DEADLINE FOR UNIT AMENDED TO 30TH JANUARY!!!
Unit introduction
As games have become more and more mainstream entertainment and their development budgets have
grown larger, the importance of good writing has also grown. For a game to be successful it is vital that
developers create a solid story and life-like characters to guide players through the game space while allowing
them to have a personal game experience.
Narrative is developed in ‘storyplay’ – the mingling of storytelling and gameplay which allows players influence
over both what the story is about and how that story is experienced. Good game writers can produce
complex narratives which anticipate the way interactivity and non-linearity will affect a user’s experience of
their story.
Well rounded characters are expected by the modern game player because full characterisation encourages
that suspension of disbelief which enables immersion in the game and contributes to the success of the title.
Also, in many games, the player experiences what the main character experiences during the course of the
story. Character development through ‘backstory’ provides the characterisation so important to modern
game development and adds to the realism of the game.
This unit aims to provide learners with an appreciation of the underlying principles of storytelling and how it
can enhance a player’s immersion in the game world. A study of game storytelling and character development
is important to help learners acquire the skills needed to create dramatic tension and intricate storylines,
which in turn generate more compelling and dramatic play experiences. Learners will develop a sound
understanding of game story writing strategies before applying them to their own interactive narratives.
Learners will develop an understanding of how to use elements such as narration, monologue and dialogue to
serve the purposes of their game story and will apply their observations of human attitudes and emotions to
the development of convincing characters for their game concept.
This unit will also develop the learners’ ability to reflect critically on their own work, as they will need this
professional skill in any future career
As games have become more and more mainstream entertainment and their development budgets have
grown larger, the importance of good writing has also grown. For a game to be successful it is vital that
developers create a solid story and life-like characters to guide players through the game space while allowing
them to have a personal game experience.
Narrative is developed in ‘storyplay’ – the mingling of storytelling and gameplay which allows players influence
over both what the story is about and how that story is experienced. Good game writers can produce
complex narratives which anticipate the way interactivity and non-linearity will affect a user’s experience of
their story.
Well rounded characters are expected by the modern game player because full characterisation encourages
that suspension of disbelief which enables immersion in the game and contributes to the success of the title.
Also, in many games, the player experiences what the main character experiences during the course of the
story. Character development through ‘backstory’ provides the characterisation so important to modern
game development and adds to the realism of the game.
This unit aims to provide learners with an appreciation of the underlying principles of storytelling and how it
can enhance a player’s immersion in the game world. A study of game storytelling and character development
is important to help learners acquire the skills needed to create dramatic tension and intricate storylines,
which in turn generate more compelling and dramatic play experiences. Learners will develop a sound
understanding of game story writing strategies before applying them to their own interactive narratives.
Learners will develop an understanding of how to use elements such as narration, monologue and dialogue to
serve the purposes of their game story and will apply their observations of human attitudes and emotions to
the development of convincing characters for their game concept.
This unit will also develop the learners’ ability to reflect critically on their own work, as they will need this
professional skill in any future career
Unit content
1 Understand the elements of storytelling for games
Forms of storytelling: cave painting; oral traditions (fable, myth, legend); theatre; text; film; television
Game genres: action, eg platforms, first-person shooter (FPS), third-person shooter (TPS), racing, fighting;
adventure; puzzle; role-play; simulation and sports, eg turn-based strategy (TBS), real time strategy (RTS)
Approaches: location; conditions; actions; symbolism; three-act structure (beginning, middle, end); hero’s
journey (12 steps); episodic
Representation: emotions; characterisation; stereotypes, eg gender, ethnicity
Emotional themes: vengeance; happiness; fear; anger; perseverance; heroism; valour; hope;
competitiveness
Interactive story: embedded; emergent; cinematics; cut-scenes; triggered events; player control; character
customisation
Writing strategies: pre-writing, eg brainstorm, research, storyboard, list, sketch, outlining, freewriting;
drafting (working title, write content); revision, eg add, rearrange, remove, replace, evaluate
TASK 1 – Storytelling Essentials
Learners will write an article for an online games ezine on how game designers use story to enhance a player’s
gameplay experience.
Article will cover:
A paragraph on:
forms and history of storytelling (see above for details), interactive story etc and writing strategies.
paragraph 2:
game genres
approaches
representation
emotional themes,
paragraph 3:
A PREVIEW BREAKDOWN OF YOUR GAME COMING SOON, THIS WILL INCLUDE EXAMPLES OF SIMILAR GAMES AND INFLUENCES FOR YOUR DIALOGUE, STORY AND CHARACTER - USE EXAMPLES!!!!
include discussion on:
talk first about the games that have influenced your decision then more specifically about your characters.
●
2 Be able to create story for a game following industry practice
Purpose: concept, eg original intellectual property (IP), franchised IP, prequel, client brief; target audience
Components: theme; setting; context; backstory; premise
Plot devices: types, eg petition, deliverance, revenge, pursuit, disaster, revolt, enigma; exposition (inciting
incident); foreshadowing; conflict or problem (internal, external); complication, eg rising action after
inciting incident; goals, eg MacGuffin; ticking clock; plot twists, eg red herring, reversals; climax; deus ex
machina; suspense; resolution; conclusion
Character types: antagonist; protagonist; guardian; sidekick; player character; non-player character (NPC)
Character backstory: physiological, eg gender, age, weight, appearance, actions; speech (native tongue,
accent, words, tone); sociological, eg friends, family, economic power, occupation, education, race,
political views; psychological, eg beliefs, temperament, optimism, pessimism, extrovert, introvert,
complexes, intelligence; issues of representation, eg ethnicity, gender, age; character growth, eg character
arcs; relationships (dyad, triangle); character capabilities, eg able to use a lasso, to climb, to jump; status,
eg wardrobe (armour), inventory
Narrative flow: linear; non-linear (branching narrative)
Industry practice: reflect on finished story (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose, literary
qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Creative Media Production
– Issue 1 – January 2010 © Edexcel Limited 2009 4
Introduction to common principles and strategies used to assist in the creation of story in games.
Learners:
carry out practical story-writing exercises
analyse game stories to identify plot types and devices
analyse character backstory and narrative flow.
3 Be able to create game dialogue following industry practice
Game dialogue sources: eg design documents, game story, script
Verbal elements: narration, eg first-person, third-person, voiceover (VO), off screen (OS); monologue;
dialogue
Script writing: layout (action, scene headings, character name, extension, dialogue, parenthetical, transition,
shot, dual-dialogue); storyboard; flowchart
Industry practice: reflect on finished game dialogue (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose,
literary qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)
1 Understand the elements of storytelling for games
Forms of storytelling: cave painting; oral traditions (fable, myth, legend); theatre; text; film; television
Game genres: action, eg platforms, first-person shooter (FPS), third-person shooter (TPS), racing, fighting;
adventure; puzzle; role-play; simulation and sports, eg turn-based strategy (TBS), real time strategy (RTS)
Approaches: location; conditions; actions; symbolism; three-act structure (beginning, middle, end); hero’s
journey (12 steps); episodic
Representation: emotions; characterisation; stereotypes, eg gender, ethnicity
Emotional themes: vengeance; happiness; fear; anger; perseverance; heroism; valour; hope;
competitiveness
Interactive story: embedded; emergent; cinematics; cut-scenes; triggered events; player control; character
customisation
Writing strategies: pre-writing, eg brainstorm, research, storyboard, list, sketch, outlining, freewriting;
drafting (working title, write content); revision, eg add, rearrange, remove, replace, evaluate
TASK 1 – Storytelling Essentials
Learners will write an article for an online games ezine on how game designers use story to enhance a player’s
gameplay experience.
Article will cover:
A paragraph on:
forms and history of storytelling (see above for details), interactive story etc and writing strategies.
paragraph 2:
game genres
approaches
representation
emotional themes,
paragraph 3:
A PREVIEW BREAKDOWN OF YOUR GAME COMING SOON, THIS WILL INCLUDE EXAMPLES OF SIMILAR GAMES AND INFLUENCES FOR YOUR DIALOGUE, STORY AND CHARACTER - USE EXAMPLES!!!!
include discussion on:
talk first about the games that have influenced your decision then more specifically about your characters.
●
2 Be able to create story for a game following industry practice
Purpose: concept, eg original intellectual property (IP), franchised IP, prequel, client brief; target audience
Components: theme; setting; context; backstory; premise
Plot devices: types, eg petition, deliverance, revenge, pursuit, disaster, revolt, enigma; exposition (inciting
incident); foreshadowing; conflict or problem (internal, external); complication, eg rising action after
inciting incident; goals, eg MacGuffin; ticking clock; plot twists, eg red herring, reversals; climax; deus ex
machina; suspense; resolution; conclusion
Character types: antagonist; protagonist; guardian; sidekick; player character; non-player character (NPC)
Character backstory: physiological, eg gender, age, weight, appearance, actions; speech (native tongue,
accent, words, tone); sociological, eg friends, family, economic power, occupation, education, race,
political views; psychological, eg beliefs, temperament, optimism, pessimism, extrovert, introvert,
complexes, intelligence; issues of representation, eg ethnicity, gender, age; character growth, eg character
arcs; relationships (dyad, triangle); character capabilities, eg able to use a lasso, to climb, to jump; status,
eg wardrobe (armour), inventory
Narrative flow: linear; non-linear (branching narrative)
Industry practice: reflect on finished story (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose, literary
qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Creative Media Production
– Issue 1 – January 2010 © Edexcel Limited 2009 4
Introduction to common principles and strategies used to assist in the creation of story in games.
Learners:
carry out practical story-writing exercises
analyse game stories to identify plot types and devices
analyse character backstory and narrative flow.
3 Be able to create game dialogue following industry practice
Game dialogue sources: eg design documents, game story, script
Verbal elements: narration, eg first-person, third-person, voiceover (VO), off screen (OS); monologue;
dialogue
Script writing: layout (action, scene headings, character name, extension, dialogue, parenthetical, transition,
shot, dual-dialogue); storyboard; flowchart
Industry practice: reflect on finished game dialogue (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose,
literary qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)
Introduction to how story and character development is used in a game.
Learners:
receive lectures to explain forms of storytelling
receive lectures, hold discussions and attend demonstrations to examine how story and character
development is used in a game to enhance a player’s experience
receive lectures and hold discussions to examine common game genres and their differing narratives
receive lectures to explain the principles of story writing and simple writing strategies
play computer games which exhibit the use of good story and character development, make notes and
discuss observations.
●
Learners:
receive lectures to explain forms of storytelling
receive lectures, hold discussions and attend demonstrations to examine how story and character
development is used in a game to enhance a player’s experience
receive lectures and hold discussions to examine common game genres and their differing narratives
receive lectures to explain the principles of story writing and simple writing strategies
play computer games which exhibit the use of good story and character development, make notes and
discuss observations.
●
Assignment 2 – Project X: Story
Learners receive a brief from a producer to create the story for a new game including backstory, characterisation
and dialogue.
Learners will produce a development log covering:
purpose
components
plot devices
character types
character backstory
narrative flow
reflections on finished game story.
●
Learners receive a brief from a producer to create the story for a new game including backstory, characterisation
and dialogue.
Learners will produce a development log covering:
purpose
components
plot devices
character types
character backstory
narrative flow
reflections on finished game story.
●
FURTHER INFORMATION AND BREAKDOWNS:
Write An Executive overview of the story in prose
This is the most important part of your game script and this is what will sink or float your script. This overview has to tell a compelling and unique story and it should tell the complete story from the opening scene of the game through the major steps all the way to the completion of the game. An overview like this can be almost any size and it would be very easy for this to be ten written pages or more. Remember that today's video games are very complex and the stories can be very complex. This overview is also the most important part of the script. You would shop this to game developers to see if they are interested in developing it into a game.
Write a History and Background of the world
Video games are complete worlds and game designers need to know what the world is like and what kind of history it has. This will help the designers to visualize what the world will look like.
Create character descriptions and bios for all the major characters in the game. Game designers need a complete picture of the characters in the game. Many of the non player characters you create will pop up time and time again. And their story is woven deeply into the fabric of your world. You need to describe this relationship in detail to the game designers.
Write interactions with non-player characters
Your game will probably involve interaction with non-player characters (NPC's). You should write out the dialogue and flowchart the choices the game player can make. These interactions are often critical to the story and they can take the player on very different paths toward the conclusion of the game.
Write Cut scenes - Cut Scenes are short animations or movies that come before or after major plot points in your story. A cut scene should always be written to enhance or describe the story. A cut scene is also a reward given to the player for achieving a major milestone in game play.
Writing the actual storyboard script
This is the final step in the whole video game script writing process and it is the most detailed. You do this step last because you need all the supporting materials to understand and describe this correctly. This part is very similar to that of a movie script. You progress through each scene of your story and you detail all the necessary information. Here is an example:
Scene 1:
Location : A dark cathedral with stained glass windows. An NPC is kneeling before a stone casket in the center of the main room
Music : background music of an organ playing introduces the scene but subsides
Characters : Main player, NPC named Thomas
Player Goal: Discover the location of the underground lair
Action: Player must initiate discussion with Thomas, upon first contact we activate cut scene (1) where Thomas morphs into a were-creature and summons his were-minions. Main character must battle the were-minions then re-initiate discussion with Thomas.
Flowchart: No decisions made at this point: If battle is completed Thomas reveals the entrance to the underground lair and player advances to that level. If player is defeated in battle revert to death cut scene (11) and move to try again screen.
Notes: Player is locked in the cathedral and there is no exit. The only viable way out is to initiate contact with Thomas. Random were-creatures can be activated if player explores cathedral before talking with NPC.
When writing a video game script you have to remember that your primary audience is not the game player but the game developer and what the developer needs is a complete picture of what your game is about. This means that you are not just writing a story but you are creating a world complete with a tone, sounds, characters, story, plot, and subplots. To successfully communicate this to the developer you need to use a whole set of creative tools and this is where video game scripts depart from normal scripts and open up a whole realm of creative possibilities
Create a Flowchart for the entire game - Your game is going to be very complex and there will be many decisions that the player will have to make and each decision opens up a whole new path for the player to take. Creating a flowchart is the best way to keep track of all the possible paths through the game
Create sub-quests and write a prose overview of each quest
Sub quests can be simple or complex but each one is a story in itself and you must tell these stories.
Sub quests can be simple or complex but each one is a story in itself and you must tell these stories.
3 Be able to create game dialogue following industry practice
Game dialogue sources: eg design documents, game story, script
Verbal elements: narration, eg first-person, third-person, voiceover (VO), off screen (OS); monologue;
dialogue
Script writing: layout (action, scene headings, character name, extension, dialogue, parenthetical, transition,
shot, dual-dialogue); storyboard; flowchart
Industry practice: reflect on finished game dialogue (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose,
literary qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)
Game dialogue sources: eg design documents, game story, script
Verbal elements: narration, eg first-person, third-person, voiceover (VO), off screen (OS); monologue;
dialogue
Script writing: layout (action, scene headings, character name, extension, dialogue, parenthetical, transition,
shot, dual-dialogue); storyboard; flowchart
Industry practice: reflect on finished game dialogue (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose,
literary qualities); production skills (ideas generation, workflow and time management, teamwork)
Introduction to game dialogue content production through workshop sessions.
Learners:
identify dialogue source
carry out practical dialogue-writing exercises
carry out practical scripting exercises
reflect on finished game dialogue
●
Assignment 3 – Project X: Narration and Dialogue
Learners will produce a portfolio containing documentation that covers:
game dialogue sources
verbal elements of narration
script
reflections on finished game story
Assignment 3 – Project X: Narration and Dialogue
Learners will produce a portfolio containing documentation that covers
game dialogue sources. what kind of language will be used, adult content? conversational? simplistic? site examples from other games relating to your idea.
verbal elements of narration. voice over? dialogue? inner monologue? interaction between characters? control over this? provide a few pages of scripted dialogue examples.
script. write prologue and cut scenes etc. provide basic plot and flow chart of interactive plot lines, include pointers to the provided dialogue script samples.
reflections on Finished game story (evaluation)
Learners will produce a portfolio containing documentation that covers
game dialogue sources. what kind of language will be used, adult content? conversational? simplistic? site examples from other games relating to your idea.
verbal elements of narration. voice over? dialogue? inner monologue? interaction between characters? control over this? provide a few pages of scripted dialogue examples.
script. write prologue and cut scenes etc. provide basic plot and flow chart of interactive plot lines, include pointers to the provided dialogue script samples.
reflections on Finished game story (evaluation)