This document provides guidance on developing game narratives. It recommends defining the desired player experience first before creating the story. Key elements to consider include challenge, theme, premise, characters, and story structure. Challenge should be dynamic based on player skill. Theme sets the context while premise establishes the goal. Characters should have agency for the player and potential for empathy. Story can emerge from gameplay rather than a predetermined structure. The goal is an uncertain outcome resolved by player actions rather than a traditional authored conclusion.

1. Level 4
David Mullich
Game Design 1
The Los Angeles Film School

2. How To Start Your Game Narrative
Extra Credits: How To Start Your Game Narrative

3. Take-Away
Don’t start planning designing a new game by
creating the game’s story.
Start with defining the experience you want the player
to have, and then create a story that will provide that
experience.

4. DRAMATIC ELEMENTS
 Challenge
 Theme
 Premise
 Character
 Story

6. Challenge
Most people would agree that the one thing that
engages them in a game is challenge.
Challenge is very individualized and is determined by
the abilities of the specific player in relationship to the
game.
Challenge is also dynamic. A player might find one
task challenging, but after becoming accomplished in
the task, they’ll find it no longer challenging.

7. Flow
 Most games tend to
build up each level
to a boss battle of
some type to test if
they are ready for
more difficult
challenges.

9. Theme
Theme places the games actions within a
setting to provide immersion.
Location or Time Period Story or Film Character

10. Abstract Games
While many games are thematic, some are
abstract, meaning that they don’t have a theme.

11. Pro Tips
 Have every detail in your game support the theme.

13. Premise
Premise establishes the game’s goal within
metaphor. Without dramatic premise, many games
would be too abstract to become emotionally
invested in their outcome.
Game Premise
Space Invaders Defend the planet from invaders
Pitfall Harry Explore the jungle and find hidden treasures
Diablo Defend the town from Diablo and his undead army
Myst Unravel the puzzles of a deserted island

14. Tasks of the Premise
 Makes the experience richer for the player
 Unifies the game’s structure and theme
 Make a game’s mechanics more playable for the
user

16. Characters
Characters are the agents through whose actions a drama
is told.
 Protagonist: The main character, whose engagement
with the premise creates the conflict that drives the
story
 Antagonist: A person or some other force that works
against the Protagonist
 Major Characters: Have a significant impact on the
story’s outcome
 Minor Characters: Have a minor impact on the story’s
outcome

17. Methods of Characterization
Characters are defined by:
 What they do
 What they say
 What others say about them
Round Characters: A character with well-defined traits and a
realistic personality or undergoes a significant change of
personality during the story
Flat Characters: Show little or no change in personality, and they
are often used as foils to show off elements of another character

18. Agency vs. Empathy
What is unique to game characters:
 Agency: The practical function of a character to
serve as a representation of the player in a game
 Empathy: The potential for players to develop an
emotional attachment to the character, to identify
with their goals, and consequently, with the game’s
objectives.

19. Characters vs. Avatars
 Predesigned Characters: Backstories, motivations
 Player-Created Characters (Avatars): Role-
playing, growth, customization
Both have potential for empathy; the question is
which is best for the game’s design and player
experience goals.

20. Free Will vs. Player Control
 AI-Controlled Characters:
Characters exhibiting “free will”
by having their own personality
and inner thought process
 Player-Controlled Characters:
Player assumes agency for the
character’s actions
 Mixture: Player-controlled
characters with elements of
simulation that provide character
(such as Sonic the Hedgehog
tapping his toe)

21. Pro Tips
 Characters should have iconic qualities
that the players can identify with or aspire
to.
 Character traits should manifest
themselves in the character’s words,
actions, and appearance.
 Characters should change in ways that are
interesting and surprising, yet believable.

22. STORY

23. Backstory
In many games, story is limited to backstory, an
elaborate version of the premise.
The backstory gives a setting and context for the
game’s conflict, and it can create motivation for the
character, but its progression is not affected by
gameplay.

24. Standard Story Structure

25. Backstory

26. Introduction

27. Complication

28. Body

29. Climax

30. Denouement (Resolution)

31. Coda

32. Pacing in Star Wars

33. The Hero’s Journey
From the 1949 Joseph Campbell book, The Hero
With A Thousand Faces:
1. The Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing the Threshold
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
7. Approaching The Cave
(setbacks)
8. The Ordeal
9. The Reward
10. The Road Back
11. Resurrection (greater
crisis)
12. Returning with the Elixir

34. The Ordinary World

35. The Call To Adventure

36. Refusal of the Call

37. Meeting With The Mentor

38. Crossing The Threshold

39. Tests, Allies, Enemies

40. Approaching The Cave

41. The Ordeal

42. The Reward

43. The Road Back

44. Resurrection

45. Return With The Elixar

46. Outcome
The outcome of a game must be uncertain. The
same is true of a story.
However, the outcome of a story is resolved by the
author, while the outcome of a game is resolved by
the player.
Because of this, it is difficult to integrate traditional
storytelling methods into games.

47. Branching Storylines
The problem with branching storylines is that they
have limited scope.

48. Emergent Storylines
The story emerges from gameplay rather than from a
predetermined structure.
 The Sims: Players can take snapshots of
gameplay and arrange them in a captioned
scrapbook
 Black & White: Combines elements of simulation
with strategy and gameplay
 Half-Life: Story sequences are triggered by
character actions

49. Pro Tips
 The aesthetics, technology and gameplay
should support the story and vice-versa.
 Don’t have your story match the Hero’s
Journey so closely that it feels backward.
 Avoid lengthy “dialog dumps” to tell your
backstory and other story elements.

51. Designer Perspective: Shigeru
Miyamoto
G4 Icons Episode #6: Shigeru Miyamoto

52. Extra Credits: Design Analysis
Design Club - Super Mario Bros: Level 1-1

53. 1. Download GD1 4 Resources from the
LAFS GD1 website Session 4 page
2. Create a Platform game