- World: When looking at the visual style of the game world we can look at the terrain(deserts, forests, mountains, etc.) , architecture(landmarks,buildings etc.) and objects(vehicles, weapons, etc.) used in the game world that can enhance the appearance of the game world for the player. A good example of a huge vibrant explorable highly detailed world would be Gta 5.
- Player characters: They are the people you play as for example in Gta 5 you have Three playable characters. Most player characters can be customized such what they are wearing, weapons that they carry or they appearance (Hair, facial hair, height, ethnic race etc.). Some characters have a skill tree that have unique set of skills specifically for the character you choose or you play as.
- Player actions: It is where the player act out their characters actions for example using the characters gun or slashing the enemy with a sword etc. Most noticeable in shooters or RPG's.
- Non-player characters: The characters you have no control over but you can interact with them or kill them if you wanted some will be the main characters friends.
- Feedback Interface: Where the player knows how well there doing in the form of onscreen narrative messages or by displaying information on the scoring of the game.many games will show the current score, player health or number of lives onscreen during gameplay.
- Perspectives: Where the player get different views on the game for example 2D games would have a over head or aerial view, Pokemon uses this view. Another view would be 3D which is where the gameplay can be seen from an overhead view that allows the player to look down on the main character or vehicle and see how they are moving through the game world, Gta 5 uses this view. 3D games have two different views, which are First-person where you see through the eyes of the character which is mostly used in shooters or third-person where you see the character which is mostly used in open worlds or adventure games.
Gameplay Models & Gameplay Features-
- Interaction Model: Is where the player controls the in game character. The interaction with the Omnipresence is where you have god-like view where you see above the character for example World Of Warcraft. The interaction with the single player is where you play in first or third person to play the story. The interaction with multi-player is where you play in the perspectives mentioned above but in a online competitive match.
- Narrative: Narrative is where the game will have a cut scene where someone talks over what is happening in the cut-scene to make it clearer for the player to understand what the characters are talking about an where the story is at.
- Game Setting: Is where the game has been set to fit the type of game for example Assassin Creed is about historical events so it will be set in the past in famous historical locations where the historical events happened.
- Goals: Is where the player has a senses of what to do, where to go and why they have to for example in games you will get told what you must do in a cut-scene, an onscreen notification or most of the time it will be in the in-game menu.
- Rewards: Its where you get a valuable/rare item when you complete a task/quest which could help you with the next task/quest such as a weapon or money so that you can buy something you need.
- Rules: Rules are in games to give the player a sense of the main character for example Batman In the Arkham games would not kill as he is represented as hero not a killer.
- Difficulty: Most games often allow players to influence their balance by offering a choice of difficulty levels. These affect how challenging the game is to play. In addition to altering the game's rules, difficulty levels can be used to alter what content is presented to the player. This usually takes the form of adding or removing challenging location or events, but some games also change their narrative to reward players who play them on higher difficulty levels (Max Payne 2) or end early as punishment for playing on easy (Castlevania). Some games don't use difficulty levels mainly because the game gets more difficult when leveling or progressing in the story as enemy's will be harder to defeat as they will be higher levels. An example of this would be World of Warcraft.
- Game Mechanics: Game mechanics are an important segment of gameplay because they directly affect the control complexity and in turn the learning curve. For a simple game with limited mechanics ( an arcade racer with only steer, throttle and brake) a designer need not layer in the mechanics. But, for a more complex game (Splinter Cell, Halo, call of duty, Ratchet & Clank, Assassins Creed), mechanics progression is essential so as not to overwhelm the player with the complexity of the controls.
- Addition: Is where a game will get extra content to create new story's for the character or adds to the gameplay such as new locations, weapons, vehicles. You can get these from the console marketplace section for example Xbox live's game marketplace.
Game Genre-
- Action: Action games are one of the most successful genres of video games. These games usually emphasize on player hand-eye coordination. Shooter games, while they retain their own genre category, almost always are action games as well. Action games almost always involve some kind of combat, even if it’s indirect.
- FPS: First-person shooter is a video game genre centered on guns and projectile weapon-based combat through a first-person perspective; that is, the player experience the action through the eyes of the protagonist. The first-person shooter shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn fall under the heading action game.
- TPS: First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre centered on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through a first-person perspective; that is, the player experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist. The first-person shooter shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn fall under the heading action game.
- Racing: A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings.
- RTS: A Real Time Strategy game is usually from a third-person perspective, and in these games you control vast numbers of soldiers (called units) in a tactical game scenario.
- TBS: A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a strategy game (usually some type of war game, especially a strategic-level war game) where players take turns when playing. This is distinguished from real time strategy where all players play simultaneously.
- Adventure: An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Nearly all adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult.
- Roleplay: A role-playing game (RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making or character development.
- Simulation: A simulation game attempts to copy various activities in real life in the form of a game for various purposes: training, analysis, or prediction. Usually there are no strictly defined goals in the game, with players instead allowed to freely control a character. Well-known examples are war games, business games, and role play simulation.
- Puzzle: Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.
Interactive Storytelling Techniques-
- Cinematics: Cinematics are like cut-scenes but mostly shows the story where you see the main does something that you cant do in the game such as you see the character holding two guns and will kill two guys that are separated from one another. The reason you cant do it in-game is because the game controls would be too complicated although some games may implemented somewhere in a game but not in most games as it would be to harder to learn.
- Cut-scenes: A cut-scene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control over, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, to strengthen the main character's development, introduce new characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and new clues. Cut-scenes often feature on the go rendering, using the gameplay graphics to create scripted events.
Examples:
- Triggered Events: Scripted events are any events programmed into a scenario, map, or level by the creator to make any number of things happen. They can be as simple as a player reaching a certain point, generally they are used to move a story forward, often because the story would make no sense if the player completed the action in a different manner. They are also often used to frighten the player with a surprise action which will be in horror games or games that involve the player to survive.
- Full Motion Video: A full motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMV's as a way to present information during cut-scenes, games that are primarily presented through FMV's are referred to as full-motion video games or interactive movies.
Forms of Storytelling-
- Cave Painting: A prehistoric picture on the interior of a cave, often depicting animals. This would be found in Tomb raider.
- Oral traditions: The spoken relation and preservation, from one generation to the next, of a people's cultural history and ancestry, often by a storyteller in narrative form.
- Theatre: A building or outdoor area in which plays and other dramatic performances are given.
- Text: A book or other written or printed work, regarded in term of its content rather than its physical form.
- Film: A story or event recorded by a camera as set of moving images and shown in a cinema. This feature can be found in gta 5 as one of the characters activity's they can do.
- Television: A system for converting visual images (with sound) into electrical signals, transmitting them by radio other means, and displaying them electronically on a screen. Gta 5 uses this and can be found in the characters house will show clips that suit the game .
Approaches to Storytelling-
- Three-act Structure:
The second act, typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find him- or herself in a worser situation than before. Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of the enemy's that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of, in order to deal with their predicament, which in turn changes who they are. This cannot be achieved alone and they are usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-protagonists.
The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.
- Hero's Journey: The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative structure that every game and film use. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.
The Hero's Journey Steps: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm
- Episodic: This is when the story is set into sections, these sections are called episodes
- Setting: The setting would be when and where the story is placed for example Red Dead Redemption is set in the western times.
- Conditions: This is what would happen in the story that makes it more interesting to watch.
Representation and Emotional Themes in Story Design-
- Characterization: This would be the character's personalization where they have short hair or have different skin tone. Every character has there own characterization, if they all looked like the same person in the story it would make the game less fun.
- Stereotypes: where a character can be represented as a group for example if a character speaks french he is from France or a soldier that has a soldier background.
- Symbolism: is when they try to represent information that really happened or ongoing.
- Emotional Themes: is when a game will try and make the player feel the same as the character, if they are sad happy, angry or scared the emotions can have a powerful effect on the player as they see how the character has become in the way they feel.
Writing Strategies-
- Pre-writing: Is where you plan for your
story. People can do this by making brainstorms, researching, storyboards, and
sketches. They would do this to make sure their story is mostly entertaining as
they want it to be. The brainstorming would help them for ideas that they have in their
head and then over look at all the ideas they have made. Researching would help
if they want to base their ideas on a real life event or be inspired
by something. Story boards would help produce the timeline and what will come next in the story. Sketches are good for making a plan of the location
or character they want to make.
- Drafting: People who are drafting for stories will work on the game title that is suitable for the ideas they have made. They would also come up with more then one idea when drafting it when they feel they have enough information that they can look back and decide what suits them.
- Revision: Revision is when the story has been altered, this can happen if anything new has been added, rearrange, removed, replaced, evaluated. This would happen to make the story make more sense for whoever is going to play it.
No comments:
Post a Comment