Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Show, Don't Tell
A natural inclination when it comes to conveying exposition is to
tell
. After
all, the most efficient way we humans have of conveying complex ideas is
with language. So the novice writer, acting on instinct, blasts the audience
with a barrage of compacted, highly efficient story points. Her usual
weapon of choice: dialogue.
What happens next? Characters explain things to each other in great
depth, ask leading questions for other characters to answer, engage in
long speeches full of critical story details—or even worse, a narrator ex-
plains everything. The writer bombards the audience with dialogue to get
important background information “out of the way” so she can get to “the
good stuff.” Unfortunately, this completely understandable instinct is
wrong—very, very wrong.
Audiences don't want to be
told
. In fact, the less you tell them, the bet-
ter—they would much rather be
shown
. And that brings us to the vener-
able Hollywood writer's maxim: “show, don't tell.” Games, like movies, TV
shows, comic books, and plays, are a visual storytelling medium. This gives
the writer an amazingly diverse set of tools beyond dialogue that can be
used to convey story information.
“Talk is cheap.” “Actions speak louder than words.” “His bark is worse
than his bite.” There are many clichéd quotes that make it clear that
people don't take words as seriously as they take deeds.
Therefore, never establish something with dialogue that you can make
equally clear—and more impactful—through action. For example, when
Darth Vader first appeared on the big screen in 1977 in
Star Wars
, his look,
demeanor, and entrance music all helped to convey he wasn't exactly a
nice guy. But how did George Lucas decide to quickly
show
just how evil
Vader was? By having him choke a hapless Rebel soldier to death with his
bare hand, within Vader's first minute of screen time. We don't need to be
told
he's evil—he's just
shown
us.
So, if you want to establish that a Hero is brave?
Show
her being brave.
You want the audience to understand how dangerous a weapon is?
Show
it being used. (Or at least show the aftermath of when it was previously
used.) A character is forgetful?
Show
it. Whenever you find yourself using
dialogue to convey exposition, stop and ask yourself: could I be showing
this instead?
