Basics of Storytelling

Barbaros Bostan, PhD, Digital Game Design, Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul, TURKEY

Course Type: Social Science-focused 

Keywords: storytelling, digital games, plot, character design, narrative design

University Department Level Credits Length Medium
Bahçeşehir University Digital Game Design Undergrad 3 14 weeks In-person or hybrid

Course Description

This module explores how storytelling evolved through different mediums and how it is incorporated into contemporary video games. World design, plot and structure, characters, meaningful choices, interactive stories, and cinematography are the key concepts. Students will understand linear and nonlinear interactive narrative techniques, develop an interactive storytelling perspective for video games, understand player types and develop an interactive narrative project in a fictional setting chosen by the instructor. Students will read and analyze the best practices of contemporary written works, such as fictional novels. Students will also play and analyze contemporary video games (in different platforms) with special emphasis on their stories.

Weekly Outline

  1. Introduction to Narrative and Gameplay, Course Review (Dungeons and Dragons Basics: Races and Classes introduced here)
  2. World and Level Design Principles (Dungeons and Dragons Settings: Planescape or Ravenloft introduced here)
  3. Plot and Pacing of Digital Game Narratives (Dungeons and Dragons mechanics and encounters introduced here)
  4. Story Structures and Dramatic Situations (Dungeons and Dragons sample adventure introduced here)
  5. Characters, Believable Characters in Games, Character Traits (Topic is supported by examples from contemporary PC/console games)
  6. Choice and Consequence in Games (Topic is supported by examples from contemporary PC/console games)
  7. Storytelling Techniques in Games (Topic is supported by examples from contemporary PC/console games)
  8. Cinematography for Games (Topic is supported by examples from contemporary PC/console games)
  9. Interactive Stories (Topic is supported by examples from a D&D based CRPG)
  10. Plot Advancement and Story Endings (Topic is supported by examples from a D&D based CRPG)
  11. Feedback to the Storytelling Project
  12. Feedback to the Storytelling Project
  13. Student Presentations of the Storytelling Project
  14. Student Presentations of the Storytelling Project

Course Objectives ​

  • Students will improve their cooperative feedback skills through discussions of the key concepts of game narratives: world design, plot and structure, characters, meaningful choices, interactive stories, and cinematography. 
  • Students will improve their game writing skills by working on a game story in a fictional world using the three-act structure. 
  • Students will analyze the best practices of contemporary written works in three dimensions: fictional world design, character design and the overall quality/structure of the story. 
  • Students will analyze contemporary video games with special emphasis on their stories but also discuss the impact of five gameplay dimensions on the overall quality of the narrative: challenges/difficulty, audio aesthetics, visual aesthetics, usability/playability, and fun/enjoyment.

Reading

  • El lenguaje de los nuevos medios de comunicación. La imagen en la era digital – Lev Manovich (Paidós, 2005)
  • El viaje del escritor: Las estructuras míticas para escritores, guionistas, dramaturgos y novelistas – Christopher Vogler (Ediciones Robinbook, 2002)
  • Expanded Cinema – Gene Youngblood (Studio Vista Limited, 1970)
  • Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace – Janet Murray (MIT Press, 1998)
  • Las leyes de la interfaz: Diseño, ecología, evolución, tecnología – Carlos Alberto Scolari (Editorial Gedisa, 2018)
  • Lector in Fabula – Umberto Eco (Bompiani, 1979)
  • Narrative across media. The languages of storytelling – Marie Laurie Ryan (University of Nebraska Press, 2005)
  • Pause and Effect. The art of interactive narrative – Mark Stephen Meadows (New Riders, 2003)
  • Remediation. Understanding New Media – David Bolter & Richard Grusin (MIT Press, 2000)
  • The Art of Interactive Design – Chris Crawford (No Starch Press, 2002)
  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Understanding the Hero’s Journey Through Psychology and Mythology – Joseph Campbell (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series, 1948)
  • The New Media Reader – Nick Monfort & Noah Wardrip-Fruin (MIT Press, 2003)
  • Writing for Multimedia. A Guide and Sourcebook for the Digital Writer – Michael D. Korolenko (Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001)

Viewings

IDE and IDN Authoring Tools

  • Word & Powerpoint (Office Tools)
  • Da Vinci / Premiere / Final Cut / Affinity Photo / Photoshop / Audacity / Audition (Video & Audio Editing Tools)
  • Miro (Brainstorming Tool)
  • Figma (Information Architecture Tool)
  • WordPress (CMS Tool)
  • Klynt – HTML – HP5 plugin (WP) (Multimedia Editor Tools)

IDN Artifacts

  • Bugarach. Cómo sobrevivir al apocalipsis [Transmedia Documentary] – Sergi Cameron (Nanouk Films; RTVE.ES; Interactius; Playfilm, 2016). http://lab.rtve.es/webdocs/bugarach/
  • COME/IN/DOC [Collaborative Meta Interactive Documentary] [Interactive Documentary] – Arnau Gifreu (MIT Open Documentary Lab; interDoc; i-Docs; interDocs Barcelona, 2016). http://comeindoc.com/
  • Cyborg Project [Transmedia Documentary] – Roger Soldevila (Espill Media, 2014). http://cyborgproject.com
  • El Cubo. Historias tridimensionales [Interactive Theater/Fiction/Documentary] – Juan Baquero (RTVCPlay; Interfaz, 2021-2023). https://elcubo.rtvcplay.co/
  • Escape Europe. A Webdoc Game on the Southern Border [Immersive Documentary] – Oscar Martinez & Domingo Sánchez-Mesa (ASAD-Asociación Solidaria Andaluza de Desarrollo. Universidad de Granada. ARCI Lecce. Università del Salento. University of the Aegean. European Union, 2022). https://utopi.es/escape-europe/
  • Escarabajos. Un país descubierto a pedalazos [Transmedia Documentary] – Zuly Zabala (Red de Bibliotecas. Banco de la República, 2021). https://www.banrepcultural.org/exposiciones/escarabajos
  • Interactivos La Marató TV3 [Informative interactives – documentaries] – Catalina Acelas, Pere Arcas & Arnau Gifreu (Espill media; Ask Yourself; Televisió de Catalunya; Fundació La Marató de TV3, 2013-2014). http://agifreu.com/marato2013/ / http://www.agifreu.com/marato2014/
  • Las Sinsombrero [Transmedia Documentary] – Tània Balló, Manuel Jiménez & SerranaTorres (Intropia Media; Yolaperdono; RTVE.ES, 2015). http://www.rtve.es/lassinsombrero/es/webdoc/
  • More than Bodies [Transmedia Essay] – Núria Fontané (ERAM – University of Girona, 2017). http://morethanbodies.com/
  • Pregoneros de Medellín [Transmedia Documentary] – Angela Carabalí & Thibault Durand (Grupo Carabalí. MINTIC. Vive Digital, Baobab, 2015). http://pregonerosdemedellin.com
  • Sexo, maracas y chihuahuas [Transmedia Documentary] – Diego Mas Trelles & Albert Solé (Minimal Films; Televisió de Catalunya; RTVE.ES; Labyrinz Storymaking Studio, 2016). http://lab.rtve.es/webdocs/xavier-cugat/#/

Major Assignments (being assignments whose value is of 25% or more)

Storytelling Project (%50 of the grade)

  • Platform: Twine or Articy:Draft 3
  • Purpose: Improving the students’ game writing skills by working on a branching game story in a fictional world (a tabletop role-playing setting chosen by the instructor, such as Planescape or Ravenloft) using the three-act structure. 
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 2-3 hours of work for 6 weeks
    • Project Size: Three story fragments (each fragment represents 10-15-minute playable piece of the game) for the first act, the second act with three major choices that branches the story and has 8 more story fragments (other than the choice points) and the third act with four different endings for the game. The project comes with 4 assessments: 
      • Assessment 1 (1 week): Students will start working on their stories by creating the protagonist of the game and writing the first three fragments of Act I. 
      • Assessment 2 (2 weeks): Students will design their first major choice (4th fragment) to branch the game narrative. The upper branch and the lower branch will continue with two more fragments.
      • Assessment 3 (2 weeks): Students will design their second major choice and third major choice to further branch the game narrative. For each major choice, the upper branch and the lower branch will continue with one more fragment.
      • Assessment 4 (1 week): Students will work on their story endings. The game/story they are designing should have 4 different endings.
    • Project Aesthetics: An inciting incident, the first doorway (transition from Act I to Act II), obstacles or enemies, player choices that impact the story, the second doorway (transition from Act II to Act III).
    • Design Proficiency: pacing of stories (non-interactive storytelling, action or combat sequences, non-combat interactivity combined with storytelling), branching stories based upon player decisions.
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: In terms of interactivity, major choices designed by students should be meaningful choices that can branch the story into playable sections.
    • Story and narrative: There are three criteria in terms of story and narrative: 
      • Motivational Consistency (the consistency of character actions with the goals/values of the protagonist)
      • Relevance to the Setting (the relevance of the events of the story with the given setting. For example, if the chosen setting is Planescape, the story should be a Planescape story, not a generic Dungeons & Dragons story)
      • Story Coherence (the overall coherence of the designed fragments as a playable game story).
  • Production values: The final work is polished in contemporary IDN authoring tools such as Twine or Articy:Draft 3. The student presentations of the project should be professional and are regarded as a game pitch for a story-based game to prospective investors and publishers.

Game Analysis Assignment

  • Platform: Paper
  • Purpose: Students will learn to analyze contemporary PC/Console video games (chosen by the instructor) with special emphasis on their stories but will also discuss the impact of five gameplay dimensions on the overall quality of the narrative: challenges/difficulty, audio aesthetics, visual aesthetics, usability/playability, and fun/enjoyment. 
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 2-3 hours of gameplay + 1-2 hours for report
    • Project Size: Students will be given this assignment three times during the semester. For each assignment, the instructor provides alternatives for game selection, such as choose What Remains of Edith Finch or This War of Mine or Attentat 1942. Each student will choose one of the games and play the game for a certain amount of time (specified by the instructor).
    • Project Aesthetics: Evaluating games based on different game user experience dimensions: narrative, challenges/difficulty, audio aesthetics, visual aesthetics, usability/playability, and fun/enjoyment.
    • Design Proficiency: Writing game evaluation reports for different game user experience dimensions that focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each dimension.
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: Students should interact with the game not only as a player but also as a researcher, trying different interactions and evaluating the outcomes of their interactions.
    • Story and narrative: Students should describe how different game experience dimensions contribute to storytelling. 
    • Production values: Work is of high quality and feels carefully crafted. The game analysis report should be presented as a professional evaluation.

Novel Evaluation Assignment

  • Platform: Paper
  • Purpose: Students will read and then analyze the best practices of contemporary written works, such as fictional novels. The novels chosen by the instructor are also related with the fictional setting chosen by the instructor for the storytelling project. 
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 4 weeks to read a novel and write a report about it.
    • Project Size: Students will be given this assignment three times during the semester. For each novel, they will write a 2-3 pages of evaluation report.
    • Project Aesthetics: Evaluating contemporary written works for three dimensions: world design, story design and character design. Students will also discuss how this novel can be converted to a digital role-playing game.
    • Design Proficiency: Writing novel evaluation reports for different design dimensions that focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each dimension.
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: Students will discuss how the novels they read can be converted to a computer role-playing game. This discussion transforms the students from passive readers to active and interactive players, forcing them to think how player agency will affect the story.  
    • Story and narrative: Students should evaluate the quality of world design, character design and story design of each novel, as well as how they can convert the novel to a computer role-playing game.  
    • Production values: Work is of high quality and feels carefully crafted. The novel reports should be presented as a professional evaluation.

Course Best Practices

  • The storytelling project worked best for the course because the students were expecting hands-on experience on interactive story design. Giving a fictional table-top role-playing setting to the students also sparked their curiosity and motivated them to work on something new, but the success of the project lies in the one-to-one feedback sessions provided by the instructor in every step of the project.  
  • The game analysis assignment encouraged the students to play different games from different genres that they are not familiar with. Students also learned how to play games as a scholar who is encountering the game as a fresh participant but at the same time, they are also distanced from the experience, and they must bring an objectivity to the observation of their own experiences and faithfully remember and record a wide range of critical details (Bizzocchi and Tanenbaum, 2011).
  • The novel evaluation analysis assignment encouraged the students to read different contemporary works that they are not familiar with. Students become familiar with different storytelling techniques because each novel is strong in one of the evaluation dimensions. The first novel focuses more on creating a fictional world that feels alive and real, the second one focuses more on plot and pacing, and the third novel focuses more on creating interesting and believable characters.