The UI design must match the overall tone, aesthetic, and genre of the game. That mayy be obvious to us, but if your clients arenat game developers, this is something you can explain to them.
UI designers, creative leads, producers, game designers, and narrative designers all contribute to the look of the UI and menus.
Quest/missions are important motivators to keep mobile players active. Here are some essential questions for story delivery:
Creative leads, producers, game designers, narrative designers, and game writers help with determining quests for the game and where they fall in story campaigns.
Read more about quest design in Chapter 6, eI Seek the Grail (in Five Minutes or Less): Designing and Writing Quests for Mobile Games.e
Players learn a lot about a world and its characters by what they hear. Some of the ways narrative design uses sound include
Along with sound designers, creative leads, producers, game designers, and nar- rative designers have a part in planning a gameas sound assets. Additionally, if a game has music, youall want to involve composers at or near the start of development. The composer will have more time to incorporate themes into the gameas soundscape.
As writers, weave had the maxim eShow, donat tell,e pounded into our brains.
