Narrative design highlights

Madison Smartt Bell (1997) - Practical, structuralist approach to story creation in a manner similar how a designer would.
Not exclusive to gaming: industrial design, architecture, marketing, etc.
First used in games in 2006.
Sub-discipline of game design. "The first step to being a good narrative designer is to be a good game designer.” (Scott, 2023)
Narrative design is not game writing.
Cross-discipline between the story and the game mechanics and systems.
Mechanics + Aesthetics. “Narrative designers are the ones concerned with the player’s emotional interaction with the game.” (Nordhagen, 2023)
Three guidelines (Scott, 2023):
- Put gameplay first. “If your game idea starts with the story, it probably shouldn’t be a game. It might make for a great book or movie, but games start with gameplay.”
- Match the story to your players’ motivation. “The story and gameplay contradicting each other can snap the player out of the experience and sever the suspension of disbelief.”
- Plot out storyline arcs.
Three methods to level up (Scott, 2023):
- Critically Consume Game Stories and Other Media
- Create Your Own Games
- Play Your Games Critically

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