December's Ludum Dare may be over, but we're still working hard on A Grimm Journey, albeit in dribs and drabs due to our other commitments. While both the Robs have been making loads of improvements (see Rob de Jager's blog post here*), I have been looking into the narrative of our game.
So far, the story has largely been confined to an introduction screen with a rhyming explanation, to fit with the fairy tale feel of the shadow puppetry art design.
For the full version of the game, there are a number of aspects to consider when it comes to implementing narrative:
There will also be information which needs to be conveyed to the player on the rules of the game world. The idea is that all the text and audio interaction will match the mood and style of the game.
Conveying Story
Our game will have small cut-scenes which impart key plot points as the player starts, progresses and ends the game. As the game is set up as a shadow puppet show, a straight-forward narrative punctuating the end of a game area works without feeling too much like extraneous exposition.
Other games with far more complex and lengthy narratives need to employ different techniques. Life is Strange, in common with many point and click adventures, uses the main character's observations of the world to forward the narrative. This has the advantage of putting the player in the driving seat and making them feel in control of the story; although cutscenes occur, they are dependent on the decisions the player makes in the game, and can also be rolled back and replayed differently to change the consequences. Super Metroid avoids the issue of cutscenes altogether by having around thirty seconds' worth of story moments embedded within the gameplay itself. Excepting the short backstory introduction to the game, players uncover the story by triggering three key set pieces where control is taken from the player for very short periods of time. However, the story is incredibly clear from these few points.
Of course, the Metal Gear franchise has broken all of these rules, with cutscenes and non-playable dialogues between characters that in total last longer than the gameplay itself. With the large fanbase and endurance these games have, it shows there isn't really a right or wrong way to handle this issue.
Setting the Mood
The narrative needs to fit the mood of the game; with a creepy fairy-tale like 'A Grimm Journey', we have a reasonable amount of scope to play around with aspects such as adding humour. The one thing that has to remain consistent is that all the narrative used in the game has a fairly-tale quality.
Oddly enough, one of the style ideas that was bandied about a little at the beginning of the original game jam was that of the 'Judderman' advertising campaign for a certain brand of schnapps. The combination of creepiness and eccentricity was something that appealed, and artistic decisions from the puppet style, the ethereal music and the omniscient narrator all centred around capturing a similar feel.
The use of rhyming couplets for all of the narrative has been a deliberate choice to further invoke notions of a child-like fairy-tale.
Providing Help to the Player
All games need to guide the player a little into figuring out the game world and mechanics; the feedback we received from the Ludum Dare jam taught us this lesson! The problem is in trying to give player's help and guidance, without breaking immersion with the game.
Consider text one:
"The Wolf may seem stuck, but he can leap to the sky,
If Little Red Riding Hood is standing close by."
Compared to text two:
"To make player 2 jump, they must be in close proximity to player 1."
While text two has a little more brevity, text one is more in keeping with the game world. For 'A Grimm Journey', our aim is to convey any help to the player clearly and with brevity, while still creating the feel of a shadow puppet show. As the omnipresent narrator gives this information in rhyming couplets as per the cut-scenes, it keeps the player in the fairy-tale.
There is a hefty amount of precedent when it comes to dispensing advice in the same manner as the narrative. All of the Metroid Prime games use Samus' log book entries and scans to display information in a dispassionate, field-note style, which allows the player to connect the dots between documented events and see where the story is heading. Transistor uses a combination of the Unknown figure's** concerned warnings and nostalgic ruminations, as well as information gathered via access points to guide the player in the right direction. These methods keep the player immersed in the game world, and help to ease the distraction of being given help that is ostensibly outside of that universe.
While our take on the narrative for 'A Grimm Journey' is a fairly simple one, it fits the theme of our game, provides key information and keeps the player immersed in the game. At least, that's the plan.
 |
| Shadow puppet art for 'A Grimm journey' |
For the full version of the game, there are a number of aspects to consider when it comes to implementing narrative:
- It must convey the story to the player.
- It must fit the mood of the game.
- It must provide pertinent information to the player.
There will also be information which needs to be conveyed to the player on the rules of the game world. The idea is that all the text and audio interaction will match the mood and style of the game.
Conveying Story
Our game will have small cut-scenes which impart key plot points as the player starts, progresses and ends the game. As the game is set up as a shadow puppet show, a straight-forward narrative punctuating the end of a game area works without feeling too much like extraneous exposition.
Other games with far more complex and lengthy narratives need to employ different techniques. Life is Strange, in common with many point and click adventures, uses the main character's observations of the world to forward the narrative. This has the advantage of putting the player in the driving seat and making them feel in control of the story; although cutscenes occur, they are dependent on the decisions the player makes in the game, and can also be rolled back and replayed differently to change the consequences. Super Metroid avoids the issue of cutscenes altogether by having around thirty seconds' worth of story moments embedded within the gameplay itself. Excepting the short backstory introduction to the game, players uncover the story by triggering three key set pieces where control is taken from the player for very short periods of time. However, the story is incredibly clear from these few points.
Of course, the Metal Gear franchise has broken all of these rules, with cutscenes and non-playable dialogues between characters that in total last longer than the gameplay itself. With the large fanbase and endurance these games have, it shows there isn't really a right or wrong way to handle this issue.
 |
| Super Metroid also uses background images in-game to progress the story... (Source: metroid.retropixel.net) |
Setting the Mood
The narrative needs to fit the mood of the game; with a creepy fairy-tale like 'A Grimm Journey', we have a reasonable amount of scope to play around with aspects such as adding humour. The one thing that has to remain consistent is that all the narrative used in the game has a fairly-tale quality.
Oddly enough, one of the style ideas that was bandied about a little at the beginning of the original game jam was that of the 'Judderman' advertising campaign for a certain brand of schnapps. The combination of creepiness and eccentricity was something that appealed, and artistic decisions from the puppet style, the ethereal music and the omniscient narrator all centred around capturing a similar feel.
The use of rhyming couplets for all of the narrative has been a deliberate choice to further invoke notions of a child-like fairy-tale.
 |
| Apparently, Channel 4 named this advert as one of their 100 scariest moments ever in 2003 (Source: exploringtheuncanny.com) |
Providing Help to the Player
All games need to guide the player a little into figuring out the game world and mechanics; the feedback we received from the Ludum Dare jam taught us this lesson! The problem is in trying to give player's help and guidance, without breaking immersion with the game.
Consider text one:
"The Wolf may seem stuck, but he can leap to the sky,
If Little Red Riding Hood is standing close by."
Compared to text two:
"To make player 2 jump, they must be in close proximity to player 1."
While text two has a little more brevity, text one is more in keeping with the game world. For 'A Grimm Journey', our aim is to convey any help to the player clearly and with brevity, while still creating the feel of a shadow puppet show. As the omnipresent narrator gives this information in rhyming couplets as per the cut-scenes, it keeps the player in the fairy-tale.
There is a hefty amount of precedent when it comes to dispensing advice in the same manner as the narrative. All of the Metroid Prime games use Samus' log book entries and scans to display information in a dispassionate, field-note style, which allows the player to connect the dots between documented events and see where the story is heading. Transistor uses a combination of the Unknown figure's** concerned warnings and nostalgic ruminations, as well as information gathered via access points to guide the player in the right direction. These methods keep the player immersed in the game world, and help to ease the distraction of being given help that is ostensibly outside of that universe.
 |
| In 'Transistor', access points allows players to configure their special moves, and also view more story information (source: transistor.gamepedia.com) |
While our take on the narrative for 'A Grimm Journey' is a fairly simple one, it fits the theme of our game, provides key information and keeps the player immersed in the game. At least, that's the plan.
* The scamp.
** Spoilers, sweetie.
** Spoilers, sweetie.
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