Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
body if she died while recording it. Wouldn't it have been found on or near
her?
A small point, perhaps, but you might be surprised how perceptive your
players are and what kind of inconsistent detail might “bounce them out”
of the fiction—especially if you give them some time to think about it.
I always liken this kind of situation to a scene from one of my favorite
movies,
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
. Brother Maynard is translating a
mysterious cave's ancient carving, which King Arthur and his knights hope
will lead them to the Holy Grail. When the carving ends with the phrase
“the Castle of … aaaaaaugh,” Maynard hazards a guess that the author
must have died while carving it. Arthur and the knights immediately see
the logical flaw in this theory; if he was dying, he wouldn't bother carving
“aaaaaugh,” he would just say it.
Like Arthur, players may notice inconsistencies in the backstory implied
by what they've found. So, whenever possible, try to make sure everything
about the “what happened here” story jibes not only with what's found in
the environment, but also with
where
these items are discovered.
Preventing the player from experiencing head-scratching moments
while trying to parse incoherent environmental storytelling is mainly a
matter of thinking things through, then documenting and sharing your
findings and intentions.
Here's an example from my own experience. Once, as part of an unpub-
lished title on which I was working, the team decided to include an exten-
ded player-after-enemy chase through an industrial meat factory. We felt
the potential for visual interest was high, and tonally it was a good it for
the overall game and particularly for that part of the narrative. However,
we also wanted to add an interesting side story that would further estab-
lish the seedy nature of the area, which was a new location to the player.
We came up with the idea that the meat-packing plant was actually a
front for a gunrunning operation. This concept did not directly relate to
the main plot, but was intended to help imply a larger world with many
more people and moving parts than we could afford—or wanted—to
show. In order to contain the possibility space, we depopulated the build-
ing of anything but automated defense systems. Our narrative explanation
was that due to the chaotic chase, the workers had quickly abandoned the
facility, leaving their workstations as they were, in mid-process. At various
points throughout the chase, we would plant environmental clues regard-
ing the secret operation.
