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The Power of Storytelling
Examining the challenges of keeping the player engaged
The Power of Storytelling
Examining the challenges of keeping the player engaged
Greetings!
This week we look to our team for advice on some common game development questions. Then we reminisce on last year’s top games and surprising standouts that we loved playing.
Storytelling in Games
It can be challenging to create an immersive story no matter what media you’re writing for. Books, television, film, video games all provide vastly different experiences for the consumer, which means even a great story can seem lackluster if it’s not written for that medium. Here’s what Ascendant’s CEO and Game Director, Bret Robbins, had to say about writing for games versus film:
“You’re using a different section of your brain when you’re playing a game as opposed to when you’re watching a movie. In one, you’re in a very passive, receptive frame of mind, whereas in games you’re in an active state, driven and pushing forward. You need to write differently for that state. You want to complement that intensity that the player’s feeling. It’s a mistake to just rely on what you would do in a good movie because the player’s not in that frame of mind.
A game can be very fun without a narrative, but if you are adding a layer of context where you actually care about what you’re doing or the character that you’re seeing on the screen… then having something that is really deep and immersive with a place and characters that people want to return to again and again is really important.”
Bret Robbins, CEO and Game Director at Ascendant Studios
Learn more about storytelling and uncover how game developers create narratives that resonate with players in our video “How Game Designers Tell Great Stories” and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get these game dev tips and insights.
Ramp Up The Difficulty
Teaching players the tools they will need to be successful later in the game is one way to make an in-game challenge enjoyable. Pacing encounters in this method arms the player for future boss fights by showing them similar, but lower-stakes challenges earlier in the game. Plus, seeing someone use a novel strategy to find victory might inspire you for future levels or in game hints!
“I often find a level is a success if the player thinks they are the ones that came up with all the really good ideas, when in fact everything in the level is placed deliberately to help foster the player to take specific actions.This provides players tons of options with varying levels of difficulty and risk/reward. If a player struggles with one method, the layout is conducive to them trying a 2nd method, or even a third, and so forth.”
There are many ways to approach game design and development when it comes to figuring out how to balance a game’s challenge with fun. Find more tips and suggestions from our team in this blog.
Let us know what sets a good story apart from a great one for you. Participate in the poll and reply to this newsletter!
What narrative elements pique your interest most when consuming a new story? |
What games do Game Devs vote for?
It’s video game awards season with lots of great games vying for recognition. We asked our team which titles they thought deserved to win at the upcoming DICE Awards. How did their predictions stack up against the winners?
In the Press
Ascendant’s CEO, Bret Robbins, joined Motive’s Roman Campos-Oriola to reflect on the original Dead Space and the success of the remake. “I was hoping that they would honor it and maintain the things that made it great in the first place. And, thankfully, they did.”