Friday, 26 October 2012

Game Writing; Narrative skills for videogames edited by Chris Bateman

"No matter how wonderful a writers exposition of dwarven tiddlywinks rituals might be (unless there's a key element of gameplay that hinges on a dwarf literally losing his marbles), it should generally be saved for the promotional materials, tie-in novels, or projects that are personal to the writer. Many players wont want to hear it.

As with every rule, there are exceptions. Certain adventure games, for example, have escaped criticism for their verbosity. Because the classic adventure is in many ways closely tied to the novel in terms of the narrative form employed, it is perhaps more acceptable for these games to indulge in additional exposition - especially if it can be organized so that the players can explore it at their leisure. Being able to find a book in the library on dwarven tiddlywinks is a different proposition from forcing the player to listen to a character drone on about the subject."

This is an important point to remember when it comes to crafting my own narrative and story. I want my world to be rich and colourful, and to be completely coherent however, I don't want to bore the audience with endless cutscenes of backstory, but rather let the player learn about and experience it through playing the game. This will not only make the world seem more interesting but make the story a much more personal experience.


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