It’s easy to get lost in the world of video games. Whether you’re a fan of RPGs, shooters, or something else entirely, there’s no doubt that video games can invoke powerful emotions from players by putting them in situations they’d never encounter in reality.
Whether it’s saving the world from an alien invasion or vanquishing ghosts with your friends on Halloween night, there are plenty of opportunities for storytelling within this medium especially if you know what you’re doing!
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Video games provide a unique platform for interactive storytelling. |
| 2. Effective narrative design enhances player engagement and immersion. |
| 3. Storytelling techniques such as character development and plot twists apply to video game narratives. |
| 4. Player choices and consequences contribute to a dynamic storytelling experience. |
| 5. Video game storytelling requires a balance between gameplay and narrative elements. |
| 6. Immersive world-building contributes to a captivating narrative in video games. |
| 7. Emotional resonance and connection with characters deepen the player experience. |
| 8. Storytelling influences player decisions, shaping the outcome of the game. |
| 9. Audiovisual elements, including music and visuals, play a role in storytelling. |
| 10. Exploring diverse genres and approaches enriches storytelling possibilities in video games. |
Plan And Map Out Your Story
Planning is important for any project, especially if it’s a big one. To avoid wasting time and getting overwhelmed, you need to know where you’re going and how long it will take you to get there!
By planning out your story before you start filming, you can focus on making sure that every shot contributes towards achieving your goal of telling a good story.
As an example: You may want to tell your viewers about how cool The Legend of Zelda games are through film.
But if all of your shots are just people playing Zelda in different locations around the world (not saying it’s not interesting), then they won’t be able to see what makes this particular game special enough for their attention span (unless they’re huge fans).
Exploring the world of storytelling in video games? Enhance your narrative design process with the help of various software tools. Discover how to utilize these tools effectively in our guide on important software tools for novel writing.
Learn The Basics Of Story Structure
To understand the basics of storytelling, you have to look at it in its simplest form. In order to do this, let’s use a popular method for structuring stories: The Three Act Structure.
This structure closely follows Aristotle’s Poetics and is often used by Hollywood screenwriters as well as video game designers (especially when working on large open world games).
It has three main acts: the beginning of a story; the middle act; and its end or climax. Each of these acts has its own purpose and emphasis in relation to one another.
Start From A Simple Concept, Then Expand On It
When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to try and make your story as complex as possible. You want to make sure that every detail has a purpose and that every character has a backstory.
But this can be a big mistake because you’ll end up with something incomprehensible at least without reading the entire script first!
Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, start small. Start with an idea for a simple story about some friends who like playing video games together in their spare time.
Once that’s set up, then expand on it by thinking about how those same friends might react differently if they were put in situations where they had no choice but to play competitively against one another instead of cooperatively (as is usually the case when playing video games).
The next step would be figuring out what happens when one friend decides he wants more than just being part of an ordinary group of gamers.
He wants everyone else there too so they can compete against each other while also working together towards common goals (like beating bosses or overcoming obstacles) against other teams from around town/worldwide/etc., etc., etc…
Aspiring to craft captivating narratives in video games? Don’t miss out on these essential tips that can elevate your storytelling skills. Dive into our article on top tips for the aspiring novel writer to gain valuable insights.
Avoid Cliched Plots And Characters
While there are exceptions to every rule, it’s generally a bad idea to use cliched plots and characters. A cliched plot is one that has been done so many times before that it no longer surprises anyone.
A cliched character has personality traits or motivations that are so common they’re expected. Using cliche settings is essentially the same thing: It’s like using a stock photograph of an office building instead of actually going out and taking pictures of offices in real life you’re just going through the motions without putting any effort into your work as a result.
Cliche themes aren’t as common but still happen far too often; if your story could be summed up by saying “love conquers all” or “the good guy always wins,” then you should probably rethink your approach!
Finally, don’t rely on predictable twists just for shock value; there have been enough stories about people waking up from comas only to find out their loved ones died years ago (or vice versa) for us not to care anymore when we see one pop up again in our favorite movies/TV shows/video games!
Have A Hook That Intrigues Players To Want To Know More
A hook is something that pulls players in and makes them want to know more about your game. It can be a character, a setting, an idea or a situation. The hook should be unique, interesting and compelling.
When creating hooks for your games remember:
Keep it short. You have around 30 seconds to tell your audience what they are going to experience when they play the game you’re designing. Think of this like writing a tweet; you need to say what’s important but also keep it short enough so people read it on their phones!
Give them an idea of who/what they will be experiencing as well as why this experience is important/interesting/cool!
Be Outrageous And Bold, Not Afraid To Disturb Or Offend People
It’s important to remember that the only rules that matter when it comes to storytelling are the ones you make for yourself.
You don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules, and you definitely shouldn’t be afraid of breaking them. Be bold and outrageous, but stay true to your ideas. Don’t be afraid of controversy or going against the grain it’s better than being boring!
Maintaining inspiration and creativity is key when shaping narratives for video games. Learn effective strategies to stay inspired as a storyteller in our piece on sustaining creativity during the writing process.
Stay True To Your Themes And Ideas, Even If They’re Controversial Or Offensive
For a game to have the most impact on players, it has to be true to itself. In other words, you need to know what your game is about and how it feels before you can start thinking about how it will look or what it will sound like.
This isn’t always easy because there are so many things that can affect how people perceive your work: their age, experience with video games, political views, and personal values all play a role in how they interpret the media they consume.
But if you start with an idea that resonates and stick with it through development even when some people don’t like what they see you’ll end up creating something special.
Storytellers who stay true to themselves often face criticism for being controversial or offensive (this is especially true for creators of comedy), but I believe this is worth doing when done well because staying true to yourself means more than just making sure your protagonist has blue eyes instead of brown ones;
It means putting everything into making sure every element of your story fits together thematically and emotionally in a way that’s unique from anything else out there.
Keep The Proceedings Unpredictable And Surprising
One of the best ways to create a story that players will remember is to keep them guessing. Don’t be afraid to have a few twists and turns in your plotline, or even take it in a completely different direction than you originally planned.
If you’re afraid of being too unpredictable, remember that people love surprises (and they are more likely to talk about those surprises). If someone tells me that something happened that I never saw coming, I’ll probably ask what happened next!
We all know that feeling when we find out something unexpected has happened it’s exciting! And if your readers get excited by your work as well, then they’ll want more and help spread the word about how great it is.
So don’t panic if things don’t go according to plan while writing a game story: just let yourself get carried away with whatever ideas pop into your head at the moment instead of trying so hard to stick with an outline or script.
You may save time by following an outline at first; but once inspiration strikes don’t be afraid!
Hitting roadblocks is a common challenge in both novel writing and video game storytelling. Discover methods to overcome obstacles and keep your creative momentum with our insights on pushing through when writing hits a wall.
Don’t Tell The Player Everything All At Once; Reveal Information Little By Little To Keep Them Engaged As They Play On Through Your Game
As you tell your story, remember that you don’t want to overwhelm the player with information.
You have a limited amount of time in which to tell your story, and if you overload them with too much information at one time, they’ll likely get bored and stop playing. Instead, reveal information little by little so that it keeps them engaged as they play on through your game.
The same applies for emotional beats: if you go from happy scene A to sad scene B without giving anyone time to reflect on what just happened, then there won’t be any emotional impact when we reach sad scene B!
If someone gets hit by a truck out of nowhere, their reaction would be very different than if they had seen the truck coming (and possibly tried to avoid it) and were still thinking about how close they came to being run over when suddenly…they were hit by said truck!
Avoid being overly direct with exposition; instead, let the player learn about things from experience as they play through your game world.
Don’t be afraid to let the player learn about things through their own experience as they play through your game world.
I’ve found that the best way to tell a story is to use elements of the environment and allow for subtlety by not being overly direct with exposition; rather, let the player make their own conclusions from what they see.
This can help you avoid being too obvious or telling too much all at once, while also giving players room to explore and discover more on their own.
For example: In my game In Her Majesty’s Service (HIHMS), which was originally released in 2011 as part of a series of games called “The King’s Collection,” there is a war going on between France and England over ownership of Canada.
One particular mission takes place on board an enemy ship during this conflict and ends with an attack from British forces you’re tasked with destroying them before they destroy you.
But because no cutscenes are explaining what’s happening or why it matters (there’s no time!), players have no idea why this fight is even going on until later when they get captured by British soldiers who explain everything so far as well as ask for help infiltrating another enemy vessel so that they can take it over instead.
Use mechanics to enhance and reinforce your story’s themes and ideas, rather than having them be totally separate from each other (eg, what you do in-game). eg, Journey to Silius; Wily Wars; Contra III; Inside Out; Lego Harry Potter!
In The World Of Video Games, You Can Create A World Where Anything Is Possible, But That Doesn’t Mean It Should Be
The best stories are grounded in reality and come from your own experiences. It’s better to start with something real than try to make up something fake that sounds cool.
If you have an idea for a game, think about what kinds of mechanics could enhance or reinforce the themes and ideas already present in your story. For example:
Do you want to tell a story about loss? Then perhaps your “character” won’t have all their abilities at the beginning of the game (eg, they lose an arm). Or maybe they don’t even know how many lives they have left until they die once!
This would be very different from most games where losing all lives means simply starting over again at level one (or earlier).
Do you want players to get angry at someone? Give them no choice but killing another character if they want their objective completed!
The player will hate themselves for doing this because it makes them feel like a bad person…but also because it’s so hard not being able to kill anyone else besides this one person who really deserves it anyways.”
Storytelling is a craft that transcends mediums, including video games and novels. Gain valuable insights into narrative techniques by exploring what we’ve learned about storytelling from years of reading novels in our article on lessons from reading novels.
Be Prepared For Players To Find Out Information In Any Order They Want, So Try Not To Rely On There Being A “Canon” Order Of Events. Eg, The Stanley Parable; Gone Home; Dear Esther. And Also Non-Linear Games Like Rdr2 & Xenogears!
In games, you can give the player freedom to experience the story in any order they want. This means that even if you have an idea of what event “should” happen first and second, you have to be prepared for players finding out information in any order they want.
There are many great examples of this type of non-linear storytelling in video games:
The Stanley Parable: A game where you play as an employee who works at a company called “Choice”, but all your choices are predetermined by the company’s owner.
The game makes fun of video games that try too hard to make it seem like “you” (the player) is making choices when really it’s just some pre-determined script.
Gone Home: A game about a girl returning home after being away for many years and discovering her family has changed since she last saw them. It takes place entirely inside her house with no real exploration or gameplay elements.
Just explore through menus on objects found inside the house such as notes written by her father or diary entries from her sister! Very well done indie title!
Dear Esther: Another indie title where you walk around an island listening to stories told by other people whose lives were impacted by something tragic which happened there over 100 years ago…and then there’s some mysterious ghostly presence haunting those same locations today!
The whole experience feels very dreamlike because none of these characters actually interact directly with each other; instead
Conclusion
We hope this post has helped you to understand how video games can be used as a tool for storytelling. Video games are more than just entertainment they are an art form that allows us to explore new worlds and tell compelling stories in ways that no other medium can do.
Further Reading
The Art of Video Game Storytelling 101 Short Description: Explore the fundamentals of video game storytelling in this insightful article, delving into narrative techniques and their impact on player engagement.
The Art of Storytelling in Video Games Short Description: Dive into the world of storytelling within video games and uncover the unique ways narratives are woven into gameplay experiences.
The Art of Storytelling: How Is Storytelling Used in Video Games? Short Description: Discover the role and techniques of storytelling in video games, as well as the impact it has on player immersion and interaction.
FAQs
What is the importance of storytelling in video games?
Storytelling plays a crucial role in video games by providing context, emotional resonance, and a sense of purpose to the gameplay experience. It enhances player engagement and connection to the game world.
How do video games incorporate storytelling?
Video games incorporate storytelling through various means, such as cutscenes, in-game dialogue, environmental storytelling, and interactive choices that allow players to shape the narrative progression.
Can storytelling in video games affect player decisions?
Yes, storytelling can influence player decisions by presenting moral dilemmas, choices with consequences, and branching narratives that give players agency in shaping the outcomes of the story.
What are some common narrative techniques used in video games?
Common narrative techniques in video games include character development, world-building, foreshadowing, plot twists, and the use of audiovisual elements to create immersive storytelling experiences.
How does storytelling impact player immersion?
Effective storytelling enhances player immersion by creating a believable and emotionally resonant game world. It allows players to connect with characters, events, and themes on a deeper level, making the gameplay experience more immersive and satisfying.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.