Principles, Processes, and Genteel Truculence
Ken Rolston ◦ Designer: Paranoia, RuneQuest, AD&D, WFRP, Tales of the Arabian Nights ◦ Lead Designer: Morrowind, Oblivion, Big Huge RPG Mark Nelson ◦ Lead Designer: Shivering Isles ◦ Lead Narrative Designer: Big Huge RPG We Create Vast Narratives.
…and we’re both right.
Setting ◦ Exploration, Pilgrims, and Tourists Theme ◦ Faction, Loose Narrative Threads
Story ◦ Plot, Pacing, and Revelation Character ◦ Dialogue and Voice
Coherence Ownership Immersion IP
High Overhead Static Less Memorable
Bioshock Fallout Myth
Morrowind ◦ Detailed Faction Gameplay ◦ Early Focus on Consistency of Theme
Oblivion ◦ Too Massive ◦ Too Generic Cautionary Tale: ◦ Of Ashurnibibi and Nchuleftingth
Setting and Theme must be the Designer’s primary focus, as they are the building blocks of vast narratives; without them, players are left without any narrative touchstones.
Dynamic Elements Player Attachment Low Overhead IP Retention
Difficult to Maintain Consistent Voice Story Demands Exposition Games Rarely Do Story Well
Chronicles of Riddick Half Life 2 Eternal Darkness
Shivering Isles ◦ Focus on Individual Characters ◦ Simple, Fast-Paced Story
Oblivion ◦ Again, Too Massive ◦ Too Many Cooks Cautionary Tale: ◦ Of Jack Bauer and the Search for the Da Vinci Code
Story and Character must be the Designer’s primary focus, as they are the engines by which we drive players to continue to play our games.
FFocus on Story? FFocus on Setting? FFocus on Both? YYes ……and No.
Create Simple Themes ◦ Ex., “East vs. West” Make a Map ◦ Major Geographical Features, Unique Topography Establish Factions ◦ Built-In Motivations and Conflicts
Create Keystone Characters ◦ Listen to the Voices in Your Head Imagine Big Events ◦ Discover the Scenes You Really Want to Write
Early focus on Setting and Theme is imperative, as all good stories and characters are derived from their associated environments.
Write Character Bios ◦ Backstory, Common Archetypes, Reference Images, Sample Dialogue Draft Your Plot ◦ Act Structure, Key Moments, Narrative Reversals
Integrate Faction Conflict ◦ Find Places Where Theme Has Accidentally Appeared, and Expand on It Look for Unexploited Hooks ◦ Tug On Loose Narrative Threads
Later focus on Story and Character is necessary, as settings devoid of conflict and resolution are unable to sustain player interest.
The Black Box The Evil Overlord The Combo Platter
Individual Designers on Individual Storylines + Internal Consistency + Scalable − No Interaction − Insular
Shared Design With One Vision-Holder + Consistency of Voice + Variety of Style − Bottlenecking − Seagulling
Early Overlord/Late Black Box ◦ Tone Established Early ◦ Increased Individual Ownership ◦ Greater Accountability
Large teams are necessary to create vast narratives—managing these large teams requires strict oversight.
WRONG!