Storytelling in Theory - The Game Maker's Companion: Game Development - page 189

Pace
As well as structure, pace is extremely important for a story. By pace, we mean the rhythm and
tempo of the story, the way that the action increases and decreases along the way. The three-act
structure comes with directions regarding the pace as well. It looks something like Figure 8-1:
Figure 8-1. The pacing of the three-act structure. The tension/pace of the story gradually builds.
You'll notice that it's not a steady rise to the climax, but a series of bumps along the way.
That's because it is important to vary the pace a bit, or the audience will get used to the intensity.
If the pace becomes too predictable, people will start to feel bored. We want to keep them alert
and on their toes. So we give them breathing spaces in between the action. If a fast car chase in a
movie went on for an hour, you can imagine that it would start to get boring even though car
chases are usually high adrenalin and intense. The structure can vary quite a lot depending on
the story you tell. You can stretch certain parts to fit the story you want to tell. Remember, this is a
guide, not a strict rule.
In games, the structure tends to look a bit different. See Figure 8-2. Act 1 becomes very short,
often it is just the intro cut scene and when the player gets control, we are already in Act 2,
starting the journey. Act 2 in games tends to be very long, because this is where most of the game
play is. Act 3 also holds a series of challenges, but in games, the wind-down is very short as we
don't need the same resolution to a game. We beat the end boss and are in effect done with the
game, so the end cut scene is usually short, acting mainly as a reward for the player.
In fact, if you are planning to make more than one game, it's quite handy to leave a few ends
untied, to make the player wonder what happens in Episode 2.