Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
You may also want to include a stor y to set your game apart from games using simi-
lar gameplay mechanics. The gameplay of
Half-Life
is virtually identical to that of
any other first-person shooter, but the story sets it apart.
Before we look at the design processes required to put a story into your game, you
need to understand a number of key concepts, because they come up again and
again throughout the discussion.
Story
In the loosest definition, a story is an account of a series of events, either historical
or fictitious. On that basis, a few people would say that every game contains a story
because the action of the game can be described afterward. Although theoretically
correct, this position isn't very useful to a game designer. The description of a
Tet r is
game would be a supremely uninteresting story because of the game's endless repe-
tition and its lack of emotional content, apart from the player's own feelings. It is
so bad a story as to be not worth telling. If you're going to incorporate stories into
games, they should be
good
stories.
REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD STORIES
For the purpose of putting good stories into games, we need to expand the original
definition beyond “an account of a series of events.” A minimally acceptable story,
then, must be
credible
,
coherent
, and
dramatically meaningful
.
You can be the last member of the human race lef t alive, or you can invent a t ime
machine, but not both.
—
K
EN
P
ERLIN
, P
ROFESSOR AT
N
EW
Y
ORK
U
NIVERSITY
Credible
simply means that people can believe the story, although in the case of
fiction, they may have to suspend some disbelief to make belief possible. Many fan-
tasy and science fiction stories incredible in real-world terms, become perfectly
believable once the reader accepts their premises. Even fantasy and science fiction
stories mustn't push it too far, as the quotation from Ken Perlin illustrates. They
must also offer characters that the audience can sympathize with, identify with,
or recognize as convincing. If a character isn't believable, the story is flawed.
Humorous stories don't have to be as credible as serious ones. Different audiences
also tolerate varying levels of credibility, so you should test your story on several
people to see if they find it believable.
Coherent
means that the events in a story must not be irrelevant or arbitrary but must
harmonize to create a pleasing whole. Even if some events are not related by cause
and effect or some events just add color, all events still have to belong in the story.
