Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: A Player-Centered Approach to Creating Memorable Characters and Stories
Burlington, MA: Focal Press (2011), xi, 319 pp.
Contains bibliogr. pp. 309-314, index
ISBN 978-0-240-81718-7 (ebook); 978-0-240-81717-0 (ebook); 978-1-136-12733-5 (print)
"Game stories have evolved from the simple kidnapped-girl plot of Donkey Kong to the complex novel-length tales of modern RPGs. In addition, the ability of the player to interact with and affect the story has created many new and different types of stories that are difficult if not impossible to portray in other kinds of media. Although games are an excellent medium for many types of storytelling, their interactivity makes them far different from more traditional media such as books and film. Interactive stories themselves havemany unique and challenging issues that aren’t encountered when writing a more traditionally structured tale, which we’ll be discussing all throughout the rest of this book. Game writers also need to think about many other factors, such as the synthesis between the story and gameplay and how to maintain a proper pace when the story’s progression is, at least to a certain extent, controlled by the player." (Page 5)
1 Game Stories, Interactivity, and What Players Want, 1
2 A Brief History of Storytelling in Games, 13
3 The Hero's Journey and the Structure of Game Stories, 39
4 The Story and the Characters, 71
5 Making Stories Emotional, 107
6 Defining Interactive and Player-Driven Storytelling, 117
7 Fully Traditional and Interactive Traditional Stories, 125
8 Multiple-Ending Stories, 149
9 Branching Path Stories, 181
10 Open-Ended Stories, 205
11 Fully Player-Driven Stories, 227
12 The Argument for the Supremacy of Player-Driven Storytelling, 247
13 The Argument Against the Supremacy of Player-Driven Storytelling, 255
14 What Players Really Want: The Most Important Issue, 269
15 The Future of Storytelling in Games, 285
Appendix A: Game Writing Groups and Other Useful Resources, 295
Appendix B: Survey Data, 297
2 A Brief History of Storytelling in Games, 13
3 The Hero's Journey and the Structure of Game Stories, 39
4 The Story and the Characters, 71
5 Making Stories Emotional, 107
6 Defining Interactive and Player-Driven Storytelling, 117
7 Fully Traditional and Interactive Traditional Stories, 125
8 Multiple-Ending Stories, 149
9 Branching Path Stories, 181
10 Open-Ended Stories, 205
11 Fully Player-Driven Stories, 227
12 The Argument for the Supremacy of Player-Driven Storytelling, 247
13 The Argument Against the Supremacy of Player-Driven Storytelling, 255
14 What Players Really Want: The Most Important Issue, 269
15 The Future of Storytelling in Games, 285
Appendix A: Game Writing Groups and Other Useful Resources, 295
Appendix B: Survey Data, 297
