Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
When I ask attendees at my video game storytelling tutorials how they
might improve the Jurassic Park ending by removing the deus ex machina ,
within seconds they are generally able to come up with something similar
to the above solution. If storytelling students at a game conference can
accomplish this within moments, it seems surprising to me that profes-
sional Hollywood writers weren't able—or chose not—to do the same,
over the course of months!
Here's another example from Hollywood, from a much less beloved
film: Spider-Man 3 . In this third installment of the Sam Raimi-directed
movie series, after a slime-covered meteor crashes into Central Park, a
bizarre symbiotic creature slithers of of it in search of a “host.” And Peter
Parker—of the millions of New Yorkers in the city that night—is the one it
ends up attaching itself to. This conceit sets up the rest of the story, in
which Spider-Man initially revels in the additional power the symbiote
grants him, but ultimately realizes he needs to free himself of its negative
influence.
Now, the coincidence here is that Peter Parker becomes the symbiote's
target, for no other reason than he just happened to be nearby. It had
nothing to do with who Peter Parker is; it was pure coincidence.
In this example, the coincidence may not have saved the Hero or his al-
lies from an immediate threat, but it was the catalyst for the Hero's main
arc and conflict for the entire rest of the film. For it to be kicked of in such
a contrived manner hurt the film's credibility early on.
Again, how hard would it have been to fix this? Not at all. Instead of
Peter Parker already standing around in Central Park when the meteor hits
right near him, how about if he (as Spider-Man) is out on patrol in Manhat-
tan, and he sees the meteor crash into the park? Being Spider-Man, he's
concerned that someone might have been hurt, so he swings over there
to investigate. He's the first one on the scene, and thus he's the one who
gets slimed.
This solution uses the traits of our Hero to justify the resulting events.
Instead of employing a coincidence to get the slimy alien onto Peter, we
use what makes Peter unique—his sense of responsibility, and his ability to
get to a location faster than almost anyone else. In this version, the symbi-
ote doesn't attach to Peter because of where he happens to be. It ends up
attaching to him because of who he is .
3. Downplay
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