Storytelling Applied - The Game Maker's Companion: Game Development - page 200

the other boys on the beach. They are laughing and having a good time. Let's have them play at
being pirates, as mentioned earlier as a kind of foreshadowing of what is going to happen. We'll
also show that he has something on his mind. He is staring out to sea wondering if there isn't
something more exciting he could be doing than living his life in a sleepy little village.
The Call to Adventure
The fog starts creeping in. People start to panic and one of the smaller boys cries out for his Mum.
Flynn watches him as he is scooped up by his mother and carried home. Is that a bit of envy in his
look? A little indication that Flynn doesn't have a mother? Soon the beach is completely covered
in mist. A dog barks in fear and one of the fishermen collapses and has to be carried to safety by
his friends.
The Refusal to the Call
Flynn can barely see his feet and decides he better go home to his father and away from the fog.
We want Flynn to be eager for adventure, so we'll downplay this stage of the structure. Flynn
is not a reluctant hero, but we can still show him shying away from the fog. He might long for
something to happen, but he's not about to do something completely stupid like running
headlong into the fog. His father will be the one really refusing the call, as he does not want Flynn
to get into any danger.
The Meeting with the Mentor
This one we can do very literally. The parrot lands on his shoulder. Archibald, Archie for short,
will serve several purposes throughout our story, but one of the important ones is as a mentor
showing Flynn what to do. The parrot shouts the first mysterious words about Mary. “Save Mary!”
Let's also have him suggest to Flynn that he uses the rooftops to stay above the fog and get home
safely. That's the first easy level, remember?
We want Flynn's father, Ben, to act as a mentor. Fortunately, we can have several of those. He
will tell Flynn about Mary, his mother. He recognizes Archibald as being Mary's parrot. This is an
important vouchsafe for the parrot, because here in the beginning we want the player to
completely trust the parrot and follow his advice. Ben explains that he first met Mary when her
ship came into port, barely afloat. They fell in love as he helped her repair it. At first, Mary did
make an effort to stay with Ben and be happy on the island. They had a baby boy, Flynn, and all
seemed alright, but eventually Mary's heart called her out to sea again. She was captain of her
own ship, and a pirate at that. “Why didn't you go with her, Dad?” asks Flynn. But Ben loved his
island and his job and besides didn't think it would be any good to go sailing the seas with a small
baby to take care of.
Here, we provide the player with a bit more of Flynn's story. We also help Flynn understand
why he is so restless on the island. His mother is a pirate captain! No wonder he longs for
adventure, it must be in his blood. But he is also hurt that she would leave her own son just like
that. He wishes that Ben had gone with her. In fact, he is disappointed with his dad for being so
boring.
Archie now pipes up, saying that Mary is in danger, captured by the Pirate King. He says that
the king is responsible for the weird fog that now engulfs the island. Ben is deeply distraught, but
doesn't believe he can do anything about the situation and he doesn't want Flynn to try either, it
would be too dangerous.
Together, the two mentors have now provided Flynn with information to act on. Mary is in
danger and so is the whole island. If he goes off on this adventure, he might find his mother and
even though Ben doesn't want him to go, it is clear that he can't just stay. Something needs to be
done or the fog will poison them all. He decides to go find his mother with Archie acting as a