Narration in social games
Over the years, computer games developers have painstakingly worked to earn the right to be considered creators of serious narratives. In the game industry uses a unique approach to the creation of scenes, which is that players do not just watch how events unfold, but also have the opportunity to influence their course.
At a recent game conference, this feature of the story has become the main theme. Industry leaders discussed the implementation of the plot in games and identified key elements that must be considered when creating it.
Plot construction
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Games have great potential for creating a good story, but, according to developer Chris Solarski, the industry does not have the necessary resources to implement it. The presentation of Solarski was mainly devoted to the most vivid narrative techniques in the cinema, to which game designers should pay attention.
The development of the plot is the basis of any story. As a game designer explains, in films (as in works of art) this concept includes three components: a string, where the hero and his problem are presented to the audience; the culmination is the development of the problem posed and the hero’s passing certain tests, and the outcome is the resolution of the problem situation. It is logical that game developers have a question: how to follow the laws of plot development and at the same time give players the opportunity to choose the course of the story themselves and influence it? The answer to this question is partly provided by television series, the creators of which are rarely confident in their continuation. Therefore, they are forced to develop several storylines instead of a single integral structure.
How to make the plot exciting?
Another secret of the good story Solarski mentioned is an element of intrigue. Using the example of Halo 4, a game designer shows that in gaming shooters, developers almost do not use this technique, revealing the goal of the game at the very beginning.
Very rarely there are scenarios in which players advance along the plot, without knowing in advance about the goal and the ways of achieving it. Examples are projects such as Journey and Gone Home.
Sometimes developers rely on the experience and knowledge of the players to engage them in the story. Henrik Foreus, a game designer at Paradox Development Studio, uses this approach in the game Crusader Kings II. A real historical drama unfolds there - the struggle for power between the warring forces of medieval Eurasia. Players become part of a dynasty that is represented by a king, king, or caliph, and during the game grow old and die, transferring the throne to the successor. In this case, the player does not have clear conditions for achieving success, and the game ends when the character dies without having a heir to the throne. Interest in the game is supported by the involvement of users in the events of the past and their desire to help their dynasty succeed.
Crusader Kings II was awarded a prize for emphasizing the use of non-force methods required in government and the incorporation of these principles into the game context. In Crusader Kings II, the player’s choice of religion or party for marriage influences the course of the game, and also gives an advantage over non-player characters with whom the plot has to do business to achieve a goal. Such an interweaving of history in the game mechanics ensures the involvement of the audience, and also helps to formulate an understanding of the real events on which the plot of the game is based.
Secrets of the story in social video games
The implementation of these principles in social games in general and in MMORT-strategies in particular is associated with certain difficulties. The open ending does not allow to bring the plot to the third stage of development - conflict resolution. Therefore, the space for the story has to be found within the gaming setting. Together with my colleagues from Plarium, I create content in the form of a series of stories that are presented as weekly game related events. Each such event focuses the player’s attention on several characters and their interaction in the context of a separate storyline and temporarily shifts the global game plot to the background.
This allows players to offer a definite outcome and leave the intrigue of the global storyline unresolved. This technique is taken from comics rather than from cinema or console games. Another important point is the length of the lyrics and the duration of the voice acting. Players will not listen to a two-minute monologue from beginning to end, and even if they do, it will only distract them from the gameplay. Instead, we focus on the action itself, the creation of persuasive characters and the most natural dialogues. Epic and detailed scenes can not make a strong impression on the players in just a few minutes, and the bright characters - completely.
We are very pleased that now we have the opportunity to use in-game animation as an element of the disclosure of the plot. For developers of social projects such as Plarium, it becomes easier to implement the technical implementation of blue-eyed with the advent of new tools and devices, but bringing them to the target audience remains the main problem. Given the vast geography of our audience, it is difficult to be sure that all the game nuances will have the desired effect on the players.
Unlike consoles, where the hardware and operating systems are compatible with each other, social platforms, such as Facebook, should work correctly on any computer and be accessible even to legacy machines. But the situation is changing rapidly, which means that new prospects are opening up before us.
The inability to put together or even list all the methods and techniques that are used in the plots of modern computer games, says that the game industry is at the peak of development and uses all available means.
Today, it greatly influences traditional forms of entertainment and media. As technology improves and the number of talented specialists in this field increases, it seems that we are on the threshold of a very important period of industry development and its gradual transformation from a tool through which people tell stories into the main means of narration transmission in modern media.
At a recent game conference, this feature of the story has become the main theme. Industry leaders discussed the implementation of the plot in games and identified key elements that must be considered when creating it.
Plot construction
')
Games have great potential for creating a good story, but, according to developer Chris Solarski, the industry does not have the necessary resources to implement it. The presentation of Solarski was mainly devoted to the most vivid narrative techniques in the cinema, to which game designers should pay attention.
The development of the plot is the basis of any story. As a game designer explains, in films (as in works of art) this concept includes three components: a string, where the hero and his problem are presented to the audience; the culmination is the development of the problem posed and the hero’s passing certain tests, and the outcome is the resolution of the problem situation. It is logical that game developers have a question: how to follow the laws of plot development and at the same time give players the opportunity to choose the course of the story themselves and influence it? The answer to this question is partly provided by television series, the creators of which are rarely confident in their continuation. Therefore, they are forced to develop several storylines instead of a single integral structure.
How to make the plot exciting?
Another secret of the good story Solarski mentioned is an element of intrigue. Using the example of Halo 4, a game designer shows that in gaming shooters, developers almost do not use this technique, revealing the goal of the game at the very beginning.
Very rarely there are scenarios in which players advance along the plot, without knowing in advance about the goal and the ways of achieving it. Examples are projects such as Journey and Gone Home.
Sometimes developers rely on the experience and knowledge of the players to engage them in the story. Henrik Foreus, a game designer at Paradox Development Studio, uses this approach in the game Crusader Kings II. A real historical drama unfolds there - the struggle for power between the warring forces of medieval Eurasia. Players become part of a dynasty that is represented by a king, king, or caliph, and during the game grow old and die, transferring the throne to the successor. In this case, the player does not have clear conditions for achieving success, and the game ends when the character dies without having a heir to the throne. Interest in the game is supported by the involvement of users in the events of the past and their desire to help their dynasty succeed.
Crusader Kings II was awarded a prize for emphasizing the use of non-force methods required in government and the incorporation of these principles into the game context. In Crusader Kings II, the player’s choice of religion or party for marriage influences the course of the game, and also gives an advantage over non-player characters with whom the plot has to do business to achieve a goal. Such an interweaving of history in the game mechanics ensures the involvement of the audience, and also helps to formulate an understanding of the real events on which the plot of the game is based.
Secrets of the story in social video games
The implementation of these principles in social games in general and in MMORT-strategies in particular is associated with certain difficulties. The open ending does not allow to bring the plot to the third stage of development - conflict resolution. Therefore, the space for the story has to be found within the gaming setting. Together with my colleagues from Plarium, I create content in the form of a series of stories that are presented as weekly game related events. Each such event focuses the player’s attention on several characters and their interaction in the context of a separate storyline and temporarily shifts the global game plot to the background.
This allows players to offer a definite outcome and leave the intrigue of the global storyline unresolved. This technique is taken from comics rather than from cinema or console games. Another important point is the length of the lyrics and the duration of the voice acting. Players will not listen to a two-minute monologue from beginning to end, and even if they do, it will only distract them from the gameplay. Instead, we focus on the action itself, the creation of persuasive characters and the most natural dialogues. Epic and detailed scenes can not make a strong impression on the players in just a few minutes, and the bright characters - completely.
We are very pleased that now we have the opportunity to use in-game animation as an element of the disclosure of the plot. For developers of social projects such as Plarium, it becomes easier to implement the technical implementation of blue-eyed with the advent of new tools and devices, but bringing them to the target audience remains the main problem. Given the vast geography of our audience, it is difficult to be sure that all the game nuances will have the desired effect on the players.
Unlike consoles, where the hardware and operating systems are compatible with each other, social platforms, such as Facebook, should work correctly on any computer and be accessible even to legacy machines. But the situation is changing rapidly, which means that new prospects are opening up before us.
The inability to put together or even list all the methods and techniques that are used in the plots of modern computer games, says that the game industry is at the peak of development and uses all available means.
Today, it greatly influences traditional forms of entertainment and media. As technology improves and the number of talented specialists in this field increases, it seems that we are on the threshold of a very important period of industry development and its gradual transformation from a tool through which people tell stories into the main means of narration transmission in modern media.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/367005/
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