Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
the fabric of space, when a renegade Romulan goes back in time and changes
the course of history—the Prime timeline is changed and the audience is
plunged into a fresh, new timeline. Any minor discrepancies between the
original series and this new series can thus be canonically swept away, allowing
for a fresh start on the franchise, what Johnson calls “a release from creative
deference.” 39
Paratextually, this fresh start means that Expeditions is more subdued in its
use of mutability. here are still multiple avenues for the game's plot to traverse,
but there are far fewer randomized elements in Expeditions than there are in Fleet
Captains . he mutability of Expeditions comes through most obviously in its
storytelling devices. Whereas Fleet Captains uses speciic elements—locations,
encounters, crew—to create unstructure within the game, Expeditions uses a
branching narrative outline, which reveals diferent pathways and outcomes
depending on the player's actions and game mechanics: players are given options
but do not get to choose the content of those options. 40 he three narratives
at the heart of Expeditions each have four diferent outcomes, depending on
how successful the game group is at solving the previous issue. One narrative
involves the crew of the Enterprise helping to repair faulty power generators;
another follows the crew as they investigate the planet's parliament and attempt
to negotiate their joining the Federation; a third joins the crew as they attempt
to stop an armed uprising by rebel forces. hese forking-path narratives create
diferent stories each time the game is played, as one narrative path contradicts
the others. hese narratives “juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing
the possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or
group of events.” 41 For example, following the “rebels” narrative can lead down a
number of paths, outlined here (Figure 5.3).
he irst card gives two options: if solved on or before day 7, the better of the
two options, players move to card 2A; if solved ater day 7, the worse of the two
options, players move to card 2B. Similarly, cards 2A and 2B give a two-tiered
solution, leading to card 3A (best case), 3B (good outcome), 3C (moderate
outcome), and 3D (worst outcome). Finally, each of the inal cards (3A-D) ofers
four options for conclusions, each of which depends on mutable elements—the
timing of the solution (on or before a particular day) or the number of crew
involved in the solution.
An additional mutable element of the game, the “Captain's Log Supplemental”
cards, serves a similar purpose as do the location tiles in Fleet Captain . Each
Supplemental card is placed on a location, but there are fewer locations than
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