1. Principles, Processes, and Genteel Truculence

2.  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.

3. …and we’re both right.

4.  Setting ◦ Exploration, Pilgrims, and Tourists  Theme ◦ Faction, Loose Narrative Threads

5.  Story ◦ Plot, Pacing, and Revelation  Character ◦ Dialogue and Voice

6.  Coherence  Ownership  Immersion  IP

7.  High Overhead  Static  Less Memorable

8.  Bioshock  Fallout  Myth

9.  Morrowind ◦ Detailed Faction Gameplay ◦ Early Focus on Consistency of Theme

10.  Oblivion ◦ Too Massive ◦ Too Generic  Cautionary Tale: ◦ Of Ashurnibibi and Nchuleftingth

11. 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.

12.  Dynamic Elements  Player Attachment  Low Overhead  IP Retention

13.  Difficult to Maintain Consistent Voice  Story Demands Exposition  Games Rarely Do Story Well

14.  Chronicles of Riddick  Half Life 2  Eternal Darkness

15.  Shivering Isles ◦ Focus on Individual Characters ◦ Simple, Fast-Paced Story

16.  Oblivion ◦ Again, Too Massive ◦ Too Many Cooks  Cautionary Tale: ◦ Of Jack Bauer and the Search for the Da Vinci Code

17. 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.

18. FFocus on Story? FFocus on Setting? FFocus on Both? YYes ……and No.

19.  Create Simple Themes ◦ Ex., “East vs. West”  Make a Map ◦ Major Geographical Features, Unique Topography  Establish Factions ◦ Built-In Motivations and Conflicts

20.  Create Keystone Characters ◦ Listen to the Voices in Your Head  Imagine Big Events ◦ Discover the Scenes You Really Want to Write

21. Early focus on Setting and Theme is imperative, as all good stories and characters are derived from their associated environments.

22.  Write Character Bios ◦ Backstory, Common Archetypes, Reference Images, Sample Dialogue  Draft Your Plot ◦ Act Structure, Key Moments, Narrative Reversals

23.  Integrate Faction Conflict ◦ Find Places Where Theme Has Accidentally Appeared, and Expand on It  Look for Unexploited Hooks ◦ Tug On Loose Narrative Threads

24. Later focus on Story and Character is necessary, as settings devoid of conflict and resolution are unable to sustain player interest.

25.  The Black Box  The Evil Overlord  The Combo Platter

26.  Individual Designers on Individual Storylines + Internal Consistency + Scalable − No Interaction − Insular

27.  Shared Design With One Vision-Holder + Consistency of Voice + Variety of Style − Bottlenecking − Seagulling

28.  Early Overlord/Late Black Box ◦ Tone Established Early ◦ Increased Individual Ownership ◦ Greater Accountability

29. Large teams are necessary to create vast narratives—managing these large teams requires strict oversight.

30. WRONG!