Creating the Story Behind the Game

I need to design the basis of a game on which to focus the art style guide. After delving into my initial idea further, it became apparent that evoking emotion in a player takes more than just a pretty environment; it also requires well thought-out characters and story. Once I have got the colour, composition, camera angles, etc to a good standard, then I will most likely use the characters in the game to add that extra level of emotion. I think that a style guide can still be good without that extra depth, but I want to include it if I can, to give it that little bit more.

I will need to create characters that the player can empathise with, and care about. But characters alone are not enough. They must be part of stories. In Character Development and Storytelling for Games, Lee Sheldon says that stories without due attention paid to characters were unlikely to touch the reader. This is very important to my artefact, as the whole point is to create something that can provoke emotions from the player.

When I have decided on the story behind the artefact, I will pick two smaller sections of it to focus on. Ideally the two sections will be contrasting to each other, evoking different emotions. This will serve to show that I am not just a one trick pony. I am currently leaning towards using the same location for the two sections, to further emphasise the contrast between those parts of the story.

Sheldon also states that the player will accept just about anything if the experience is entertaining. It is not the first time I have heard this said, and it has proven to be pretty sound advice.

Game Types:

I am almost certain that I want to go down the RPG route (Role-Playing Game), because this game type tends to be more influenced by story than other game types.

Game Genres: 

The genre is a more open decision. The well known genres are Fantasy (Elves, dwarves, magic etc), Science Fiction, War, Espionage, Crime, Mystery, Horror, Historical/Period Drama, and Western. RPG games are very often set in fantasy or science fiction worlds, but I want to attempt to create something that is at least slightly more original. I will have to put a bit more time into picking a genre, so I will make a separate blog post for that at a later date.

Linear and Non Linear Storytelling:

After weighing up the benefits between linear and non linear storytelling, I've decided that the "python" approach that Sheldon describes is probably the most favourable in this instance. In this method, the player has freedom of movement, but is still forced through an overall linear storyline.

The narrow sections are called chokepoints, and can be locked doors, collapsing bridges, guards, a boat that has run out of fuel, and so on.

Characters:

As far as the playable characters go, it will be best to stick to the actions of a single playable character, as this suits story-based games best. I will start designing characters for the game in a separate post, once I have settled on the genre.

Avoiding Clichés:

Stories are built on characters. Sheldon warns that if you build a story on stereotypes, then you will more than likely end up with clichés. Stereotypes tend to speak in clichés, make clichéd decisions, and act in clichéd ways. The best way to avoid clichés is to learn as much as we can about literature, drama and film, so that we can better recognise clichés.