FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN, SECOND EDITION
Episodic Delivery
Most of our discussion so far has concentrated on individual stories that come to a definite end. However, a publisher will hope to exploit the popularity of a hit game by producing one or more sequels, a situation now so commonplace that this section addresses designing for it intentionally. The game industry has expressed much interest in the business opportunities that episodic delivery might offer, selling players entertainment a few hours at a time instead of in a single large chunk, as games sold at retail do now.
There are three main formats for delivering multipart stories, as the following sections reveal. The television industry has more experience at delivering multipart stories than the game industry does, so we use familiar TV terms to help illustrate these three formats.
An unlimited series comprises a set of episodes, each consisting of a self-contained story in which the plot is both introduced and resolved. A single theme or context runs through the entire series but not a single plot; in fact, the stories exist so independently of each other that you can view episodes in any order and the story still makes sense. American evening TV dramas used this format almost exclusively up through the early 1980s: In each episode of Columbo, Columbo solved exactly one crime. Viewers can watch each episode individually with little disadvantage. A consistent world and an overarching theme tie the series together. Because each episode offers a self-contained story, the producers can create as many episodes as they want (see Figure 7.6).
The majority of games and their sequels use the unlimited series format. Each game in the series contains a complete story set against a consistent world. Sometimes the publicity materials claim that sequels carry on the story from the previous game, but often the connection between them is flimsy; in any case the player gets a thorough introduction, so even if he didn't play the previous game, he can still enjoy the current one.
|
|
||
|
|||
|
|||
A serial consists of a (theoretically) infinite sequence of episodes. In a serial, plot lines extend over several episodes, developing simultaneously but at different rates so that only rarely does any plot begin and end within a single episode. Consequently, the episodes are not self-contained, and if you see an isolated episode without seeing what went before, you won't know what's going on. To maintain interest, each episode generally ends at a critical point in a major plot strand, creating a cliff- hanger that the writers hope will create a strong desire to see the next episode.
Soap operas depend on this format.
Serials rely on a large cast of characters who come together in smaller groups to play out each of several different (and often unrelated) plot lines, of which some, at any one time, may be beginning, coming to a climactic point, or ending. With no single overarching plot, events usually center on a group of people in a specific location or on a small group of families. Serials lack the grand sense of resolution that the Hero's Journey provides. Instead, they offer opportunities to observe different characters interacting under a variety of stresses. The cliffhanger at the end of each episode may involve some shocking revelation or event that leaves us wondering how a key character will react to the news or the change in situation.
It's a fair bet that you will see efforts to create interactive serials over the next few years, because the game industry would like to find a way to get players hooked on a story—and therefore paying to play it, episode after episode—in the same way that TV viewers seem hooked on serial dramas. Each episode of such an interactive serial can't be a multihour blockbuster of the sort that the video game industry makes today; these games take too long to build. TV soap operas typically lower their production values and deliver short episodes frequently rather than long episodes infrequently, and you would expect interactive serials to work the same way. Figure 7.7 depicts the structure of a serial.
A limited series includes features of both the unlimited series and the serial. The limited series often combines single-episode plot lines, begun and resolved within one episode, with other plot lines that carry over from one episode to another. Unlike the unlimited series or the serial, however, a limited series also maintains one overarching plot line that runs throughout all episodes and eventually comes to a definite end, which is what makes the series limited. The TV show Babylon 5 was a limited series.
Unlike the serial, the limited series format doesn't rely heavily on cliffhangers to create interest in the subsequent episodes. Instead, the overall plot line provides the driving interest, and the cliffhanger becomes only a secondary means of keeping the viewer's interest (see Figure 7.8).
CONSISTENT WORLD
POTENTIAL AND LIMITS OF EPISODIC DELIVERY
The industry already makes games in the unlimited series format, but it may start making games in the limited series format as well to encourage players to buy the whole set. Developing games as limited series will require more money and planning but may prove to be worth it for a game that a publisher can be certain will be a hit. The Harry Potter series of games, based on the books and movies, will probably prove to be a limited series: When the overarching story ends, the series of games will end just as the author plans for the series of books to end. The speed of change of
technology may prove a problem, in that the later games may not be able to rely on the earlier games' code without appearing dated. Rewriting the software in the middle of the series would cancel out the cost savings generated by planning the whole series at the beginning. If the industry can find a way to make content quickly and cheaply on a continuing basis, you may eventually see interactive serials, with no fixed episode count and a constantly evolving story. Running such games in web browsers over the Internet makes the most sense because the web offers cheaper development and delivery compared to standalone games. If the prediction proves true and publishers develop limited serial games for the web, then to be profitable, those games may need to use an advertising-based business model; few players will pay for web-based games because there are so many free ones available.
Currently, most efforts to develop content on a continuing basis involve maintenance and expansion of persistent worlds—massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) rather than episodically delivered serials. The MMOGs use a subscription business model, and once proprietors recoup the extremely high level of investment required to set up such a game, they can be extremely profitable.
If you're working on a PC or console game, we don't recommend that you intentionally leave its story unfinished. It's too much of a disappointment to play for hours only to find that you must buy another game to find out how the story ends; critics roasted the few games that took that approach. A long game should end with its major problem resolved, either for good or ill. If you want to leave room for a sequel, the sequel should be about a different problem that arose during the course of the first story. Star Wars IV: A New Hope serves as a perfect example: The story ended with the heroes destroying the Death Star (the movie's major problem), but with Darth Vader (a character introduced during the story) escaping to cause trouble later on. The story in StarCraft ended with the destruction of the Overmind (its major problem), but with Sarah Kerrigan, a key character, having apparently turned traitor and gone on to lead a renegade faction against the heroes of the first story. Unless your story is quite explicitly part of a multipart story and you can guarantee that all parts will eventually be told, players deserve some resolution at the end of a game—especially a long game.
Most video games will benefit from the addition of a good story, one that is credible, coherent, and dramatically meaningful. A designer should not attempt to write a movie or a novel when making the video game story, however; he should remember that interactivity is the reason people play games. Whether you decide to make a linear, nonlinear, or a foldback, multiple-ending story for your game will depend on the gameplay and genre you've designed in the concept phase. For more engaging gameplay, deeper emotional response from the player, and greater satisfaction upon completing the game, designers should work on a good story that maintains player interest, that shows character growth, that balances narrative elements with gameplay, and that, above all else, remains enjoyable to play.
