Storytelling in Games - Heather's perspective
TelltaleGames
Former Telltale Staff
And now, the riveting conclusion of "Telltale's take on story in games," courtesy of designer Heather Logas.
What elements make up a good videogame story?
The same elements that make up a good any kind of story. Interesting characters, dramatic tension, interesting situations that the audience can, in some fashion, relate to. The differences are not in the substance of the stories themselves, but in the mechanics of telling an interactive story vs. a non-interactive one.
What influences, if any, do you take from other media (i.e. film, tv, comics/graphic novels)?
I don't remember the last time I walked out of a movie without saying to my husband "Wouldn't that make a great game?" Other media is rich with ideas that would work great as games or part of games. When I am working on a game my brain is constantly tackling problems by sorting through similar situations in books I've read or movies I've seen.
It's kind of like having an "inspiration stew" in my head, that I can sort through, and pull out a potato of an idea. Then I can take that potato and play with it, maybe mash it up. Eventually it ends up on top of a shepherd's pie or I've moved on to a different root vegetable, but it all started with a potato from the stew.
[readmore]
Describe a narrative moment from one of your games that you are most proud of?
I still love the interactions of Fone Bone and Phoney Bone with the possum kids in Bone: Out From Boneville. Fone Bone and Phoney Bone are two extremely different characters, and we wanted to show who they were to the player through how they solve problems and through interactions with other characters. Fone Bone meets these possum kids in the forest and they have information he needs. So the player gets to interact with the possums as Fone in a very Fone Bone way, and the result is terribly cute and heart-warming. Then the player later gets to tromp on through as Phoney Bone and again these possums have information he needs. Phoney is grouchy and curmudgeonly, however, and the interactions the player has with the possums this time are caustic and acidic. These were all fun characters to work with, and I really enjoyed that we were able to tell part of the story, i.e. the differences between Fone and Phoney, in an interactive way. Plus, the possums are dang cute.
What is something you would like to see a videogame story attempt that hasn't been done yet?
It is my dream that one day I will play a game where I really feel as though I am interacting with the story at a very fine level, working with the authors of the game to shape the narrative. I want a game where my actions have (or appear to have) meaningful consequences. For example, in Fable, you took actions that made you either "more good" or "more evil," but being "more good" or "more evil" didn't actually affect the story in any meaningful way. Amongst people at our office, there is sometimes a debate about linear vs. non-linear stories and it isn't that I think linear stories aren't worth doing in a game; I just think that we (game developers as a whole) haven't really explored non-linear stories to a satisfying extent.
How does story fit into your development cycle? Does it evolve concurrently with development, is it saved for the end of the cycle when most of the gameplay is in place, or is it conceived at the beginning and treated as unchangeable?
Telltale is all about telling great stories through an interactive medium, so the story really has to come first. We like to get as much of the story nailed down as possible before we start in on art or gameplay.
Sometimes details will need to change later on during development for whatever reason, but the more we can get worked out in the very beginning, the easier the whole "making the game" part will be.
What's the difference between story and gameplay?
Ideally, as little as possible. Cutscenes have their place, but when thinking about game design, I always try to think how to tell as much as possible of the story through interactivity. The real storytelling power of games -- what makes playing a game different than reading a book -- is that the player gets to really participate. I want the player to be able to play the story, not just watch it in cutscenes.
Where do writers fit in the traditional structure of a development team?
At Telltale, we've had a couple different schemes for working with writers. We've had contract writers, the designers have doubled as writers, and we are starting to work more with dedicated on-staff writers, with the designers and writers being separate people. I think this is a great way to go, since both of those jobs (writing and designing) take an awful lot of brain energy and in different ways. Our games have so much dialog that having full-time writers makes a lot of sense.
What's one game story you admire? Why?
I really enjoyed how the story worked in Jade Empire. The main plot I barely remember, but some of the side, optional interactions were really awesome. Best of all, they didn't feel like side-plots, they just seamlessly felt like part of the story. There's a point where you can get involved in some crazy mobster marital dispute, and actually decide the dispute in several ways. It really felt like I was having an impact on these people's lives.
But I think my favorite part of the story was that I played as a female character and was offered chances to flirt with one of the male characters and something actually happened as a result. I remember thinking to myself when choosing to flirt with the character, "It would be so neat if I played a game where this actually had an effect." I found out much later that I WAS playing that game!
You're going to have to go try it, because I don't like being responsible for spoilers...
What elements make up a good videogame story?
The same elements that make up a good any kind of story. Interesting characters, dramatic tension, interesting situations that the audience can, in some fashion, relate to. The differences are not in the substance of the stories themselves, but in the mechanics of telling an interactive story vs. a non-interactive one.
What influences, if any, do you take from other media (i.e. film, tv, comics/graphic novels)?
I don't remember the last time I walked out of a movie without saying to my husband "Wouldn't that make a great game?" Other media is rich with ideas that would work great as games or part of games. When I am working on a game my brain is constantly tackling problems by sorting through similar situations in books I've read or movies I've seen.
It's kind of like having an "inspiration stew" in my head, that I can sort through, and pull out a potato of an idea. Then I can take that potato and play with it, maybe mash it up. Eventually it ends up on top of a shepherd's pie or I've moved on to a different root vegetable, but it all started with a potato from the stew.
[readmore]
Describe a narrative moment from one of your games that you are most proud of?
I still love the interactions of Fone Bone and Phoney Bone with the possum kids in Bone: Out From Boneville. Fone Bone and Phoney Bone are two extremely different characters, and we wanted to show who they were to the player through how they solve problems and through interactions with other characters. Fone Bone meets these possum kids in the forest and they have information he needs. So the player gets to interact with the possums as Fone in a very Fone Bone way, and the result is terribly cute and heart-warming. Then the player later gets to tromp on through as Phoney Bone and again these possums have information he needs. Phoney is grouchy and curmudgeonly, however, and the interactions the player has with the possums this time are caustic and acidic. These were all fun characters to work with, and I really enjoyed that we were able to tell part of the story, i.e. the differences between Fone and Phoney, in an interactive way. Plus, the possums are dang cute.
What is something you would like to see a videogame story attempt that hasn't been done yet?
It is my dream that one day I will play a game where I really feel as though I am interacting with the story at a very fine level, working with the authors of the game to shape the narrative. I want a game where my actions have (or appear to have) meaningful consequences. For example, in Fable, you took actions that made you either "more good" or "more evil," but being "more good" or "more evil" didn't actually affect the story in any meaningful way. Amongst people at our office, there is sometimes a debate about linear vs. non-linear stories and it isn't that I think linear stories aren't worth doing in a game; I just think that we (game developers as a whole) haven't really explored non-linear stories to a satisfying extent.
How does story fit into your development cycle? Does it evolve concurrently with development, is it saved for the end of the cycle when most of the gameplay is in place, or is it conceived at the beginning and treated as unchangeable?
Telltale is all about telling great stories through an interactive medium, so the story really has to come first. We like to get as much of the story nailed down as possible before we start in on art or gameplay.
Sometimes details will need to change later on during development for whatever reason, but the more we can get worked out in the very beginning, the easier the whole "making the game" part will be.
What's the difference between story and gameplay?
Ideally, as little as possible. Cutscenes have their place, but when thinking about game design, I always try to think how to tell as much as possible of the story through interactivity. The real storytelling power of games -- what makes playing a game different than reading a book -- is that the player gets to really participate. I want the player to be able to play the story, not just watch it in cutscenes.
Where do writers fit in the traditional structure of a development team?
At Telltale, we've had a couple different schemes for working with writers. We've had contract writers, the designers have doubled as writers, and we are starting to work more with dedicated on-staff writers, with the designers and writers being separate people. I think this is a great way to go, since both of those jobs (writing and designing) take an awful lot of brain energy and in different ways. Our games have so much dialog that having full-time writers makes a lot of sense.
What's one game story you admire? Why?
I really enjoyed how the story worked in Jade Empire. The main plot I barely remember, but some of the side, optional interactions were really awesome. Best of all, they didn't feel like side-plots, they just seamlessly felt like part of the story. There's a point where you can get involved in some crazy mobster marital dispute, and actually decide the dispute in several ways. It really felt like I was having an impact on these people's lives.
But I think my favorite part of the story was that I played as a female character and was offered chances to flirt with one of the male characters and something actually happened as a result. I remember thinking to myself when choosing to flirt with the character, "It would be so neat if I played a game where this actually had an effect." I found out much later that I WAS playing that game!
You're going to have to go try it, because I don't like being responsible for spoilers...
This discussion has been closed.