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A Heuristic Approach for Narrative- Driven Games

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A Heuristic Approach for Narrative- Driven Games nr ik v H e d a ap a l sk M a EFFECTS OF INTERACTIVITY ON NARRATIVE-DRIVEN GAMES: A Heuristic Approach For Narrative- Driven Games Master Degree Project in Informatics One year Level 22,5 ECTS Spring term 2021 Sara Nil Acarsoy Supervisor: Mikael Johannesson Examiner: Per Backlund 1 Abstract In narrative-driven games, the story is an essential part of the gameplay, and understanding the story is of great importance. Given that what separates this genre from other storytelling media is interactivity, this thesis focuses on the elements in narrative-driven video games that effects the players' perception of narrative through interactivity. Using players' likes and dislikes from their previous experiences in narrative-driven games, this thesis aims to develop a heuristic approach for interactive narrative elements that offer the narrative through players' input to the game's system and create an effective gameplay experience that delivers the story to the players. Keywords: Video game narrative, storytelling, interactivity, narrative-driven games, storygames 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose .............................................................................................................3 1.1.1 Previous Research ......................................................................................5 1.2 Overview and Structure ...................................................................................9 2. Theoretical Background ............................................................................................10 2.1 Narrative in Video Games ..............................................................................12 2.2 Interactive Narrative ......................................................................................13 2.2.1 Linear and Nonlinear Narrative ..............................................................15 2.2.2 Character customization .........................................................................17 2.2.3 Interaction with the NPCs and Environment ........................................19 2.2.4 Gameplay ................................................................................................21 2.2.5 Achievements .........................................................................................23 2.3 Narrative Through Audio ..............................................................................24 2.3.1 Interactive Audio ....................................................................................25 2.4 Narrative Through Visuals ............................................................................26 2.4.1 Cutscenes ................................................................................................28 3. Problem .....................................................................................................................31 3.1. Method ...........................................................................................................35 3.1.1 Ethics .......................................................................................................38 3.1.2 Limitations ..............................................................................................38 3.2. Survey ............................................................................................................39 4 . Results and Analysis ................................................................................................42 4.1 Participants and Structure of the Survey .......................................................42 4.2 Analysis of the Answers .................................................................................43 4.2.1 Section 1: Demographic and Game Preferences ....................................43 4.2.2 Section 2: Story and Interactivity ..........................................................45 4.2.3 Section 3: Customization ........................................................................51 4.2.4 Section 4: Interaction with the NPCs and Environment .......................57 4.2.5 Section 5: Gameplay ...............................................................................64 4.2.6 Section 6: Achievements .........................................................................71 3 4.2.7 Section 7: Linear & Nonlinear Stories ....................................................76 4.2.8 Section 8: Music and Sound ..................................................................78 4.2.9 Section 9: Art and Visuals ......................................................................81 4.2.10 Section 10: Cutscenes ...........................................................................85 4.2.11 Section 11: Other opinions ....................................................................89 4.3 Summary ........................................................................................................91 5. Conclusion ..............................................................................................................100 5.1 Discussion & Future Work ............................................................................101 6. References ...............................................................................................................103 Appendices ..................................................................................................................109 4 1. Introduction Storytelling happens in many different ways within different media types, such as orally, visually, and written. The most popular media used in today's world for storytelling are books, movies, and TV series. Along with these, video games are starting to reach a higher number of audiences. According to Newzoo, a website for game analytics, there were 2.69 billion gamers worldwide by the end of 2020. By 2021, it is expected to be 2.81 billion (Wijman, 2020). The most significant difference between the traditional storytelling media and games is the interactivity element and interactive narrative; in video games, the audience interacts with the media differently and, in some cases, decides how the story will take place. Taking these into account, lately, video games are becoming a dominant storytelling medium as they are starting to influence the other mediums (Aarseth, 2102). Further on, interactive narrative is how the player affects and influences the provided story by either playing a character in the game's virtual world or directly interfering with the world (Riedl and Bulitko, 2012). In which the player's decisions can have a direct impact on the storyline and structure. It can also add more depth to a story and helps with experiencing the story to a different degree. It can be argued that video games can immerse the player into virtual space by combining all the narrative techniques books and movies use and even adds more to those by using interactive narrative. Furthermore, they can offer a better opportunity for storytelling and narrative as the players take part as the main character. To explain the comparison between traditional storytelling mediums and games clearly, it can be said that the audience has a 3rd person view on written literature; in stage arts such as cinema and theater, the audience has a 2nd person view on the subject and observes what is given to them, but in games being the character itself, the audience affects the subject directly (Lee, 2013). On the other hand, while games offer such unique experiences, they also require additional notions, in particular providing an immersive environment, challenges, and entertainment (Desurvire and Chen, 2004). The increasing number of gamers suggests that the game development industry has become very competitive and creates a challenging environment for game developers to step forward within the industry (Rajanen and Rajanen, 2018). In order to create successful games, game designers should have guidelines and methods that are approved by the players, as players decide on a game's success within the industry. Having such guidelines or game design patterns can help game designers with making design choices during a game's design or use them as inspiration (Holopainen, 2011). 1 Although it is argued that video games do not require a story but mere gameplay and mechanics, there are different opinions about this subject; in Interactive Storytelling for Video Games, the authors argue that: "Man's natural desire to make sense of his world is so strong that if game designers abdicate all authorial responsibility and try to create a game without a story, players will impose a story upon the game anyway, regardless of whether the designers had one in mind." (Lebowitz and Klug, 2011, p.9) On the other hand, the written or spoken narrative is not the only way to deliver the story to the players. Graphics and audios are also supportive elements in telling a story. These elements are essential in terms of setting the atmosphere and preparing the player for the upcoming adventures. The visual and auditory elements help shed light on the game's story and tell some parts without the written narrative. The narrative and story of a game gives sense to the gameplay and the graphics (Arsenault, Côté, and Larochelle, 2015). Gameplay, story, and art shapes and directs each other. The story's setting has a significant impact on the art used in a video game, such as the time the story takes place directly
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