Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
that harmony in their dealings with narrative experts throughout the pro-
cess. I hope they'll recognize when a design decision may impact the
story, and immediately raise a red flag. I hope they'll always work hard to
find the appropriate balance between crafted and emergent storytelling in
the specific game on which they're working, and continuously seek new,
innovative ways to express story through gameplay. And I hope they will
take the time to go beyond this topic with their investigation of the prin-
ciples of fiction, an understanding of which has the power to improve a
designer's effectiveness in countless ways.
I hope
artists
and
animators
will never forget that everything about the
visualization of a character, item, or place conveys narrative information. I
hope as they're developing every visual—every concept painting, every en-
vironment, every item of clothing, every facial feature, every movement,
no matter how subtle—they always remember that each one has the po-
tential to either improve or negate the effectiveness of the game's
storytelling. I hope they'll collaborate with narrative experts in an open and
productive way, with creativity encouraged to freely flow in both direc-
tions.
I hope
engineers
will keep in mind that they have an important part to
play in the successful expression of a game's story. Whether they're tasked
with developing tools, world physics, audio systems, or any other technical
component of a game, I hope they'll take an active role in discovering
what the narrative intent is and how they can help bring it to life.
I hope
audio experts
will see in narrative experts kindred spirits and po-
tentially staunch allies in enhancing players' emotional engagement. I
hope they'll work to break down barriers and treat the Narrative/Audio
connection as the crucial, hand-in-glove relationship that it is. I hope au-
dio developers will take personal responsibility for getting as much know-
ledge of the game story, characters, and world as possible in order to sup-
port that vision as only they can. And I hope that they'll treat narrative ex-
perts as partners, inviting them into the audio development process from
the earliest possible stages.
I hope
QA testers
, those unsung heroes of game development, take the
principles and lessons from this topic and apply them to the critical eye
with which they evaluate every nuance of an in-development game. I
hope they'll notice when characterization and mission objectives seem
misaligned, or when a line of dialogue doesn't make sense. I hope the
