Difference between revisions of "Environmental Storytelling"

Revision as of 19:30, 17 April 2011

Storytelling that occurs through movement and exploration of an environment.

Many games tell stories as part of playing them. While this can be done through cutscenes and dialogues and thereby guarantee how the narration is done, an alternative is to use Environmental Storytelling. While focusing more on previous events than future events, this makes the unfolding take place as part of actual gameplay due to players noticing things about the game world, and lets players have a freedom to try and figure out what had happened or not.

For more on Environmental Storytelling, see articles on Gamasutra^[1], presentations at Game Developers' Conference^[2][3], and Game Design as Narrative Architecture by Jenkins^[4].

Examples

The Bioshock series, as well as Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas all provide places where things and effects on the environment give hints of what has happened earlier. In many cases there are related things and effects in other places of the game world, and players that find these can piece together possible narratives.

Using the pattern

While deciding on what story that should be told by Environmental Storytelling is not in the scope of gameplay design, the specific design elements are since they are also those that help create Game Worlds and Levels. The typical set of game elements available include Big Dumb Objects, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Environmental Effects, and Props. Game Items can also be used, especially those that can contain information, e.g. notes, books, and computers.

While Landmarks are Diegetically Outstanding Features, they can usually not provide enough information to carry Environmental Storytelling. They can however modulate them by pointing players to other parts of Game Worlds and make it easy to backtrack to earlier parts of them.a

When using Environmental Storytelling to provide Narration Structures in games, it may be worth considering to combine this with other ways, e.g. Cutscenes or through Dialogues.

Diegetic Aspects

Environmental Storytelling is both a diegetic and narrative pattern.

Narrative Aspects

As said above, Environmental Storytelling is both a diegetic and narrative pattern.

Consequences

Environmental Storytelling is a way for games to have Narration Structures integrated into Levels and Game Worlds. Players have the Freedom of Choice to engage in these Narration Structures or not, but may have to do Puzzle Solving in order to figure out, or at least guess, what actually transpired.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Freedom of Choice, Narration Structures, Puzzle Solving

Can Modulate

Game Worlds, Levels

Can Be Instantiated By

Big Dumb Objects, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Environmental Effects, Game Items, Props

Can Be Modulated By

Landmarks

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

1. ↑ Gamasutra article about environmental storytelling..
2. ↑ Robertson, M. Stop Wasting My Time and Your Money: Why Your Game Doesn’t Need a Story to be a Hit Presentation at GDC 2009.
3. ↑ Smith, H. & Worch, M. “What Happened Here?” – Environmental Storytelling. Presentation at GDC 2010.
4. ↑ Jenkins, H. article Game Design as Narrative Architecture.

Acknowledgements

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