Glossary - Writing for Video Games - page 170

series of smaller scripts. Many logic scripts in a story driven game will
contain the dialogue itself and the logic that drives it, as well as keeping
track of the progress of the player through the game and story.
Logline :A single sentence that is designed to summarise the game in a
dynamic way. A hook to get the potential customer interested in
discovering more.
Milestone :A scheduling and contractual term, it defines a point in time at
which pre-agreed deliverables will be completed. Milestones are a way of
measuring the progress of the game's development and if a publisher is
funding this, each milestone will probably have a percentage of that
funding payable on completion of the milestone.
Model : Usually refers to a 3D character model that appears in the game,
though it can also refer to a 3D location or environment model.
Narrative design : This is a broad document which looks at the high level
design of the story.Though it will contain the flow of the story, cover the
main characters and how they interact, it will also tie the story into the
flow of the game and the broad Game Design.
Next-gen :A term used to denote the next generation of hardware and
gaming software. Hype surrounding the proposed launch of a new console
can start building up as much as two years before it appears.
Non-linear :Any game in which the player has a degree of choice in which
order they play through the various elements or levels is regarded to be
non-linear.
Non-player character (NPC) :Any character in a game that is not controlled
by the player. All their actions and responses are controlled by the scripts
or AI from within the game engine.
Objective screen :The different interface images are referred to as screens, so
the quest screen or objective screen is one which displays the player's
current objectives or the quests (missions in some games) that the player
character has undertaken.These screens are usually hidden until activated
by a specific key or button press or chosen from an in-game menu.
Outsourcing : Similar to sub-contracting, outsourcing takes place when
aspects of the game's development are handled by individuals or com-
panies outside of the development studio. Translation and recording are
typically outsourced, but graphics, animation and dialogue are increasingly
outsourced, too.
Parallel streaming : When a game has story or gameplay paths that run
parallel to each other and the player is able to switch between them when
they like.