Character Development and Storytelling for Games

by Sheldon, Lee

• ISBN13: 9781592003532
• ISBN10: 1592003532
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-15
• Publisher: Cengage Learning PTR

Summary

This is a book of ideas and of choices. Knowing which choices to make is not teachable. It's part of that creative instinct we call talent whose secret voice guides us every time we sit down at the keyboard. All stories are not identical. They are shaped by all those unique facets of the human beings who write them. All any writer can do when he wants to share his knowledge with others is be as open and giving as possible; and hope others can learn from that. You hold in your hands most of what I know about writing for games and much of what I believe and practice no matter what kind of writing I'm doing. It is meant to inform, to instruct, and maybe even inspire. It is as much about game design as it is writing for games. The two are virtually inseparable. The book itself has been designed as a quest. We are all of us on a journey toward a destination for which there is no single road. --Lee Sheldon, Author

Author Biography

Lee Sheldon began his career in Hollywood in the early 1970s writing and producing many popular television shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Charlie's Angels, and Edge of Night. In 1994, he made the leap to the game industry and has been writing and designing games ever since

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
Part I Background	1	(32)
Myths and Equations	3	(10)
Why Make Games?	4	(2)
Why Tell Stories in Games?	6	(5)
One Last Equation	11	(2)
The Story Remains the Same	13	(20)
Aristotle and Those Other Greeks	15	(9)
Jung's Collective Unconscious	24	(1)
Campbell's The Hero's Journey	25	(1)
Primary Sources	26	(1)
From The Great Train Robbery to Birth of a Nation	26	(2)
The Language of Drama and Film	28	(5)
Part II Creating Characters	33	(116)
Respecting Characters	37	(24)
Three Dimensions	37	(3)
Character Progression	40	(2)
The Pivotal Character	42	(1)
The Player-Character	43	(18)
Character Roles	61	(26)
The Character's Role in Story	61	(2)
Populating the World	63	(1)
Commentary and Gossip	64	(3)
Living Useful Lives	67	(2)
The Player-Character Revisited (Protagonist)	69	(1)
Death of a Player-Character	70	(4)
Villains (Antagonists)	74	(3)
Mentors	77	(3)
Sidekicks	80	(2)
Servants and Pets	82	(2)
Merchants	84	(1)
Trainers	84	(1)
Quest Givers	85	(2)
Character Traits	87	(26)
Mobility	87	(7)
Physical Skills	94	(2)
Professions	96	(1)
Race	97	(2)
Sex	99	(3)
Character Emotion	102	(1)
Characters in Opposition	103	(3)
Memory	106	(2)
Revealing Character Through Action	108	(5)
Character Encounters	113	(36)
Perception	113	(3)
Perspective (First Person Versus Third Person)	116	(3)
Dialogue	119	(8)
Dialogue Systems	127	(8)
Entrances and Exits	135	(1)
Return Visits	136	(2)
Relationships	138	(11)
Part III Telling the Story	149	(174)
Once Upon a Time	151	(24)
Building a Home for Characters	151	(2)
Story or Game: Which Comes First?	153	(2)
Original Material	155	(5)
Adaptations from Other Media	160	(4)
Sequels	164	(1)
Finding a Style That Fits	165	(2)
Linear Versus Non-Linear	167	(5)
Avoiding Cliches	172	(3)
Respecting Story	175	(24)
Willing Suspension of Disbelief	176	(2)
The Fourth Wall	178	(5)
The Trap of Cut Scenes	183	(4)
The Trap of Too Much Backstory	187	(1)
The Trap of Letting Players ``Discover'' the Story	188	(2)
Verisimilitude	190	(1)
Expressionism	191	(1)
Symbolism	192	(1)
Consistency of the World	193	(1)
Setting	194	(1)
Weather	195	(2)
Scope and Scale	197	(2)
Bringing the Story to Life	199	(20)
Foreshadowing	199	(4)
Point of Attack	203	(3)
The Obligatory Scene	206	(7)
Reversals	213	(1)
Arcs	214	(1)
Exposition in Action	215	(4)
Games: Charting New Territory	219	(20)
Characters Revisited	219	(3)
Puzzling Developments	222	(2)
Quests	224	(8)
Types of Quests	232	(5)
Rewards	237	(1)
The Story Up Till Now	237	(2)
Story Chiropractics	239	(14)
Heart: Player Emotion	239	(6)
Mind: Sharing the Theme	245	(4)
Funny Bone: ROFLMAO!	249	(4)
Editing	253	(22)
Collaboration	254	(7)
Adapting to the Engine You End Up With	261	(2)
Stopping the Bleeding When You Cut Levels and Areas	263	(4)
Polishing Dialogue	267	(5)
Copy Editing	272	(3)
The Roots of a New Storytelling	275	(20)
The Odyssey	276	(4)
The Canterbury Tales	280	(1)
Don Quixote de la Mancha	281	(3)
Charles Dickens and Publishing in Parts	284	(2)
Saturday Morning at the Movies (Movie Serials)	286	(3)
Dennis Wheatley's Crime Dossiers	289	(2)
Daytime Soap Operas	291	(1)
Episodic Television	292	(3)
Modular Storytelling	295	(28)
The Yoke of Narrative	297	(22)
Nesting Modules	319	(1)
Structuring Chaos	320	(1)
Adventures in a Non-Linear World	321	(2)
Part IV Games People Play	323	(114)
Game Types	325	(20)
Action	325	(8)
Adventure	333	(5)
Role-Playing	338	(3)
Simulations	341	(1)
Strategy	342	(2)
Multiplayer	344	(1)
Game Genres	345	(26)
Fantasy	349	(2)
Science Fiction	351	(4)
War	355	(3)
Espionage	358	(3)
Crime	361	(1)
Mystery	362	(4)
Horror	366	(1)
Romance	367	(2)
Western	369	(2)
Console Games	371	(14)
Demographics	373	(1)
Push the Button, Get the Story	374	(1)
Integration Versus Cut Scenes	375	(2)
How Story Enhances Gameplay	377	(2)
Cooperative Games (Minimally Multiplayer)	379	(2)
The Incredible Shrinking Game	381	(4)
Bringing Virtual Worlds to Life	385	(28)
The Roots of Role-Playing	390	(6)
Scope and Scale	396	(5)
Death of a Player-Character Revisited	401	(1)
The Social World	402	(5)
Footprints in the Sand	407	(1)
The Trap of Episodic Structure	408	(5)
Enabling Story in Virtual Worlds	413	(24)
Thousands of Heroes	413	(2)
Ongoing Story	415	(4)
Revealing Story	419	(2)
True Multiplayer Quests	421	(5)
Crowd Control	426	(2)
Variety	428	(1)
Hiding the Numbers	429	(5)
Empowering Emergent Storytelling	434	(3)
Part V Reflections	437	(10)
The Responsible Writer	441	(6)
Part VI Appendices	447	(14)
Appendix A Opinionated Bibliography	449	(4)
Appendix B Developer Primer on Building Writing Teams	453	(8)
Introduction	454	(1)
Team Configurations	455	(1)
The Lead Writer	456	(2)
The Staff	458	(1)
Additional Considerations	459	(1)
Conclusion	460	(1)
Index	461