Difference between revisions of "Narration Structures"

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[[Category:Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Narration Patterns]]
 
[[Category:Narration Patterns]]
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[[Category:Needs revision]]
 
[[Category:Needs revision]]
[[Category:Needs examples]]
 
 
[[Category:Needs references]]
 
[[Category:Needs references]]
[[Category:Stub]]
 
 
[[Category:To be Published]]
 
[[Category:To be Published]]
[[Category:Staffan's current workpage]]
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''The underlying structures of stories that games contain or can create.''
''The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.''
+
  
This pattern is a still a stub. Until then, [[Predetermined Story Structures]] provides many aspects relevant to [[Narration Structures]] in general.
+
Games can both contain stories and create new ones as they are being played. In both cases the gameplay structure of the games can influence these [[Narration Structures]].  
  
 +
=== Examples ===
 +
Records of game instances of [[Chess]] can be seen as [[Narration Structures]] but this may be even more apparent when the chess pieces are presented as characters. "Through the Looking-Glass"<ref name="alice"/> by Lewis Carroll is an example of this although some artistic freedom is taken in the alternation of players moving. Another example is that Samuel Beckett includes an annotated [[Chess]] record in the novel "Murphy"<ref name="murphy"/>, and "Reunion"<ref name="reunion"/> (a project by among others John Cage and Marcel Duchamp) used the structures emerging from [[Chess]] game instances to create music.
  
NOTE: Many of the patterns linking to this should be re-linked to [[Predetermined Story Structures]].
+
[[:Category:Tabletop Roleplaying Games|Tabletop Roleplaying Games]] have [[Narration Structures]] through "adventures" or "campaigns" that consist of a series of "adventures". They are rather unique as [[Narration Structures]] in that they have detailed descriptions of interesting locations, important characters, and possible events but typically not the player characters since these are to be created by players for each game instance. Examples of adventures include "The Keep on the Borderlands", "Rahasia", and "Ravenloft" for [[Dungeons & Dragons]] and "The Rise of R'lyeh" for [[Call of Cthulhu]], and examples of campaign include "Queen of the Spiders"<ref name="queen"/> for [[Dungeons & Dragons]], "Masks of Nyarlathotep" for [[Call of Cthulhu]] and "The Enemy Within campaign"<ref name="enemy"/> for [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]. [[:Category:Live Action Roleplaying Games|Live Action Roleplaying Games]] such as [[1942 – Noen å stole på]], [[Prosopopeia]], and [[Mind's Eye Theatre]] can have planned events but rely heavily on players providing additional input and substance to the narration.
  
=== Examples ===
+
Both [[:Category:Adventure Games|Adventure Games]] such as the [[Myst series|Myst]], [[King's Quest series|King's Quest]], [[Leisure Suit Larry series|Leisure Suit Larry]], and [[The Secret of Monkey Island series]], and [[:Category:Computer-based Roleplaying Games|Computer-based Roleplaying Games]] such as the [[Dragon Age series|Dragon Age]], [[Elder Scrolls series|Elder Scrolls]], [[Fallout series|Fallout]], and [[Final Fantasy series]] have detailed pre-planned narratives. In contrast [[:Category:Massively Multiplayer Online Games|Massively Multiplayer Online Games]] such as [[MUD2]] and [[World of Warcraft]] have many [[Narration Structures]] to tell players through quests but players can to certain extent create their own narratives in these games as well.
  
 +
== Using the pattern ==
 +
[[Narration Structures]] in games can both be created or told as gameplay evolves. [[Construction]], [[Emergent Gameplay]], [[Player-Constructed Worlds]], and [[Player-Generated Narratives]], [[Speedruns]], and [[Storytelling]] are all patterns to support the former while the use of [[Predetermined Story Structures]] is the primary way in which narratives are revealed through the gameplay. [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can be used to not only reveal or present [[Predetermined Story Structures]] as appropriate, they can be used to choose between different ones depending on context. In addition, they can create new [[Narration Structures]] as needed if they have the right abilities; [[Game Masters]] naturally do but computer-based ones need algorithms to create new structures.  [[Ultra-Powerful Events]] can enforce [[Narration Structures]] independent of how they are told, while the structures inherent in goals like [[Collections]], [[Deliver]], [[Evade]], [[Gain Ownership]], [[Overcome]], [[Rescue]], and [[Traverse]] can help provide [[Narration Structures]].
  
Records of game instances of [[Chess]] can be seen as [[Narration Structures]] but this may be even more apparent when the chess pieces are presented as characters. "Through the Looking-Glass"<ref name="alice"/> by Lewis Carroll is an example of this although some artistic freedom is taken in the alternation of players moving. Another example is that Samuel Beckett includes an annotated [[Chess]] record in the novel "Murphy"<ref name="murphy"/>, and "Reunion"<ref name="reunion"/> (a project by among others John Cage and Marcel Duchamp) used the structures emerging from [[Chess]] game instances to create music.
+
[[Narration Structures]] and [[Mandatory Goals]] can modulate and support each other. [[Mandatory Goals]] can support [[Narration Structures]] by being linked to specific parts of [[Narration Structures]] and thereby ensure that players will experience these narrations and that the completion of these goals are connected if not integrated with the narration. In contrast, [[Narration Structures]] can support [[Mandatory Goals]] by provide both diegetic reasons why players would want to complete the [[Mandatory Goals]] as well as provide information related to how these goals can be achieved (the [[Narration Structures]] can of course also include [[Red Herrings]]).
 +
As a special type of [[Mandatory Goals]], [[Main Goals]] can have the same relations to [[Narration Structures]] as [[Mandatory Goals]] but these relations are more likely to be seen as necessary requirements in a game design since they are a primary way to connect a game's narration with what should be a primary motivation for players' actions in the game.
  
==== Anti-Examples ====
+
[[Narration Structures]] can similarly provide support to the designs of goals such as [[Deliver]], [[Evade]], [[Gain Ownership]], [[Overcome]], and [[Rescue]].
optional
+
  
== Using the pattern ==
+
Having game elements that can carry the [[Narration Structures]] is a requirement for the pattern. Most essential is the presence of [[Characters]] that can have goals and [[Agents]] that can perform actions in accordance to these; [[Player Characters]] and [[Algorithmic Agents]] can create structures during gameplay, so together with [[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] the process can become a joint one but a signification design choice for using [[Narration Structures]] is to decide if players should have such [[Creative Control]]. When players are given such control, it is quite common to also have [[Player-Created Characters]].
 +
 
 +
The possibility of [[Player-Planned Development]] can heavily affect [[Narration Structures]] if permitted, but when the [[Narration Structures]] are set before gameplay it can work against having [[Player-Planned Development]] as a possibility. Linked to this is the question if [[Characters]] should have [[Open Destiny|Open Destinies]] since this may be most relevant to consider for [[Player Characters]]. [[MacGuffins]] can be the source of these goals while [[Alien Space Bats]] can explain settings different from the real world. [[Enemies]] are also very common since they can provide resistance to players and can easily be created through introducing [[Incompatible Goals]] between [[Agents]], while [[Game Items]], [[Diegetically Outstanding Features]], and [[Non-Player Characters]] can bring life to narratives by adding detail. [[Scenes]] can be used to separate different parts of gameplay and [[Narration Structures]] from each other in a game while [[Leaps of Faith]] situations can create uncertainty on how the narration will progress. [[Narration Structures]] that are to introduce new elements as gameplay and narration progresses need some type of [[Game Element Insertion]].
 +
 
 +
Some events may be desirable for [[Narration Structures]] regardless if they are pre-planned or ones that game designers wish will occur from circumstances regarding gameplay because they will make the narratives memorable. Examples of such events include [[Betrayal]], [[Character Defining Actions]], [[Character Development]], [[Internal Rivalry]], and [[Social Dilemmas]] and designers may consider both designing these and making it more likely that situations in which they can occur will happen. More generally, the use of [[Predefined Goals]] can tie player goals into the [[Narration Structures]] both by being triggered by specific events in the narration as well as having as a goal a game state than is suitable for a next intended narrative event.
 +
 
 +
Games that support [[Pottering]] at least partly work against [[Narration Structures]] since the [[Pottering]] activity specifically does not result in noteworthy events.
  
 
=== Diegetic Aspects ===
 
=== Diegetic Aspects ===
 +
[[Thematic Consistency]] is often a requirement for [[Narration Structures]] to be intelligible or enjoyable for people.
  
 
=== Interface Aspects ===
 
=== Interface Aspects ===
 +
[[Narration Structures]] is not an [[:Category:Interface Patterns|Interface Pattern]] but a game's choice of [[Focus Loci]] can affect which types of [[Narration Structures]] can work, e.g. [[Detective Structures]] do not work with [[God Views]].
 +
 +
The use of [[Feigned Die Rolls]] allow [[Game Masters]] to ignore [[Randomness]] in favor of developing a narration in accordance with their own wishes.
  
 
=== Narrative Aspects ===
 
=== Narrative Aspects ===
[[Narration Structures]] is a [[:Category:Narration Patterns|Narration Pattern]].
+
[[Narration Structures]] is a [[:Category:Narration Patterns|Narration Pattern]]. Using [[Non-Consistent Narration]] is an option for [[Narration Structures]]  which mainly concerns its structural aspects, and [[Detective Structures]] and [[Melodramatic Structures]] are two different forms of [[Narration Structures]] based on how players get information. In most cases, [[Narration Structures]] are designed to have [[Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses]]. The actual structure of a narration is likely to influence or create [[Goal Hierarchies]] in a game, meaning that the two patterns can instantiate each other depending on which part of a game design is initiated first (and [[Factions]] together with [[Goal Hierarchies]] are especially likely to create or affect [[Narration Structures]]).
  
 
== Consequences ==
 
== Consequences ==
 +
[[Narration Structures]] of any type in a game offers a chance for players' to have [[Narrative Engrossment]] and often contain both [[Hovering Closures]] and [[Closure Points]], the latter which in turn can be [[Goal Indicators]]. The context provided by [[Narration Structures]] can provide [[Game State Overviews]] and cause [[Tension]] but so can also just wanting to know what will happen next or how the narrative will end. However, [[Narration Structures]] can also work against [[Tension]] if the [[Narration Structures]] contains no [[Tension]] or if players that want to interact with a game system is hindered from this due to the narration.
 +
 +
[[Narration Structures]] can work as a supporting structure for [[Complex Gameplay]], helping players understand the evolving gameplay not only from a game system perspective but a narrative one as well. One such example is using the narration to explain why individual players have may [[Secret Goals]] (note that this pattern relates to gameplay goals not narrative goals).
  
 
== Relations ==
 
== Relations ==
 
 
=== Can Instantiate ===
 
=== Can Instantiate ===
-
+
[[Closure Points]],
 
+
[[Goal Indicators]],
==== with ... ====
+
[[Game State Overviews]],
 +
[[Hovering Closures]],
 +
[[Narrative Engrossment]],
 +
[[Secret Goals]],
 +
[[Tension]]
  
 
=== Can Modulate ===
 
=== Can Modulate ===
-
+
[[Complex Gameplay]],
 +
[[Deliver]],
 +
[[Evade]],
 +
[[Gain Ownership]],
 +
[[Main Goals]],
 +
[[Mandatory Goals]],
 +
[[Overcome]],
 +
[[Rescue]]
  
 
=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
 
=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
-
+
[[Agents]],
 +
[[Algorithmic Agents]],
 +
[[Alien Space Bats]],
 +
[[Character Defining Actions]],
 +
[[Characters]],
 +
[[Collections]],
 +
[[Construction]],
 +
[[Deliver]],
 +
[[Emergent Gameplay]],
 +
[[Enemies]],
 +
[[Evade]],
 +
[[Game Items]],
 +
[[Goal Hierarchies]],
 +
[[Gain Ownership]],
 +
[[MacGuffins]],
 +
[[Non-Player Characters]],
 +
[[Overcome]],
 +
[[Player Characters]],
 +
[[Player-Constructed Worlds]],
 +
[[Player-Generated Narratives]],
 +
[[Predetermined Story Structures]],
 +
[[Rescue]],
 +
[[Scenes]],
 +
[[Speedruns]],
 +
[[Storytelling]],
 +
[[Traverse]],
 +
[[Ultra-Powerful Events]]
 +
 
 +
[[Factions]] together with [[Goal Hierarchies]]
  
 
=== Can Be Modulated By ===
 
=== Can Be Modulated By ===
-
+
[[Betrayal]],
 +
[[Character Development]],
 +
[[Creative Control]],
 +
[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]],
 +
[[Detective Structures]],
 +
[[Diegetically Outstanding Features]],
 +
[[Feigned Die Rolls]],
 +
[[Focus Loci]],
 +
[[Game Element Insertion]],
 +
[[Game Masters]],
 +
[[Goal Hierarchies]],
 +
[[Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses]],
 +
[[Inaccessible Areas]],
 +
[[Incompatible Goals]],
 +
[[Internal Rivalry]],
 +
[[Leaps of Faith]],
 +
[[Main Goals]],
 +
[[Mandatory Goals]],
 +
[[Melodramatic Structures]],
 +
[[Non-Consistent Narration]],
 +
[[Open Destiny]],
 +
[[Player-Created Characters]],
 +
[[Player-Planned Development]],
 +
[[Predefined Goals]],
 +
[[Red Herrings]],
 +
[[Social Dilemmas]],
 +
[[Thematic Consistency]]
  
 
=== Possible Closure Effects ===
 
=== Possible Closure Effects ===
Line 54: Line 131:
  
 
=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
 
=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
-
+
[[Player-Planned Development]],
 +
[[Pottering]],
 +
[[Tension]]
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
Line 65: Line 144:
 
<ref name="alice">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass Entry] for "Through the Looking-Glass" on Wikipedia.</ref>
 
<ref name="alice">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass Entry] for "Through the Looking-Glass" on Wikipedia.</ref>
 
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) ''Patterns in Game Design''. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
 
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) ''Patterns in Game Design''. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
 +
<ref name="queen">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_the_Spiders Entry] for "Queen of the Spiders" on Wikipedia.</ref>
 +
<ref name="enemy">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enemy_Within_Campaign Entry] for "The Enemy Within campaign" on Wikipedia.</ref>
 
</references>
 
</references>
  
 
== Acknowledgements ==
 
== Acknowledgements ==
 
-
 
-

Latest revision as of 09:15, 8 March 2023

The underlying structures of stories that games contain or can create.

Games can both contain stories and create new ones as they are being played. In both cases the gameplay structure of the games can influence these Narration Structures.

Examples

Records of game instances of Chess can be seen as Narration Structures but this may be even more apparent when the chess pieces are presented as characters. "Through the Looking-Glass"[1] by Lewis Carroll is an example of this although some artistic freedom is taken in the alternation of players moving. Another example is that Samuel Beckett includes an annotated Chess record in the novel "Murphy"[2], and "Reunion"[3] (a project by among others John Cage and Marcel Duchamp) used the structures emerging from Chess game instances to create music.

Tabletop Roleplaying Games have Narration Structures through "adventures" or "campaigns" that consist of a series of "adventures". They are rather unique as Narration Structures in that they have detailed descriptions of interesting locations, important characters, and possible events but typically not the player characters since these are to be created by players for each game instance. Examples of adventures include "The Keep on the Borderlands", "Rahasia", and "Ravenloft" for Dungeons & Dragons and "The Rise of R'lyeh" for Call of Cthulhu, and examples of campaign include "Queen of the Spiders"[4] for Dungeons & Dragons, "Masks of Nyarlathotep" for Call of Cthulhu and "The Enemy Within campaign"[5] for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Live Action Roleplaying Games such as 1942 – Noen å stole på, Prosopopeia, and Mind's Eye Theatre can have planned events but rely heavily on players providing additional input and substance to the narration.

Both Adventure Games such as the Myst, King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, and The Secret of Monkey Island series, and Computer-based Roleplaying Games such as the Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Final Fantasy series have detailed pre-planned narratives. In contrast Massively Multiplayer Online Games such as MUD2 and World of Warcraft have many Narration Structures to tell players through quests but players can to certain extent create their own narratives in these games as well.

Using the pattern

Narration Structures in games can both be created or told as gameplay evolves. Construction, Emergent Gameplay, Player-Constructed Worlds, and Player-Generated Narratives, Speedruns, and Storytelling are all patterns to support the former while the use of Predetermined Story Structures is the primary way in which narratives are revealed through the gameplay. Dedicated Game Facilitators can be used to not only reveal or present Predetermined Story Structures as appropriate, they can be used to choose between different ones depending on context. In addition, they can create new Narration Structures as needed if they have the right abilities; Game Masters naturally do but computer-based ones need algorithms to create new structures. Ultra-Powerful Events can enforce Narration Structures independent of how they are told, while the structures inherent in goals like Collections, Deliver, Evade, Gain Ownership, Overcome, Rescue, and Traverse can help provide Narration Structures.

Narration Structures and Mandatory Goals can modulate and support each other. Mandatory Goals can support Narration Structures by being linked to specific parts of Narration Structures and thereby ensure that players will experience these narrations and that the completion of these goals are connected if not integrated with the narration. In contrast, Narration Structures can support Mandatory Goals by provide both diegetic reasons why players would want to complete the Mandatory Goals as well as provide information related to how these goals can be achieved (the Narration Structures can of course also include Red Herrings). As a special type of Mandatory Goals, Main Goals can have the same relations to Narration Structures as Mandatory Goals but these relations are more likely to be seen as necessary requirements in a game design since they are a primary way to connect a game's narration with what should be a primary motivation for players' actions in the game.

Narration Structures can similarly provide support to the designs of goals such as Deliver, Evade, Gain Ownership, Overcome, and Rescue.

Having game elements that can carry the Narration Structures is a requirement for the pattern. Most essential is the presence of Characters that can have goals and Agents that can perform actions in accordance to these; Player Characters and Algorithmic Agents can create structures during gameplay, so together with Dedicated Game Facilitators the process can become a joint one but a signification design choice for using Narration Structures is to decide if players should have such Creative Control. When players are given such control, it is quite common to also have Player-Created Characters.

The possibility of Player-Planned Development can heavily affect Narration Structures if permitted, but when the Narration Structures are set before gameplay it can work against having Player-Planned Development as a possibility. Linked to this is the question if Characters should have Open Destinies since this may be most relevant to consider for Player Characters. MacGuffins can be the source of these goals while Alien Space Bats can explain settings different from the real world. Enemies are also very common since they can provide resistance to players and can easily be created through introducing Incompatible Goals between Agents, while Game Items, Diegetically Outstanding Features, and Non-Player Characters can bring life to narratives by adding detail. Scenes can be used to separate different parts of gameplay and Narration Structures from each other in a game while Leaps of Faith situations can create uncertainty on how the narration will progress. Narration Structures that are to introduce new elements as gameplay and narration progresses need some type of Game Element Insertion.

Some events may be desirable for Narration Structures regardless if they are pre-planned or ones that game designers wish will occur from circumstances regarding gameplay because they will make the narratives memorable. Examples of such events include Betrayal, Character Defining Actions, Character Development, Internal Rivalry, and Social Dilemmas and designers may consider both designing these and making it more likely that situations in which they can occur will happen. More generally, the use of Predefined Goals can tie player goals into the Narration Structures both by being triggered by specific events in the narration as well as having as a goal a game state than is suitable for a next intended narrative event.

Games that support Pottering at least partly work against Narration Structures since the Pottering activity specifically does not result in noteworthy events.

Diegetic Aspects

Thematic Consistency is often a requirement for Narration Structures to be intelligible or enjoyable for people.

Interface Aspects

Narration Structures is not an Interface Pattern but a game's choice of Focus Loci can affect which types of Narration Structures can work, e.g. Detective Structures do not work with God Views.

The use of Feigned Die Rolls allow Game Masters to ignore Randomness in favor of developing a narration in accordance with their own wishes.

Narrative Aspects

Narration Structures is a Narration Pattern. Using Non-Consistent Narration is an option for Narration Structures which mainly concerns its structural aspects, and Detective Structures and Melodramatic Structures are two different forms of Narration Structures based on how players get information. In most cases, Narration Structures are designed to have Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses. The actual structure of a narration is likely to influence or create Goal Hierarchies in a game, meaning that the two patterns can instantiate each other depending on which part of a game design is initiated first (and Factions together with Goal Hierarchies are especially likely to create or affect Narration Structures).

Consequences

Narration Structures of any type in a game offers a chance for players' to have Narrative Engrossment and often contain both Hovering Closures and Closure Points, the latter which in turn can be Goal Indicators. The context provided by Narration Structures can provide Game State Overviews and cause Tension but so can also just wanting to know what will happen next or how the narrative will end. However, Narration Structures can also work against Tension if the Narration Structures contains no Tension or if players that want to interact with a game system is hindered from this due to the narration.

Narration Structures can work as a supporting structure for Complex Gameplay, helping players understand the evolving gameplay not only from a game system perspective but a narrative one as well. One such example is using the narration to explain why individual players have may Secret Goals (note that this pattern relates to gameplay goals not narrative goals).

Relations

Can Instantiate

Closure Points, Goal Indicators, Game State Overviews, Hovering Closures, Narrative Engrossment, Secret Goals, Tension

Can Modulate

Complex Gameplay, Deliver, Evade, Gain Ownership, Main Goals, Mandatory Goals, Overcome, Rescue

Can Be Instantiated By

Agents, Algorithmic Agents, Alien Space Bats, Character Defining Actions, Characters, Collections, Construction, Deliver, Emergent Gameplay, Enemies, Evade, Game Items, Goal Hierarchies, Gain Ownership, MacGuffins, Non-Player Characters, Overcome, Player Characters, Player-Constructed Worlds, Player-Generated Narratives, Predetermined Story Structures, Rescue, Scenes, Speedruns, Storytelling, Traverse, Ultra-Powerful Events

Factions together with Goal Hierarchies

Can Be Modulated By

Betrayal, Character Development, Creative Control, Dedicated Game Facilitators, Detective Structures, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Feigned Die Rolls, Focus Loci, Game Element Insertion, Game Masters, Goal Hierarchies, Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses, Inaccessible Areas, Incompatible Goals, Internal Rivalry, Leaps of Faith, Main Goals, Mandatory Goals, Melodramatic Structures, Non-Consistent Narration, Open Destiny, Player-Created Characters, Player-Planned Development, Predefined Goals, Red Herrings, Social Dilemmas, Thematic Consistency

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Player-Planned Development, Pottering, Tension

History

An revised version of the pattern Narrative Structures that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design[6]. Large aspects of it has been refactored to be part of Predetermined Story Structures.

References

  1. Entry for "Through the Looking-Glass" on Wikipedia.
  2. Entry for the novel "Murphy" on Wikipedia.
  3. Information about the original and digital form of "Reunion" of the web site johncage.org.
  4. Entry for "Queen of the Spiders" on Wikipedia.
  5. Entry for "The Enemy Within campaign" on Wikipedia.
  6. Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.

Acknowledgements

-