Dramatic Storytelling & Narrative Design A Writer’s Guide to Video Games and Transmedia Dramatic Storytelling & Narrative Design A Writer’s Guide to Video Games and Transmedia by Ross Berger CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2020 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-31979-0 (hardback) International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-31973-8 (paperback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, trans- mitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright. com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com To Liat Contents Acknowledgments, xiii Definition of Terms, xv Chapter 1 ◾ Introduction 1 COMING OUT OF OBSCURITY 1 WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR 3 The Student 5 The Writer from Another Field 5 The Entertainment Executive 6 Game Designer 6 Game Producer 7 Technologist in Media 7 Content Designer for Artificial Intelligence 8 Warning for Career Changers 8 WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT 9 Chapter 2 ◾ Definitions and Distinctions 11 WHAT IS NARRATIVE DESIGN? 11 WRITING FOR GAMES VS. TRADITIONAL MEDIA: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? 13 Prime Objective: Addiction 14 NARRATIVE DESIGNER VS. GAME WRITER: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? 15 Barks 16 vii viii ◾ Contents Chapter 3 ◾ Roles and Responsibilities 19 ID THE IP 19 HELP DESIGN THE GOLDEN PATH 21 ESTABLISH STRUCTURE 21 ESTABLISH CHARACTERS AND WORLDS 22 IDENTIFY STORY MECHANISMS AND DEVISE THEIR RULE-SETS 22 PLAN AND MANAGE THE CONTENT 25 REINFORCE THE THEME 26 WRITE, REVISE, AND POLISH THE CONTENT 28 ASSIST IN THE LOCALIZATION OF THE WRITTEN AND SPOKEN CONTENT 29 DIRECT VOICE-OVER SESSIONS AND FILMED CONTENT 30 Voice-Over 30 Filmed Content 31 OTHER 33 Chapter 4 ◾ Game Writing at the Ground Level 35 EXAMPLE SPREADSHEET FOR NARRATIVE CONTENT 35 ASSET ID 36 CATEGORY 37 CHARACTER 37 LINE 38 CHARACTER COUNT 38 NOTES 38 PIPELINE 39 Chapter 5 ◾ Character and World 41 THE PROTAGONIST 41 MAKING A PROTAGONIST THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO PLAY 43 THE ANTAGONIST 44 Unity of Opposites 46 A Note about Hannibal Lecter 46 Contents   ◾   ix ARCHETYPES AND STOCK CHARACTERS 47 DIALOGUE 50 ESTABLISH WORLDS AND OTHER SIGNATURE ELEMENTS 54 Chapter 6 ◾ Structure 57 WHAT IS STRUCTURE AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 57 WHERE GAMES FAIL 57 MAIN STRUCTURAL BEATS 58 Act 1 58 Act 2 59 Act 3 62 DRAMATIC ESCALATION WARNINGS 64 Premature Character Introduction 65 Long Missions with No Narrative Interspersed 66 Arbitrary Bells and Whistles 66 DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF THE ACTS 67 Chapter 7 ◾ Meaningful Choice, Branching Narrative, and Downstream Effects 69 Chapter 8 ◾ Analysis of Narrative in Contemporary Games 79 WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA OF WELL-TOLD NARRATIVE IN GAMES? 79 AM I EMOTIONALLY INVESTED? 80 WHY DO GAMES FAIL AT TELLING EMOTIONAL STORIES? 81 GAME NARRATIVE BREAKDOWN EXAMPLES 82 NBA 2K16 82 Premise 82 In a Nutshell 83 Main Characters 83 Key Story Beats 84 Act 1 84 Act 2 85 Act 3 86