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Summary:

The video-game business dwarfs movies and television in revenues and is now beginning to catch up as a storytelling medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience demands not only to watch the story but to be part of it. Bryant and Giglio step you through such topics as: the no-act structure of video games; writing great game characters; making gameplay emotionally meaningful; and bringing you a game world that is alive, whether that world is in Bejeweled, Bastion, or BioShock.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword / Larry Hryb
• Chapter 00 : Loading. W00t! A.K.A. wow, loot! ; A criminally brief history of storytelling technology ; The golden age of games? ; Hollywood calling! ; Why "slay the dragon"? ; Meet your quest givers: Bob & Keith ; Screenwriter meets game producer, fight breaks out
• Dragon exercises 00 : Playing to learn
• Chapter 01 : What's in a game? What we talk about when we talk about games ; A game is a journey of action ; Game genre vs. story genre ; How do they make games? Who's the director? ; Where do game ideas come from? ; The narrative designer
• Dragon exercises 01 : Making a game
• Chapter 02 : Do games need stories? Story matters ; Immersion: context is everything ; Story [does not equal] plot ; A story tutorial ; A criminally brief history of game narrative
• Dragon exercises 02 : Exploring the game world
• Chapter 03 : Aristotle vs Mari. The challenge of game writing ; Aristotle vs. Mario: the clash of story and gameplay ; Making the dragon roar: roles in a game studio ; How are games written? Are they written? ; The rise of story-driven games ; How do we solve this problem?
• Dragon exercises 03 : Expressing your game idea
• Chapter 04 : The no-act-fits-all structure of video games. Finding the dragon ; What is structure? ; Traditional entertainment structure = 3 acts ; Add a midpoint = 4 acts ; Shakespeare and the Hulk = 5 acts ; The sequence approach = 8 acts! ; Serialized storytelling ; Beginning, middle & ending(s) ; Time is different in video games ; The "slay the dragon" structure ; A no-act structure?
• Dragon exercises 04 : Speaking of structure
• Chapter 05 : Writing a great playable character. The evolution of the video game character ; Writing from the arc backwards ; Who's more awesome, Superman or Batman? ; Conflict: the essence of drama ; Backstory: How is Finding Nemo like The last of us? ; Don't tell Bowster: the bad guys think it's their game ; And the dragon goes to: the best supporting NPC
• Dragon exercises 05 : Meeting your characters
• Chapter 06 : Who am I when I play? Gameplay as method acting. Playing your character ; "Character creation" is not creating characters ; Agency vs. emotional arc ; Characters in conflict must make choices ; To be (press A) or not to be (press B) ; Choices must lead to consequences
• Dragon exercises 06 : Speaking through your characters
• Chapter 07 : Game design basics for writers. It's only a game: an that's a pretty good thing ; Gameplay is the core building block of interactive narrative ; What is a game designer? ; Our theory of fun ; Mechanics = active verbs ; Mechanics and context
• Dragon exercises 07 : Playing with gameplay
• Chapter 08 : The hero of a thousand levels. Quests, levels, and missions: dissecting your game ; Level design is story design ; Story beats by level : an analysis of The last of us ; What must happen in your level? ; Fit your idea in the game engine ; Level design impacts traditional media
• Dragon exercises 08 : Leveling up

• Chapter 09 : Building your world with the narrative design toolbox. The game concept document ; The GameFly pitch ; Imagine your world : not someone else's ; Make your map ; Filling your tool box ; Cinematics, or cut the cut scenes! ; Software for game writing ; Acting and dialogue : barking up the wrong tree ; Use the world for words
• Dragon exercises 09 : Building your world
• Chapter 10 : We can't all be Batman : on MMO's and multiplayer. "Spel" time ; Whose story is it, anyway? ; Sandbox games ; Multiplayer games and modes ; Emergent gameplay and emergent narrative ; Aerith dies, Bob cries ; Multiplayer often comes first
• Dragon exercises 10 : Feeling your world
• Chapter 11 : Always be creating. The rise of the indies ; Who are the game players? ; Tools you can use ; Start on paper ; Easy mode ; Medium mode ; Hard mode : game engines
• Dragon exercises 11 : Using new tools
• Chapter 12 : What happens next? The future is story ; The world is full of gamers ; Get into the game! ; Our final challenge to you
• Dragon exercises 12 : Bringing it all together
• Glossary of select terms from video game production and culture.

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Author/Creator:

Bryant, Robert Denton, 1963- , author

Contributors:

Giglio, Keith, 1963- , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Slay the dragon: writing great video games [by Bryant, R.D.]

Subjects:

Video games — Authorship

Video games

Physical Description:

225 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Physical Characteristics:

illustration

Call Numbers:

GV1469.34.A97 B79 2015

ISBNs:

9781615932290
1615932291

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2015010503

OCLC Numbers:

907205866