Difference between revisions of "Predetermined Story Structures"

Revision as of 16:05, 28 July 2014

Narration structures whose order presentation in a game exists before game instances begin.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

As books that provide players with gameplay while reading, Gamebooks^[1] like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Scorpion Swamp, Clash of the Princes, and the Lone Wolf series have Predetermined Story Structures.

Using the pattern

Predetermined Story Structures are explicit Narration Structures that designers create before gameplay begins. They consist of two main parts: the important game entities in the Game Worlds and the events that are planned to occur which affect them.

Common story elements related to the physical aspects of Game Worlds include Alien Space Bats, Big Dumb Objects, Controllers, Environmental Storytelling, MacGuffins, Switches, Traces, and Traps. Clues can also be used, as long as they work within the Thematic Consistency. Games then commonly create Predetermined Story Structures by putting these in relation to how players move in Game Worlds (similar to aspects of the narrative Monomyth^[2] pattern and the "Road Movie"^[3] genre). The elements can be compartmentalized by Inaccessible Areas and Levels, while Privileged Movement (given as a New Ability and Conditional Passageways can be used to progress a game's narration by opening up new areas. One-Way Travel can hinder players from spending time in areas which no more narration is supposed to take place within. Quests can motivate players to move between places in Game Worlds, as can gameplay specific goals such as Reconnaissance, Rescue, and Traverse.

Characters, especially Player Characters and Companions, are often important in planning the narration that is to take place during gameplay. This is since they both provide points of Emotional Engrossment to the players and are Agents which can act in the Game World and be the target of actions. Granting them Privileged Abilities is common as a way of distinguishing them from NPCs but these NPCs may of course also be important for planned events, for example by being Helpers or belonging to Factions. An issue that need to be considered when using NPCs in conjunction with Predetermined Story Structures is how to deal with their possible deaths, in some cases Invulnerabilities may be required to guarantee that they can performed their planned roles.

Scripted Information Sequences are actual actions and events that progress Narration Structures while being designed beforehand for specifically story purposes. Cutscenes do the same but does not provide players with opportunities for interaction; Quick Time Events do but unlike Scripted Information Sequences forces players to focus upon these.

New Abilities,

In contrast to Levels, Scenes allow gameplay not only to be spatially separated but also temporally separated. Persistent Game World Changes based upon story events is a way to clearly indicate development of the game narration.

Can Be Instantiated By

Ability Losses, Quests, Information Passing, Main Quests, Sidequests,

Can Be Modulated By

Dedicated Game Facilitators, Detective Structures, Ephemeral Goals, Factions, Feigned Die Rolls, Freedom of Choice, Game Masters, Helpers, Information Passing, Loading Hints, Melodramatic Structures, Permadeath, Persistent Game Worlds, Puzzle Solving, Red Herrings, Spawning, Summary Updates, Temporal Consistency,

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Predetermined Story Structures is a Narration Pattern.

Consequences

Can Instantiate

Character Defining Actions, Companions, Cutscenes, Narration Structures, Luck, Predictable Consequences, PvE, Storytelling, Tension

with Clues

Gain Information, Gain Ownership

Can Modulate

Alternate Reality Gameplay, Boss Monsters, Character Development, Freedom of Choice, Gain Competence, Player Characters

Potentially Conflicting With

Freedom of Choice, Persistent Game Worlds, Player Elimination, Procedurally Generated Game Worlds, Randomness, Replayability, Self-Facilitated Games, Unwinnable Games

Death Consequences when these can apply to Characters important to the narrative

Relations

Can Instantiate

Character Defining Actions, Companions, Cutscenes, Narration Structures, Luck, Predictable Consequences, PvE, Storytelling, Tension

with Clues

Gain Information, Gain Ownership

Can Modulate

Alternate Reality Gameplay, Boss Monsters, Character Development, Freedom of Choice, Gain Competence, Player Characters

Can Be Instantiated By

Ability Losses, Alien Space Bats, Big Dumb Objects, Characters, Companions, Conditional Passageways, Controllers, Cutscenes, Environmental Storytelling, Factions, Helpers, Inaccessible Areas, Information Passing, Levels, MacGuffins, Main Quests, New Abilities, NPCs, One-Way Travel, Persistent Game World Changes, Player Characters, Privileged Abilities, Privileged Movement, Quests, Quick Time Events, Reconnaissance, Rescue, Scenes, Scripted Information Sequences, Sidequests, Switches, Traces, Traps, Traverse

Clues together with Thematic Consistency

Invulnerabilities together with NPCs

Can Be Modulated By

Dedicated Game Facilitators, Detective Structures, Ephemeral Goals, Factions, Feigned Die Rolls, Freedom of Choice, Game Masters, Helpers, Information Passing, Loading Hints, Melodramatic Structures, Permadeath, Persistent Game Worlds, Puzzle Solving, Red Herrings, Spawning, Summary Updates, Temporal Consistency

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Freedom of Choice, Persistent Game Worlds, Player Elimination, Procedurally Generated Game Worlds, Randomness, Replayability, Self-Facilitated Games, Unwinnable Games

Death Consequences when these can apply to Characters important to the narrative

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

1. ↑ Wikipedia entry for Gamebooks.
2. ↑ Entry for "Monomyth" on Wikipedia.
3. ↑ Entry for "Road Movie" on Wikipedia.