[ Game Design ] Why We need to Evolve in Interactive Storytelling & Narrative Gameplay ?

V3N0M

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Why We need to Evolve in Interactive Storytelling & Narrative Gameplay ? ( Source )

I’ve been working in Video Games Industry for 3 years & also have been doing research in Game Design & analyzing games under different frameworks in free time . The topic I’m discussing is debatable & people can have different opinions on it . The blog post is not working so I'm posting it here

Part 1 : 20 May 2017

Since there isn’t any formal definition of a ‘ Game ‘ many people perceive its purpose differently . For some it’s a form of an art for some it’s only a set of rules with a goal to achieve . ‘Fun’ is the primary engaging factor of how mainly people sees in them but it’s limited by the set of rules you define in a game to raise challenges . And when fun is not enough to keep the user engaged you need something else to rely video games on & that’s where this topic comes in .

As I’ve grown up my pattern of playing games has changed over years , from hack n slash titles to playing games giving a desired experience . A recent example of it is when I had a choice to invest time in either playing Watch Dogs 2 or Resident Evil 7 . I ended up with Resident Evil 7 & it was one of the best games I’ve ever played . Watch Dogs 2 being a better title when it came to ‘fun’ I picked Resident Evil 7 . The similar choice I had about a years ago between Half Life 2 & Doom 3 & you can probably guess what I chose & why . Despite of Doom 3 more fun & pushing the technological boundaries in real-time CG , it was Half Life 2 that became one of the best FPS shooters of all time .




Narrative Gameplay Experience of First-Person-Shooter title ‘Half Life 2 ‘



Doom 3 Graphics were groundbreaking back in 2004

A general conception in game development & design is that to give player the ‘fun’ or gameplay . I believe that was the case in early days of gaming during the arcade era back in 80s (debatable) . But as the technology has evolved , video games have evolved too giving rise to many new genres & has approached to more diverse audience . The time has come when they are regularly being compared to films which is a totally different medium . Both films & games have different approaches & techniques to keep the audience engaged & there is a reason why a film based on a game or a game based on a film is hard to pull off successfully

Part 2 :
27 May 2017

Last week I wrote about what is a general misconception in game development/design these days & why ‘fun’ is not the only solution to keep players engaged with so many new modern genres having different aesthetics to deliver . We humans are easily effected by feelings & love to get attached to the things . Let’s take an example of playing a Football game , at its core it delivers ‘fun’ , has rules & a gameplay to keep players engaged just like any classic video game does . Doesn’t matter how many times you play it , the rules don’t change & then a time comes when the base rules of the game don’t matter to engage yourself . Even if you suck at it & barely involved , you like to come at field everyday . Some just love it & some have a mental relaxation like I mostly have . Everyone creates his/her own experience out of it , everyday can be different .




2015 title ‘ Life is Strange ‘ received a lot of acclaim for its narrative & emotional impact

The problem is not every meaning or feeling can be expressed by a gameplay & a bunch of fun mechanics , one of the reasons why video games need to evolve in certain areas of it such as Narrative Gameplay .

Part 3 : 5 June 2017

In my previous post was discussed how an unfun gameplay can sometimes be engaging & one can create an experience out of it . I also talked about how different digital games & movies are from each other when it comes to express certain meanings & feelings . Films do more focus on story & narratives , games more on mechanics & gameplay .

Here I’m not saying to neglect the story & narratives in video games & focus only on fun aspect of it . We are in the time now where storytelling have become an integral part of the Video Games Industry . Projects like Firewatch , Inside , Journey , Gone Home all are examples of it . It is one of the reasons why this medium has attracted a very large audience & has surpassed many industries when it comes to revenues . When it comes to digital games we should be talking about ‘Interactive Storytelling’ & ‘Narrative Gameplay’ rather than just storytelling & gameplay . In short your gameplay & interactivity should be telling a story instead of driving it through non interactive cut-scenes with lengthy dialogues .




Is Journey a game or an interactive art ?

For a long time in Video Game industry gameplay & storytelling were very much isolated from each other ( with the exception of few greatly designed games ) . There was a big gap between storytelling & gameplay & it was divided by non-interactive cut-scenes . Whenever there was a turning point in a story or moments to express feelings & relationships , cut-scenes were mostly used . Then in 1998 Valve came up with their debut product ‘Half Life’ which was among the very first 3D games to combine both the narrative & gameplay . Half Life basically blurred the line between the non-interactable cutscenes & the gameplay . The game was totally seamless without any loading screens & lengthy cut-scenes . You could roam around & interact with the environment & NPCs to feel the theme of the game . It was like playing a movie with controls in your hands & the first 20-30 minutes of the game shows it . The whole Half Life franchise deliver those complex moments in an interactable that were normally being done by cut-scenes in other games .

Since then many games have started to focus on interactive storytelling & narrative mechanics not just because it’s another way to engage audience but it’s a whole new direction to storytelling . The studio ‘Telltale Games’ is doing R&D on this & all of their Game projects are about interactive storytelling & choices . Many people argue that this is not what games are supposed to do , to tell stories but again I’m saying ‘fun with rules’ is one way to perceive this digital medium . That’s the reason why designers believe not every game can be called a ‘game’ by definition , & should be called an interactive experience . This approach is still new & very hard to pull off with so many game design conflicts ( will cover later ) . Still it’s a direction we are heading towards & a direction we should explore , an Interactive Storytelling rather than a Cinematic Storytelling
 

puppet

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Are 'Fun' and 'Entertainment' two different things inthe game industry?
 

puppet

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Delivering fun here means to keep you involved in some sort of playable activity under some rules

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well in old games the only thing I noticed, that they were not like huge games, but hard and fun, and few of them like never-ending games or looooong to end and not resources suckers ,
but these days games are like too big , too small to end and not much fun unless it has not a good story or stuff related, and need shit load of resources to run, even instead of AAA culture , indie games are being more fun , AAA games are these days like more cinematics and stories , but open-world games I think are on right track these days , but like FPS and related genres are less fun , but action-adventure and stealth are like only games that got fun these days , baki tu bus MP ki waja se I think khelty hien sab

Do you have ideas of RTS genre? I mean making it great , IMO its dying , ppl these days dont care about RTS anymore, best way to make it addicted?

I am into RTS and RPG development , well RPG can be too complex to talk right now at my level of learning , but I think RTS should be considered now to talk :D
 
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V3N0M

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Yes indie games have been great recently . Everyone is trying to adapt the narrative gameplay approach which is a little hard to pull off . Titles like Inside , Gone Home & Little Nightmares are mindblowing

I believe this is how the industry is gonna be now , atleast AAA . We are moving towards the interactive storytelling media rather than pure fun games like it was in early 80s & 90s . Studios are now developing consumeable arcs similar to movies . This is the business model now , create a consumeable titles then set it up with sequels

RTS is something which has been a little bit behind now in AAA , actually any management game . IMO it works for mobile which has a more supportive business model for it . All these resources management games need to work on discrete mechanics which is very imp to build a successful monetization & retention model

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puppet

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Yes indie games have been great recently . Everyone is trying to adapt the narrative gameplay approach which is a little hard to pull off . Titles like Inside , Gone Home & Little Nightmares are mindblowing

I believe this is how the industry is gonna be now , atleast AAA . We are moving towards the interactive storytelling media rather than pure fun games like it was in early 80s & 90s . Studios are now developing consumeable arcs similar to movies . This is the business model now , create a consumeable titles then set it up with sequels

RTS is something which has been a little bit behind now in AAA , actually any management game . IMO it works for mobile which has a more supportive business model for it . All these resources management games need to work on discrete mechanics which is very imp to build a successful monetization & retention model

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well, can RTS be made at indie level? and for mobile platforms too? like the RTS like Anno AOE and stuff,? how it can be minimized in a way so it will use fewer resources in development, but still addicted? and yeah persuade the haters? possible?
second what are the great sources to learn game optimization?or optimization would depend on some core skills of developers?
 
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V3N0M

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[MENTION=104069]puppet[/MENTION] The problem with RTS genre on mobile is not about how can we optimized it but how are we gonna handle/host TBs of data coming from the cloud . The cost is too much high for an indie studio to afford . Only successful & old ones like Clash of Clans are doing it well & they are the King of it . If we are talking about RTS on mobile then it's not going to be an offline , it should be an MMO title . Mobile game industry is all about socializing now & interconnected users that's why I think an offline RTS genre on mobile platform like AOE is not gonna work .

There are some design patterns to follow when considering optimization , & yes sometimes it depends on the developers if you are writing a custom data structure or an AI module .
 

EternalBlizzard

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Yes indie games have been great recently . Everyone is trying to adapt the narrative gameplay approach which is a little hard to pull off . Titles like Inside , Gone Home & Little Nightmares are mindblowing

I believe this is how the industry is gonna be now , atleast AAA . We are moving towards the interactive storytelling media rather than pure fun games like it was in early 80s & 90s . Studios are now developing consumeable arcs similar to movies . This is the business model now , create a consumeable titles then set it up with sequels
Doesn't this imply a potential demand for good script writers and other people from the B.A/film side more? Just thinking. Always thought that these days the industry didn't focus much on the plot/story and much of the people behind these elements are senior members who originated from the Science/programming side. Compare previous titles like Crysis 1 vs now, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory/Conviction vs now, MGS previous titles vs now and we can see.

As you said if the focus is changing towards more storytelling, then the industry should start looking for better Arts people for God's sake :p
 

puppet

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Sep 30, 2013
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Doesn't this imply a potential demand for good script writers and other people from the B.A/film side more? Just thinking. Always thought that these days the industry didn't focus much on the plot/story and much of the people behind these elements are senior members who originated from the Science/programming side. Compare previous titles like Crysis 1 vs now, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory/Conviction vs now, MGS previous titles vs now and we can see.

As you said if the focus is changing towards more storytelling, then the industry should start looking for better Arts people for God's sake :p
mostly groups are following novels and series or movies stuff n turning into games, AAA games are like playing novels , those got heavy shit loaded with lore :p
 

Ryan199gamer

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Jun 27, 2018
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First of all, Great article. I read through it all without getting bored, which is rare. (y)

So, some back ground, i have been learning how to make games since I was 9 back in 2008. I have been actively developing games since the last 4-5 years, But I am yet to finish a project as I cant focus on one project for too long and get new ideas. And Im also a perfectionist and cant really like what i make unless its perfect.

And I believe that games are the most versatile form of media, you can make a game anyway you want you can make a game that is close to music and can also make a game that is close to a novel, two very different forms of media. I think that the 'unfun' aspect of some games make them worth playing, eg. The Walking Dead series, now Granted in my book it isn't a game per-se but it is literally the best narrative experience out there, along with games like The Last of us and Life is strange(not a fan of LIS). And then there are games like The Elder Scrolls series, these games have arguably infinite amounts of things to do thus are infinitely 'fun' they might not have the greatest narrative but they have their 'skill points' invested in other aspects that make these games alot better in terms of replayability. At the end of the day gaming is and will remain the "Most Versatile Form Of Media".
 
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