Narratives in Interactive Design

David Antognoli, Assistant Professor of Game Design, Interactive Arts and Media Department,Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, US

Course Type: Design and Technology-focused

Keywords: narrative game design, game development, interactive narrative design, interactive narrative development

University Department Level Credits Length Medium
Columbia College Chicago Interactive Arts and Media Department Undergrad 3 15 Used for both in-person and online 

Course Description

Students will implement interactive storytelling content across a variety of platforms in this development-oriented course. In addition, students will survey and analyze a variety of historical and contemporary approaches to interactive narrative and discuss some of the fundamental challenges that face creators in this field. Students will produce published portfolio projects designed to practice and demonstrate interactive narrative design and development skills while providing an outlet for their artistic voices.

Weekly Outline

Week 1. Intro to interaction and narrative
Week 2. Interactive digital narrative history; intro to Twine
Week 3. Twine playtesting and workshop
Week 4. Intro to Bitsy; platform / game engine / medium affordances and impacts
Week 5. Visio-spatial elements and Bitsy
Week 6. Bitsy playtesting and workshop
Week 7. procedural narrative; world building; intro to tabletop RPG assignment
Week 8. Interactive drama; emergent narrative; Dungeon World playtesting and workshop
Week 9. Immersive town introduction; Unity and Dialogue System tutorial; game documentation
Week 10. NPCs
Week 11. Quest design
Week 12. Cinematography, continuity editing, and mise-en-scène
Week 13. Immersive town peer review and workshop
Week 14. Immersive town playtesting and workshop
Week 15. Final project presentations and reflections

Course Objectives ​

  • Define and use key terminology of interactive storytelling and narrative design.
  • Analyze and explain fundamental challenges of interactive storytelling and narrative design.
  • Critique existing approaches to interactive narrative from structural, aesthetic, and ludological perspectives.
  • Design and implement interactive narratives using popular techniques, formats, and development tools.
  • Evaluate scope and deliver content with professional production values on schedule.

Reading

Viewings

IDN Artifacts

IDE and IDN Authoring Tools

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

Twine Project

  • Platform: Twine
  • Purpose: Students must articulate a creative vision in an artist’s statement / manifesto and then build a short interactive narrative that leverages the interactive qualities of Twine to evoke and play with the themes from the manifesto. Students draft the manifesto first, then update it as they develop their project (it’s OK, even encouraged for them to change the vision as they work and iterate). Twine is used for this first project for its simple, text-based aesthetic and low technical barriers to entry. Students are cutting their teeth with basic IDN concepts like branching and variables in an accessible platform with a stripped-down, text-based aesthetic.
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 3 – 15 minutes
    • Project Size: at least 7 passages
    • Project Aesthetics: I expect a primarily text-based experience with presentation elements customized beyond Twine defaults. Specific presentation and interactive elements are open-ended based on the student’s vision as articulated in their project manifesto. The manifesto must include specific examples of how the student has used features of Twine to evoke their intended artistic effects and impacts. The project must be published online along with the accompanying manifesto. This can be on a personal website, itch.io, GitHub, Steam, Google Play, or any other public space. The project should be presented publicly as professional work and not a homework assignment.
    • Coding Proficiency: At least one feature that goes beyond the basics of Twine (more than just a clickable link or new font style). This can be accomplished with no previous coding expertise by following any of the many beginner tutorials available. Tutorial suggestions are given to students.
  • Evaluation:
    • Interactivity: Project leverages the interactive qualities of the medium to drive engagement and immersion. Interactions feel purposeful and work toward the project’s vision as detailed in the manifesto. Interactions meet a high standard of usability, or a standard of usability in alignment with the project’s manifesto. New players can figure out what to do without getting stuck.
    • Story and narrative: Project successfully employs story and narrative elements such as setting, plot, pacing, drama, characters, dialog, etc. to drive engagement and immersion to realize the goals outlined in the project manifesto.
    • Production values: Work is of high quality and appears polished within the context of the medium. This includes everything from graphics and audio to spelling and grammar. The work feels carefully crafted and includes more than just the default or basics. The project is presented as professional work and not a student assignment. Wherever the project is published, the related presentation is professional and consistent with the project presentation values and themes.

Bitsy Project

  • Platform: Bitsy
  • Purpose: Bitsy allows students to practice using visio-spatial elements in IDN while still embracing rigid platform constraints to keep scope focused and creativity high.
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 1-5 minutes
    • Project Size: At least one clear “end” and at least three “rooms.”
    • Project Aesthetics: Students must articulate a creative vision in an artist’s statement / manifesto. They must include a custom avatar and at least two sprites with unique art (no default cat) and dialog. They must include at least one of the Bitsy advanced dialog options. Students must explain how this advanced dialog format serves their overall vision in their manifesto. They must include at least two custom animations (any combination of avatar, sprites, or tile animations). They must create at least three visually distinct environment tiles. They must use colors beyond the default Bitsy white and blue.
    • Coding Proficiency: Students must use at least one variable and explain how it supports the creative vision in their manifesto. Tutorials are provided and no previous experience is required.
  • Evaluation:
    • Interactivity: Project leverages the interactive qualities of the medium to drive engagement and immersion. Interactions feel purposeful and work toward the project’s vision as detailed in the manifesto. Interactions meet a high standard of usability, or a standard of usability in alignment with the project’s manifesto. New players can figure out what to do without getting stuck.
    • Story and narrative: Project successfully employs story and narrative elements such as setting, plot, pacing, drama, characters, dialog, etc. to drive engagement and immersion to realize the goals outlined in the project manifesto.
    • Production values: Work is of high quality and appears polished within the context of the medium. This includes everything from graphics and audio to spelling and grammar. The work feels carefully crafted and includes more than just the default or basics. The project is presented as professional work and not a student assignment. Wherever the project is published, the related presentation is professional and consistent with the project presentation values and themes.

Tabletop RPG assignment

  • Platform: print / PDF
  • Purpose: This is not a digital narrative assignment, but I find the format useful for providing covenient storytelling and worldbuilding tools that translate to IDN. It also creates some fun and active class sessions. Students practice worldbuilding and procedural / emergent storytelling, with emphasis on using schemas, rules, and systems to produce a dynamic narrative experience. I use the open-source Dungeon World and one page TTRPGs for accessibility and brevity. Finally, I use this assignment as an opportunity for students to practice creating documents with scannable content and high production values, as I find this skill useful for industry and portfolio purposes.
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: single play session (10 minutes to 1 hour)
    • Project Size:
      • The following content is required:
        • Title page; credits (including any external assets used with permission); prologue; story and setting GM-only info; establishing questions; in medias res starting scenario; at least one danger with a description, impulse, and impending doom; grim portents list; stakes questions; at least 3 NPCs and 2 monsters with short description, scenario relevance GM-only info, instinct and knack, and stats; at least 3 playable “areas” with description, gameplay ideas for GM, and Discern Realities answers; at least one Custom Move related to the setting or plot; Spout Lore table; at least one other procedural generation tool for GMs.
      • Project Aesthetics: Students submit a PDF with engaging and professional production values. Document must be highly scannable and well formatted with tables, images, custom heading styles (levels 1, 2 and 3) and design elements such as lines, check boxes, bullet icons, etc. as appropriate. There must be a consistent formatting rule and pattern for text that should be read to players vs GM only text. Project must be published on an online storefront (itch.io, etc.) with customized and engaging store page. Work should appear professional and not like a homework assignment.
      • Coding Proficiency: No coding necessary, though proficiency with document publishing / design tools is required.
  • Evaluation:

    • Interactivity: The document includes clear, engaging ideas to draw the players and GM into the mechanics and opportunities for player interaction.

    • Story and narrative: Project successfully employs story and narrative elements such as setting, plot, pacing, drama, characters with clear and strong motivation, monsters with instincts, dangers with impulses, etc. to move play forward and drive engagement and immersion.

    • Production values: Clear, error-free writing. Scannable, well formatted document through use of tables, images, headings, text styles, bullets and numbered lists and other elements. Good use of graphic design elements that improve the look and usability of the document. The work feels carefully crafted and includes more than just the default or basic appearance of the tool used to create it. The project is presented as professional work and not a student assignment. Wherever the project is published, the related presentation is professional and consistent with the project presentation values and themes.

 

Immersive Town Assignment

  • Platform: Unity, with Dialogue System asset
  • Purpose: This assignment provides latitude for expanded visio-spatial storytelling and popular formal video game narrative design elements such as level design, environmental storytelling, quest structures, barks, animated sequences and cinematography elements. This project gives students practice in many of the common requirements of game industry narrative design job listings.
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 5 – 15 minutes
    • Project Size: The experience must include: functional player character with a unique model; at least three animated NPCs with unique models and conversations; barks for at least one of the NPCs; at least two NPCs that change their conversation based on quest status; at least one conversation involving two NPCs talking to one another in addition to the player; an overarching quest that frames the player’s goal; an ending quest that explains that though the main experience is over players can continue to explore the world (started on completing the main quest); a quest series / chain of at least three quests that must be completed in order; at least one quest with entries that update; at least one item the player can collect that impacts dialog or is related to a quest.
    • Project Aesthetics: The project should use the provided third person character controller. It should use intentionally customized dialog box and quest tracking UI to avoid looking like a generic or test experience. It should employ cinematography techniques including varying camera angles, distances, and shot-reverse shot. It should use props and level design to create environmental storytelling. The goal is to create an immersive experience that feels like a living, breathing town with its own culture and inhabitants that have psychological and sociological dimensions. Note that “town” is used loosely here.
    • Coding Proficiency: The Unity code for the character controller and dialogue / quest system is provided, but students must implement dialog sequences and set up quest logic using Pixel Crushers Dialogue System for Unity. Students are welcome to include additional custom functionality but it is not required. I recorded an extensive tutorial series for this project to facilitate learners with no prior Unity experience.
  • Evaluation:
    • Interactivity: Project leverages the interactive qualities of the medium to drive engagement and immersion. Interactions feel purposeful and works toward a coherent project vision. Interactions meet a high standard of usability, or a standard of usability. New players can figure out what to do without getting stuck. No bugs block the experience.
    • Story and narrative: Project successfully employs story and narrative elements such as environmental storytelling, three dimensional character development, cinematography, etc. to drive engagement and immersion and realize the goals outlined in assignment description.
    • Production values: Work is of high quality and appears polished within the context of the medium. This includes everything from graphics and audio to spelling and grammar. The work feels carefully crafted and includes more than just the default or basics. The project is presented as professional work and not a student assignment. Wherever the project is published, the related presentation is professional and consistent with the project presentation values and themes.

Course Best Practices

  • I created this course in the context of a 15-week semester with single meeting per week, three hour class sessions.
  • The course leverages existing beginner tutorials to support learners with no programming experience.
  • There are four main projects, each using a distinct toolset / platform / engine. The course is structured around these projects with the following pattern:
    • Intro and analysis. Introduce new project and assign related IDN artifact(s) as homework for discussion. Sometimes I let them pick from a list and then they can share what they experienced in discussions to give the class a broader awareness of what’s out there.
    • “Hello World” assignment. Students do the most basic tutorial for the new platform in class in case there are technical questions or issues.
    • “Extreme mini game jam.” In class, students are provided a list of more advanced tutorials. They choose one or more and demonstrate new features covered in the tutorials in a quick and dirty example project. Next, they rotate through partners and demonstrate / share what they learned. This helps students discover a variety of possible features that might interest them and identify resources for implementing them. Students should learn to develop project ideas based on features they know they can implement rather than “blue sky” concepts they dream up.
    • Manifesto and first draft. I review the assignment requirements and rubric in class. Students create an initial manifesto in class and can do some peer review / workshopping with partners in class. As homework, students must create a first draft that requires a subset of the full project requirements. This helps prevent waiting to the last minute and uncovers scope or technical problems early.
    • Playtesting / workshopping. In class, students rotate through partners and play through their first draft IDN experiences. I make the players read out loud. This helps identify pacing problems and spelling and grammar issues. It’s a good idea to make them turn in notes they take during testing (to incentivize taking notes).
    • Final project due as homework (see detailed descriptions)
  • It’s ideal to find freely available, multiplatform IDN artifacts with low hardware requirements, but that can be difficult. I look for a mix of historical / classic examples as well as more recent and popular experiences. One strategy is to find commercial experiences that have free demos. I do think there is value in examining at least some high-budget commercial experiences as these tend to frame industry job requirements.