DESIGN-DRIVEN APPROACHES TOWARD MORE EXPRESSIVE STORYGAMES a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Satisfaction of the Requirements for the Degree Of
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ CHANGEFUL TALES: DESIGN-DRIVEN APPROACHES TOWARD MORE EXPRESSIVE STORYGAMES A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in COMPUTER SCIENCE by Aaron A. Reed June 2017 The Dissertation of Aaron A. Reed is approved: Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Chair Michael Mateas Michael Chemers Dean Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright c by Aaron A. Reed 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures viii List of Tables xii Abstract xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1 Framework 15 1.1 Vocabulary . 15 1.1.1 Foundational terms . 15 1.1.2 Storygames . 18 1.1.2.1 Adventure as prototypical storygame . 19 1.1.2.2 What Isn't a Storygame? . 21 1.1.3 Expressive Input . 24 1.1.4 Why Fiction? . 27 1.2 A Framework for Storygame Discussion . 30 1.2.1 The Slipperiness of Genre . 30 1.2.2 Inputs, Events, and Actions . 31 1.2.3 Mechanics and Dynamics . 32 1.2.4 Operational Logics . 33 1.2.5 Narrative Mechanics . 34 1.2.6 Narrative Logics . 36 1.2.7 The Choice Graph: A Standard Narrative Logic . 38 2 The Adventure Game: An Existing Storygame Mode 44 2.1 Definition . 46 2.2 Eureka Stories . 56 2.3 The Adventure Triangle and its Flaws . 60 2.3.1 Instability . 65 iii 2.4 Blue Lacuna ................................. 66 2.5 Three Design Solutions . 69 2.5.1 The Witness ............................. 70 2.5.2 Firewatch ............................... 78 2.5.3 Her Story ............................... 86 2.6 A Technological Fix? . 94 3 Sculptural Fiction 98 3.1 Sculptural fiction overview . 102 3.2 Connections to existing concepts and works . 107 3.2.1 Pre-digital works . 107 3.2.2 Hypertext Theory . 113 3.2.3 Other Theoretical Work . 115 3.2.4 Released Games and Systems . 117 3.2.4.1 StoryNexus . 117 3.2.4.2 King of Dragon Pass ................... 121 3.2.4.3 Storyteller ......................... 122 3.3 Early Sculptural Fiction Projects . 124 3.3.1 Perfect ................................ 124 3.3.2 18 Cadence .............................. 126 3.3.3 Hollywood Visionary ......................... 130 3.4 Challenges with Sculptural Fiction . 133 3.4.1 Problems for Authors . 134 3.4.1.1 Understanding the Authoring Space . 134 3.4.1.2 Finding bad states through random testing . 137 3.4.2 Problems for Players . 140 3.4.2.1 Orientation . 140 3.4.2.2 Fires in the Desert . 142 3.4.2.3 Loss of Immersion . 144 3.5 Futures for Sculptural Fiction . 146 3.5.1 Supportive Play Partners . 147 3.5.2 Flexible Nodes . 148 4 Sculptural Fiction Case Study: The Ice-Bound Concordance 152 4.1 Overview . 152 4.2 Narrative Engine . 154 4.2.1 Symbol Selection . 156 4.2.2 Player Interaction . 158 4.2.3 Viewing expanded lexia text . 160 4.2.4 Template Language . 163 4.2.5 Resolving Endings . 166 4.3 Conversations with KRIS . 168 4.4 Revelations . 169 iv 4.5 Authoring for Ice-Bound ........................... 172 4.6 Ice-Bound as Sculptural Fiction . 176 5 Social Simulation 178 5.1 Introduction . 178 5.2 Defining Social Simulation . 185 5.3 Survey of Major Social Simulation Storygames . 190 5.3.1 Prom Week .............................. 191 5.3.1.1 Game Overview . 191 5.3.1.2 Core Gameplay Loop . 192 5.3.1.3 Larger Game Structure . 194 5.3.1.4 Prom Week Analysis . 196 5.3.2 Blood & Laurels ........................... 199 5.3.3 Redshirt ................................ 207 5.3.4 Other Works . 212 5.3.4.1 Fa¸cade ........................... 212 5.3.4.2 StoryBricks . 213 5.3.4.3 Siboot and other Chris Crawford projects . 215 5.3.4.4 Black Closet and Hanako Games . 216 5.3.4.5 Non-narrative social simulations . 218 5.4 Characterizing Social Simulation Storygames . 219 5.4.1 Schema, Rules, and Narrations: Three Types of Content . 221 5.4.2 Multiplicative, Not Additive Complexity . 224 5.4.3 Stories About Specific Systems, not Specific People . 224 5.4.4 Breaking out of Ruts . 228 5.5 Challenges with Social Simulation Games . 230 5.5.1 Prototyping and Design . 231 5.5.2 Simulation Fidelity . 234 5.5.3 Making the System Visible . 239 5.5.4 Authoring and Scoping . 241 5.5.5 Testing . 245 5.5.6 Rule Sorting, Precedence and Weighting . 246 5.5.7 Reuse of Content . 250 5.5.8 The Bad Parts of Emergent Surprise . 252 5.6 Futures for Social Simulation . 257 6 Social Simulation Case Study 263 6.1 Authoring for Prom Week .......................... 264 6.1.1 Overview . 264 6.1.2 Templates and History . 270 6.1.3 Other Writing . 273 6.1.4 Surprises . 276 6.2 Ensemble: A Design Tool . 281 v 7 Collaborative Storygames 286 7.1 Definition . 290 7.1.1 Connection to tabletop roleplaying theory . 295 7.1.2 Connection to existing collaborative fictions design work . 297 7.2 Design Framework . 299 7.2.1 Simulative Spectrum: World to Story . 299 7.2.2 Performative Spectrum: Author to Improviser . 301 7.2.3 Game Master as mediator between two . 302 7.2.4 Four Roles . 304 7.2.4.1 Generation . 304 7.2.4.2 Storywrighting . 305 7.2.4.3 Negotiation . 306 7.2.4.4 Administration . 307 7.2.4.5 (Performance?) . 308 7.3 Example Analog Games . 308 7.3.1 Andrew Plotkin's Journal Writing Game . 308 7.3.2 Microscope .............................. 311 7.3.3 Polaris ................................ 316 7.3.4 Apocalypse World .......................... 319 7.4 Bringing in the Digital . 325 7.4.1 Elegy for a Dead World ....................... 326 7.4.2 The Squinkifer Oeuvre . 326 7.4.3 Sleep is Death ............................ 328 7.5 What does it mean to collaborate? . 330 7.5.1 Three Questions . 330 7.5.1.1 Why would we want to collaborate with a system? . 330 7.5.1.2 Is \collaboration" a mismatched metaphor? . 332 7.5.1.3 What kinds of human/digital collaboration are possible? 336 7.5.2 Na¨ıve Collaboration . 336 7.5.3 Deep Collaboration . 340 7.6 Futures for Digital Collaborative Storygames . 343 7.6.1 Systematizing Na¨ıve Collaboration . 343 7.6.2 Exploring common ground . 345 7.6.3 Deeper Generation . 347 8 Collaborative Storygames Case Studies 351 8.1 Problem Planets ............................... 351 8.2 SPUN Adventure ............................... 353 8.3 Minimalist Story Generator #1 . 355 8.4 Ice-Bound as Collaborative Storygame . 357 8.5 Almost Goodbye ................................ 361 8.6 The Prisoner In Block Nineteen ....................... 363 8.7 Archives of the Sky .............................. 364 vi 9 Conclusion 367 Appendix A Project Yarn 374 Appendix B Archives of the Sky 388 Ludography 404 Bibliography 411 vii List of Figures 0.1 A performance of the procedural play Bad News..............7 0.2 A game of Downfall in progress. .8 1.1 Adventure, the original storygame. 19 1.2 The character creator in Mass Effect: Andromeda, an example of expressive input. 25 1.3 The game genres, according to games distribution service Steam. 30 1.4 Choice graph from The Cave of Time, Choose Your Own Adventure #1. 39 2.1 Various adventure games. 45 2.2 A puzzle integrated into the story world in Riven............. 50 2.3 Scenes from King's Quest IV......................... 58 2.4 The Adventure Triangle . 60 2.5 Edges on the adventure triangle. ..