Themes and Narratives

1. Themes and Narratives staffan.bjork@chalmers.se

2. Practical stuff • Supervision today • 13.00-15.00 • Remember oral presentations next week! • Tuesday 10.00-12.00 • Game Design Evening • Tuesday 17.00-21.00 • Seminar room at Center of Visualization • Next to my office

3. And something slightly off topic • For XNA users in the project course • Nils Stadling @ Microsoft wants you to participate 2 competitions • SGA (deadline February 25th) • Imaginecup.com (deadline March 1st) • Contact him to get tips: • +46708266024 • Nils.stadling@microsoft.com We are also planning a XNA Game Developer Evening

4. Structure of the lecture • What is narratives? • A closer look at plots • How can narratives and gameplay co-exist • Design Documents • Assignment 4

5. But first a game or two… Two volunteers? Not usual suspects!

6. First to 15 • Two players taking turn • Each turn a choice from the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • Goal to reach exactly 15 points • You win iff three of your numbers add up to 15 • Cannot take a number already taken • By either player

7. Tic-Tac-Toe

8. Now both! At the same time!

9. Magic Square Not magic circle…

10. Would this make a good game?

11. Difference between theme and narrative • Theme • Mood • Context • How to “read” affordances • Explain relations in system • Which “frame” to use • Narrative • Temporal development • Causal effects • Dramatic effects • Can you have theme without narrative? • Can you have narrative without theme?

12. What connection does narratives & gameplay have?

13. Structures of Narratives • First analysis • Tragedy • Poetics, Aristotle, 300 BC • Components • Plot • Character • Reasoning • Dictation • Lyric poetry • Spectacle

14. Frazer • The Golden Bough • Different version from 1890-1922 • Study of the origins of magic and religion • Similar stories all over the world • Sacrificial killing of god-kings to ensure bountiful harvests • Adonis • Osiris • Balder

15. Morphology of Russian folk stories Studied stories Identified similarities Identified common structure Grammar Linear structure 1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced); 2. An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place'); 3. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale); 4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain); 5. The villain gains information about the victim; 6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim); 7. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy; 8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc); Propp, 1928

16. Examples Hans and Gretel? Snow White? Other cases Odysseus? Moses? 9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment); 10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action; 11. Hero leaves home; 12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); 13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them); 14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters); 15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search; 16. Hero and villain join in direct combat; 17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf); 18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished); Propp, cont.

17. Grammar constructed by analysis Can be used to create stories Fairytale generator http://www.brown.edu/Courses/FR0133/Fairytale_Generator/gen.html But create games? 19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed); 20. Hero returns; 21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero); 22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognizably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life); 23. Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country; 24. False hero presents unfounded claims; 25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks); 26. Task is resolved; 27. Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her); 28. False hero or villain is exposed; 29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc); 30. Villain is punished; 31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). Propp, cont.

18. Campbell • The hero with a thousand faces, 1968 • Monomyth • All myths have the same basic structure • Classical examples • Osiris • Odysseus

19. Campbell, cont. • Grammar constructed by analysis • Can be used to create stories • For example, Star Wars Why can one find these structures in so many stories?

20. Components Plot Character Reasoning Grammar Sequence of actions Prerequisites for actions Options of actions Narratives - Recap

21. A closer focus on plots

22. Types of Plots • Possible worlds, Artificial Intelligence, and Narrative Theory, Ryan 2001 • Sequential narrativity • “The king died. The queen died.” • Causal narrativity • “The king died, then the queen died.” • Dramatic narrativity • “The king died, then the queen died of sorrow.”

23. Plots • Linear stories • One situation • One event leads to new situation • Does not have to be chronological order • Examples • Most books • Most movies

24. Plots - a classical plot example • Scene 1 • Introduction of problem • Scene 2 • False solution • Scene 3 • True solution

25. Plots • Nested stories • Stories being told in stories • Easy change characters and setting • Examples • “One Thousand and One Nights” • Scheherazade • Canterbury tales

26. Plots • Parallel stories • Several situation • Event leads to development in one situation • Does not have to be chronological order • Examples • Soap operas • …

27. Plots • Branching stories • One situation • Several options of event that lead to different situations • Narrative explosion • Dead ends • Examples • Lonewolf

28. Plots • Hypertexts • Events can lead back to previous situations • Break temporal structure • Examples • Talmud • Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner? • Memento?

29. Plots - Other variants • Possibilities • Not predetermined • Let players choose situations and events • Only plan certain situations and events • prerequisites need

30. Motivations for telling stories • Tell Me a Story – Narrative and Intelligence, Shank 1990 • AI perspective • Me goals • Attention • Explain actions • Get advice • You goals • Give people an experience • Make a point • Transfer information • Conversation goals • Raise topic • Change subject • Spend time • Give response

31. Narratives and gameplay

32. What is the relation between games and narratives? • Do all games have narratives? story gameplay

33. What is the relation between games and narratives?, cont. • Do all stories have gameplay in them? • Interaction? gameplay story

34. Sliding story-gameplay model Story-focused Gameplay-focused

35. Story-focused games • Player choices • Complete task to progress in story • Puzzle • Level • Choose options from grammar • Related design areas • Interactive Narratives • Façade by Michael Mateas & Andrew Stern • Interactive Movies • Stories? Movies?

36. Gameplay-focused games • Story use • Give theme • Provide information • Provide immersion • Allow players to be creative • Related designs • Improvisational Theatre? • Theatre Sports? • Tarot Cards? • Story-telling?

37. Scaling author model Players as authors Roleplaying games? Game designer as author Game engine as author? Put another way: who creates the story, the designer or the player?

38. What aspects of narrativity can be used without limiting gameplay? Theme | Premise Characters Challenge Play Cutscenes? Reductionistic Approach

39. Reductionistic Approach • Theme • Aristotle’s spectacle • Used to create metaphor that gives actions meaning • Backstory

40. Reductionistic Approach • Characters • Self-expression • Who one wants to be • Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, Sherry Turkle • External presentation • Internal composition • Possibility of Development • Emotional Anchor • But maybe not the characters under player’s control

41. Difficulty Frustration Flow Boredom Skill Reductionistic Approach • Challenge • Aristotle’s reasoning • Czikszentmihalyi’s flow • Activity requiring skill • Merging of action and awareness • Clear goals and feedback • Concentration on task • Paradox of control • Loss of self-consciousness • Transformation of time • Activity becomes its own purpose - autotelic

42. Reductionistic Approach • Play • Competitor • Explorer • Collector • Achiever • Joker • Artist • Director • Storyteller • Performer • Craftsman

43. Design Documents

44. Design Documents - Motivation • Communicate overall vision of game and gameplay • Ergo the game designer the primary author • Necessary for collaboration and coordination in larger groups • Can serves purposes in small (1 person) design teams also • Not substitute for other forms of communication • Support for more detailed descriptions • Support for when people are not present

45. Historical • Design documents were not used in early days of game design • Need not perceived • Compare to the history of craft and design in general • Complexity • Need for collaboration

46. Format of Design Documents • Text document • Word (or rtf) for ease of transport • Version control – central source • Possibly sub-documents for extra details • Website • For example Wikis • Allows easy update for many • Allows difficulty in controlling who updates what • May be difficult to print, transport, etc.

47. A model for Design Documents That is, a model for the assignment 3…

48. Design Document – Design History • Description • Version number – overall idea of document state • Description of changes since last update • Motivation • Allow people to see differencesquickly • Allow people to see how workhas progressed over time • Both what type and scope of work

49. Design Document – Vision Statement • Description • 1-2 pages that captures the essence of the game in a compelling and accurate way • Theme • Core gameplay (what you do 90% of the time) • Motivation • Executive summary • Main selling point • Keep design vision clear

50. Design Document – Marketing Information • Description • Describe the context for the game design in aspects of target audience, platform, system requirements, top performers, feature comparison and sales expectations • Motivation • Let distributors understand how well you have planned target audience and understood the market • Explicitly state intended game play and target audience to the design team • Can be seen as limiting the design space, identifying already existing games within that design space and their popularity