More Details

Table of Contents:

• What is narrative design? : Jennifer Brandes Hepler: in-house lead writer ; Ann Lemay: in-house writer, narrative designer ; Toiya Kristen Finley: mobile, social, and indie narrative designer, game writer, and game designer ; Tobias Heussner: game content/narrative designer, producer ; What role does a narrative designer play on a game development team? ; A game narrative designer is the champion of an interactive story ; Combines the roles of a writer with that of a game designer ; And organizes and integrates the story ; How can you help your team?: On being a nexus of information ; A note on clarity and being succinct ; Narrative design in social, mobile, and indie games ; Stepping into the role of the narrative designer
• The concept : Play, don't tell ; The high concept, aka the one-liner ; Presenting your pitch ; Writing the pitch
• Worldbuilding : Macro- vs. micro-level worldbuilding: where to begin? ; Worldbuilding, research, and inspiration ; Building realistic and fantastical worlds for RPGs ; The worldbuilding "iceberg" ; How players can experience your world ; Working on a licensed IP ; Chris Avellone's (Obsidian Entertainment) interview
• Characters : Types of player-characters ; Writing interesting NPCs ; Bringing player-characters and NPCs to life ; Supporting the player's ego ; Writing your game characters ; Characterization and character development ; Creating diverse characters ; Tropes: when to use them, stereotypes: how to avoid them ; Interview with Rhianna Pratchett, freelance writer
• Story : Player agency ; So, what exactly is a game story? ; Linear narratives ; Branching narratives ; Open narratives ; Plot design: epic or relatable? ; Game story documentation ; Tom Jubert's (games writer and narrative designer) interview
• Implementation and production : Implementation ; Creation of a narrative space: on player attention span ; A narrative tool: graphical perspective ; Narrative types ; Environmental narrative ; Execution: from production to narrative ; Narrative design and team dependencies
• Dialogue : Types of dialogue ; Writing ambient dialogue ; Dialogue in action games ; Writing interactive dialogue ; Dialogues in MMOs ; Dialogue in social and mobile games ; General dialogue quality tips ; Dialogue and other departments ; Dialogue sample
• Cutscenes and cinematics : Is a cutscene necessary? ; Cutscenes vs. cinematics ; What makes a cutscene fun? ; Cutscenes in RPGs, and in higher-budget games in general ; Cutscenes in lower-budget games, social, and mobile games ; Cutscenes in MMOs ; Interview with Brian Kindregan (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Troubleshooting : Feedback ; Making revisions ; Working with QA ; Focus tests ; For freelancers ; Working on your own projects ; Conclusion ; Working with the imperfect ; Interview with Cori May (BioWare)
• Conclusion
• Glossary.

Author/Creator:

Heussner, Tobias , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

The game narrative toolbox [by Heussner, T.]

Related Series:

Focal Press game design workshops

Subjects:

Video games — Design

Video games — Programming

Video games — Authorship

Computer games — Design

Computer games

Computer games — Programming

Video games

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 235) and index.
Description based on print version record.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

QA76.76.C672 H48 2015eb

ISBNs:

9781317661634 (electronic bk.)
131766163X (electronic bk.)
9781138787087 [Invalid]
1138787086 [Invalid]

OCLC Numbers:

910847793

Other Control Numbers:

EBC4689260 (source: MiAaPQ)
[Unknown Type]: ybp12466999