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STORYTELLING FOR A SHORT GAME
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unity
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CloseI have a bad habit of making games bigger than I had planned. Even a relatively short game I had planned ended up ballooning about 15-25% bigger because I wanted more character growth and exploration.
So, I wanted to ask for tips on how to tell a good story in a short game (I'm thinking less than 3 or 4 hours of gameplay). How would you approach it? And can you do character growth in such a short time? Or is it more about the mood/feeling of the game, or just telling a really good short story?
I feel like I still have a lot to learn about writing and storytelling, so any insight would be very much appreciated ^_^
So, I wanted to ask for tips on how to tell a good story in a short game (I'm thinking less than 3 or 4 hours of gameplay). How would you approach it? And can you do character growth in such a short time? Or is it more about the mood/feeling of the game, or just telling a really good short story?
I feel like I still have a lot to learn about writing and storytelling, so any insight would be very much appreciated ^_^
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
I have that same problem. The IGMC and Psychostasis taught me SO MUCH about making short games, but the pitalls will always be there no matter what I do. Here are some of the lessons I learned from those two experiences:
- Things always take longer than expected. No exceptions. Allow room for growth by scaling down your projects at the beginning. Cut out characters, cut out some locations that you don't HAVE to have. How long does it take for the players to get from point A to Point B? You will feel like you're losing something, but the freedom you gain will be worth it.
- Combine things. If you have two or more characters that have different personality traits, for example, combine them will drastically cut back on dialogue you need to write. Plus, a combined character will have more personality, allowing for more ease of writing.
- Stick to your original plan as closely as possible. Avoid too much feature creep.
- Focus projects. Don't add more than is ABSOLUTELY necessary. Just because you CAN make 20 different enemy sprites for one area doesn't mean you SHOULD. You can't add fluff before getting the core game down.
- Don't spend too much time in one area. If you start getting into nitpicky details, like where certain objects in the map should go, or tweaking enemy and player stats by about 3 or 4 each build and testing the battle, you start to lose the forest for the trees. Get a rough outline first, THEN go back and work on the little details.
- Set milestones. Plan to have certain parts of the game done by certain dates. This'll help you stay on track.
- Set a clear end date. The "It'll be ready when it's ready," approach is nice, but without a clear end date, you will get lazy and put off more vital parts of development for later. And later. And later.
- Move on. Make no mistake: you will implement something, but decide later that it can be done in a better way. The same can be true for 90% of anything put in a game. Maybe the art could be better? Maybe the battles could use another round of polish? But you can focus test your game to near perfection, but after keeping your fans waiting for so long, is it really ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY?
I hope these help!
EDIT:
I feel like I may have deviated a bit from your original few questions. I tried to be as all-inclusive as possible, but your question was about how individuals would handle this problem? Okay, let me add a personal spin on this:
Since I place emphasis on characters, I tend to make design decisions that revolve around THEM. Game balance is secondary for me. I want players to really feel like they're playing as the character(s). It does a LOT for immersion when characters have abilities that tie in to their personalities, and players feel like they're stepping into their shoes.
That's a lot of work. Because of this, having parties larger than 3 characters seems like a bit much for me. This naturally scales down the project quite a bit, as the fewer characters need development, the less time on the project needed.
Simple stories exploring two to four characters' personality traits is more than enough. As long as you can reach out and touch the player through gameplay, you don't need stellar visuals or deeply complex systems. Sometimes simple is the best way to go.
- Things always take longer than expected. No exceptions. Allow room for growth by scaling down your projects at the beginning. Cut out characters, cut out some locations that you don't HAVE to have. How long does it take for the players to get from point A to Point B? You will feel like you're losing something, but the freedom you gain will be worth it.
- Combine things. If you have two or more characters that have different personality traits, for example, combine them will drastically cut back on dialogue you need to write. Plus, a combined character will have more personality, allowing for more ease of writing.
- Stick to your original plan as closely as possible. Avoid too much feature creep.
- Focus projects. Don't add more than is ABSOLUTELY necessary. Just because you CAN make 20 different enemy sprites for one area doesn't mean you SHOULD. You can't add fluff before getting the core game down.
- Don't spend too much time in one area. If you start getting into nitpicky details, like where certain objects in the map should go, or tweaking enemy and player stats by about 3 or 4 each build and testing the battle, you start to lose the forest for the trees. Get a rough outline first, THEN go back and work on the little details.
- Set milestones. Plan to have certain parts of the game done by certain dates. This'll help you stay on track.
- Set a clear end date. The "It'll be ready when it's ready," approach is nice, but without a clear end date, you will get lazy and put off more vital parts of development for later. And later. And later.
- Move on. Make no mistake: you will implement something, but decide later that it can be done in a better way. The same can be true for 90% of anything put in a game. Maybe the art could be better? Maybe the battles could use another round of polish? But you can focus test your game to near perfection, but after keeping your fans waiting for so long, is it really ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY?
I hope these help!
EDIT:
I feel like I may have deviated a bit from your original few questions. I tried to be as all-inclusive as possible, but your question was about how individuals would handle this problem? Okay, let me add a personal spin on this:
Since I place emphasis on characters, I tend to make design decisions that revolve around THEM. Game balance is secondary for me. I want players to really feel like they're playing as the character(s). It does a LOT for immersion when characters have abilities that tie in to their personalities, and players feel like they're stepping into their shoes.
That's a lot of work. Because of this, having parties larger than 3 characters seems like a bit much for me. This naturally scales down the project quite a bit, as the fewer characters need development, the less time on the project needed.
Simple stories exploring two to four characters' personality traits is more than enough. As long as you can reach out and touch the player through gameplay, you don't need stellar visuals or deeply complex systems. Sometimes simple is the best way to go.
Aside from those formal gam-mak aspects, I'd also look at short stories in general to get a grasp for how to create short stories in games. (as that seems to be an issue as well)
As you have a limited frame, you will not be able to flesh out a huge background or many events concerning the character growth.
But that does not mean that you need to abondon character growth.
Instead, rather than thinking of "development" or "character growth" in a general sense, set a small window from the very beginning.
Start media in res, something already happened - and highlight one crucial moment. A moment where you realize something, where something changes or where something comes to an end.
So you can build up on the past as an introduction and then move on.
Take a theme, something that you can use to close your game off, something you can build on, something that glues all scenes together. Symbolism is a great thing because it requires little time to explain.
It is very useful for any game, but especially short ones can make good use of this, as one will not get bored of it during the time.
A character can grow quite a lot in a short time, as not all experience necessary for a realization need to happen at that time. The moment it clicks is usually afterwards on reflection - so you can use that.
You just need to frame it differently. You can't show all of it happen.
Moods and feelings almost always can be tied to other things. A good story should involve moods and feelings, although they can stand on their own just as well.
Just as with the character events: pick one focus, then built around it.
As you have a limited frame, you will not be able to flesh out a huge background or many events concerning the character growth.
But that does not mean that you need to abondon character growth.
Instead, rather than thinking of "development" or "character growth" in a general sense, set a small window from the very beginning.
Start media in res, something already happened - and highlight one crucial moment. A moment where you realize something, where something changes or where something comes to an end.
So you can build up on the past as an introduction and then move on.
Take a theme, something that you can use to close your game off, something you can build on, something that glues all scenes together. Symbolism is a great thing because it requires little time to explain.
It is very useful for any game, but especially short ones can make good use of this, as one will not get bored of it during the time.
A character can grow quite a lot in a short time, as not all experience necessary for a realization need to happen at that time. The moment it clicks is usually afterwards on reflection - so you can use that.
You just need to frame it differently. You can't show all of it happen.
Moods and feelings almost always can be tied to other things. A good story should involve moods and feelings, although they can stand on their own just as well.
Just as with the character events: pick one focus, then built around it.
suzy_cheesedreams
1480
I started with grander game ideas a couple of years ago, but in the last half of this year worked from the beginning with the idea of having a short game for my first game-making effort so that it would be actually achievable.
There are three central characters, only one interactive locale to play in, I'm also thinking a set number of battles, a short level cap, a handful of skills for the combative characters, and lots and lots of symbolism tying everything to the main character - everything in the game design must have a reason to be there, or it is unnecessary as it serves no symbolic purpose. The symbolism I guess is to develop the character more quickly and effectively and to illustrate her dilemma, personality and psychological state and all that in a more efficient way than a long dialogue heavy story.
For my other main project, which was quite large when I first started planning it, I've stripped it down considerably, doing as Red_Nova has said and combining characters with similar traits to cut down on repetition, ditching characters that I've felt were out of place anyway, again relying a lot on symbolism to enrich the game via the actual structural design, visuals, everything. That way it feels more condensed and easier to focus on. You know the characters and the plot well because you've woven them into the technical design. (This is just my strategy, my stuff is clearly story/character heavy so it mightn't suit everyone.)
I guess knowing how to edit your own work is a vital skill in the developmental process, understanding and accepting limitations of time, skill, etc.
There are three central characters, only one interactive locale to play in, I'm also thinking a set number of battles, a short level cap, a handful of skills for the combative characters, and lots and lots of symbolism tying everything to the main character - everything in the game design must have a reason to be there, or it is unnecessary as it serves no symbolic purpose. The symbolism I guess is to develop the character more quickly and effectively and to illustrate her dilemma, personality and psychological state and all that in a more efficient way than a long dialogue heavy story.
For my other main project, which was quite large when I first started planning it, I've stripped it down considerably, doing as Red_Nova has said and combining characters with similar traits to cut down on repetition, ditching characters that I've felt were out of place anyway, again relying a lot on symbolism to enrich the game via the actual structural design, visuals, everything. That way it feels more condensed and easier to focus on. You know the characters and the plot well because you've woven them into the technical design. (This is just my strategy, my stuff is clearly story/character heavy so it mightn't suit everyone.)
I guess knowing how to edit your own work is a vital skill in the developmental process, understanding and accepting limitations of time, skill, etc.
Housekeeping
3571
Alright, so most character-centric stories operate on a character being at state A and over the course of the story changing to state B. There's obviously a lot more to it, but generally something happens and the character experiences a change of outlook or begins to question something about themselves or the world. With a short story you just want to distill that progression down as much as possible. So instead of showing someone's entire life experience, you just want to get as close to that climactic moment---that SOMETHING that changes the character--as possible. You might also choose to go with a lift ending, where the character doesn't experience the change yet, but that climactic moment is the last thing we see, so that there are then implications that the character is about to change in a profound way.
Stories don't have to operate that way, but the ones that stick with me tend to have that kind of focus on character progression. It's generally the first thing I consider once I have the ground situation established.
Also, I guess this is just good writing advice in general, but try to compact as much as you can into a little space. If you have your brave knight slay a goblin, that's fine from a gameplay perspective, but if your protagonist's family was killed by goblins, then you have a charged scene. If that goblin was a soldier working for the antagonist wizard, then you have plot progression. If that PARTICULAR goblin has never hurt a fly, you have character development.
Stories don't have to operate that way, but the ones that stick with me tend to have that kind of focus on character progression. It's generally the first thing I consider once I have the ground situation established.
Also, I guess this is just good writing advice in general, but try to compact as much as you can into a little space. If you have your brave knight slay a goblin, that's fine from a gameplay perspective, but if your protagonist's family was killed by goblins, then you have a charged scene. If that goblin was a soldier working for the antagonist wizard, then you have plot progression. If that PARTICULAR goblin has never hurt a fly, you have character development.
suzy_cheesedreams
1480
Also good advice. Kind of what I was trying to say, but way more succinct, ha.
Ahahahahaha!!!
I have no idea. orz
My shortest games tend not to have words. That helps a lot. XD
When I add words they tend not to get finished. >.<;
I have no idea. orz
My shortest games tend not to have words. That helps a lot. XD
When I add words they tend not to get finished. >.<;
Nova, you should really write more articles. Great advice as always. And remember the
acronym for short projects: KISS - Keep it Short and Simple ( others will say Keep it Simple, Stupid, but that's a tad derogatory XD ). I myself made a short 1 hour game in just under a week for the RM Venture held back in February and I kept stuff really basic as well, including the story ( of course, working within the limits of the contest helped a lot ).
acronym for short projects: KISS - Keep it Short and Simple ( others will say Keep it Simple, Stupid, but that's a tad derogatory XD ). I myself made a short 1 hour game in just under a week for the RM Venture held back in February and I kept stuff really basic as well, including the story ( of course, working within the limits of the contest helped a lot ).
I can't speak as an expert since I have yet to finish a noteworthy game, plus everyone has different priorities and ways to go about storytelling. But what I personally like to do when writing short stories is to focus on an interesting overall idea. Usually, such an idea will consist of:
- a constellation, conflict or premise I find fascinating and want to explore (i.e. what happens?)
- the driving forces, which are usually humans - or intelligent beings in general (i.e. whom does it happen to?)
- and the reasons for the ensuing development of the story (i.e. why does it happen?)
Any of these aspects can be the starting point for your idea, but building the story around only one of them before you've decided on the other two usually makes things very difficult.
Housekeeping and Red_Nova already gave a lot of good advice I agree with, especially regarding the need to condense your material. I don't support the extreme form of the "Show, Don't Tell" mentality which says text is always inferior and the less dialogue you have, the better. I believe text can have a lot of impact when used well - but that's the point especially in short games: Make sure everything you write and implement is meaningful, and complements the other parts of the game. One image or mechanic can say more than a thousand brilliant words - but together, they can say even more. If you can achieve a balance here, that's a good sign.
Edit:
P.S.: What does orz actually mean?
- a constellation, conflict or premise I find fascinating and want to explore (i.e. what happens?)
- the driving forces, which are usually humans - or intelligent beings in general (i.e. whom does it happen to?)
- and the reasons for the ensuing development of the story (i.e. why does it happen?)
Any of these aspects can be the starting point for your idea, but building the story around only one of them before you've decided on the other two usually makes things very difficult.
Housekeeping and Red_Nova already gave a lot of good advice I agree with, especially regarding the need to condense your material. I don't support the extreme form of the "Show, Don't Tell" mentality which says text is always inferior and the less dialogue you have, the better. I believe text can have a lot of impact when used well - but that's the point especially in short games: Make sure everything you write and implement is meaningful, and complements the other parts of the game. One image or mechanic can say more than a thousand brilliant words - but together, they can say even more. If you can achieve a balance here, that's a good sign.
Edit:
P.S.: What does orz actually mean?
suzy_cheesedreams
1480
author=NeverSilent
Edit:
P.S.: What does orz actually mean?
I've been wondering this myself.
I think the best advice I can give is to get to the point. RTP wasn't an amazing short story by any stretch of the imagination but I think it was seriously helped by the fact that I didn't meander on one event or idea for too long.
Basically what I tried to do:
> Oh hey sick Ullie
> Woah what if Ullie can't do what she wants to because of this sickness
> Lena protests Ullie fighting
> Brian protests Ullie fighting
> Ullie continues doing what she wants
> Lena gets extremely mad
> Brian gets a bit invasive
> Ullie continues doing what she wants but something is weird
> Oh hey someone definitely did this to you on purpose + Brian is faithful hubby
> Oh hey Lena is dying because you're stupid Ullie
> Oh hey Brian was making you sick all along because you're really inattentive
> Hopefully player realizes the entire game was Ullie being inattentive to her health, Lena and Brian's feelings, and the hints that Brian was being meguca bad
> Ullie and Brian both grow. Lena is probably dead though I'm not sure. Ullie seems to think Lena is okay somewhere.
See? There was room for growth there in the end!
Basically what I tried to do:
> Oh hey sick Ullie
> Woah what if Ullie can't do what she wants to because of this sickness
> Lena protests Ullie fighting
> Brian protests Ullie fighting
> Ullie continues doing what she wants
> Lena gets extremely mad
> Brian gets a bit invasive
> Ullie continues doing what she wants but something is weird
> Oh hey someone definitely did this to you on purpose + Brian is faithful hubby
> Oh hey Lena is dying because you're stupid Ullie
> Oh hey Brian was making you sick all along because you're really inattentive
> Hopefully player realizes the entire game was Ullie being inattentive to her health, Lena and Brian's feelings, and the hints that Brian was being meguca bad
> Ullie and Brian both grow. Lena is probably dead though I'm not sure. Ullie seems to think Lena is okay somewhere.
See? There was room for growth there in the end!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=yuna21
Nova, you should really write more articles. Great advice as always.
Thanks! I just might do that if I can find the time.
And remember the
acronym for short projects: KISS - Keep it Short and Simple ( others will say Keep it Simple, Stupid, but that's a tad derogatory XD ).
I always go for derogatory sayings. It keeps me grounded and humble.
Speaking of humble, I ought to break out that medal unity gave me again. I know I left it around here somewhere...
author=suzy_cheesedreams
I started with grander game ideas a couple of years ago, but in the last half of this year worked from the beginning with the idea of having a short game for my first game-making effort so that it would be actually achievable.
Yeah, I started my first games as huuuuuge ordeals (like literally one was about eight separate characters that each had their own quests and then slowly joined the main quest, it was insane XD ) but I found most of them hard to finish, so I definitely see the benefits of going small (also, I can only work on one project for more than a year or two before really wanting to do something else XD)
author=suzy_cheesedreams
I guess knowing how to edit your own work is a vital skill in the developmental process, understanding and accepting limitations of time, skill, etc.
Totally. Knowing when and where to go back and add polish, and when to cut the fat, is an essential skill. One I'm still working on myself >.<
author=Housekeeping
Alright, so most character-centric stories operate on a character being at state A and over the course of the story changing to state B. There's obviously a lot more to it, but generally something happens and the character experiences a change of outlook or begins to question something about themselves or the world. With a short story you just want to distill that progression down as much as possible. So instead of showing someone's entire life experience, you just want to get as close to that climactic moment---that SOMETHING that changes the character--as possible. You might also choose to go with a lift ending, where the character doesn't experience the change yet, but that climactic moment is the last thing we see, so that there are then implications that the character is about to change in a profound way.
Stories don't have to operate that way, but the ones that stick with me tend to have that kind of focus on character progression. It's generally the first thing I consider once I have the ground situation established.
Also, I guess this is just good writing advice in general, but try to compact as much as you can into a little space. If you have your brave knight slay a goblin, that's fine from a gameplay perspective, but if your protagonist's family was killed by goblins, then you have a charged scene. If that goblin was a soldier working for the antagonist wizard, then you have plot progression. If that PARTICULAR goblin has never hurt a fly, you have character development.
Wow. Thank you so much for this, Housekeeping! I think this mindset is going to help me a lot! Find the climactic point of character change, and build the game around that... That gives me a lot to work with! ^_^
author=Liberty
Ahahahahaha!!!
I have no idea. orz
My shortest games tend not to have words. That helps a lot. XD
When I add words they tend not to get finished. >.<;
I think it takes a certain kind of skill to make games with no words in them, though! That's definitely a skill I don't have.
author=yuna21
Nova, you should really write more articles. Great advice as always. And remember the
acronym for short projects: KISS - Keep it Short and Simple ( others will say Keep it Simple, Stupid, but that's a tad derogatory XD ). I myself made a short 1 hour game in just under a week for the RM Venture held back in February and I kept stuff really basic as well, including the story ( of course, working within the limits of the contest helped a lot ).
Yeah. Contests are great for this kind of thing, as they give you boundaries. I guess an idea I could use is to make myself contest-like boundaries to kind of emulate that strict process.
author=NeverSilent
I can't speak as an expert since I have yet to finish a noteworthy game, plus everyone has different priorities and ways to go about storytelling.
I'm glad you chimed in regardless. Your opinions hold merit even if you don't have a completed game under your belt, and it's always better to have more to think about ^_^
author=NeverSilent
But what I personally like to do when writing short stories is to focus on an interesting overall idea. Usually, such an idea will consist of:
- a constellation, conflict or premise I find fascinating and want to explore (i.e. what happens?)
- the driving forces, which are usually humans - or intelligent beings in general (i.e. whom does it happen to?)
- and the reasons for the ensuing development of the story (i.e. why does it happen?)
Any of these aspects can be the starting point for your idea, but building the story around only one of them before you've decided on the other two usually makes things very difficult.
This is good advice. Honestly, when ideas spark, I don't generally ask myself these questions consciously, though they usually end up getting answered anyway as I explore the ideas further. Having them in mind early on is a good idea.
author=Gourd_Clae
I think the best advice I can give is to get to the point. RTP wasn't an amazing short story by any stretch of the imagination but I think it was seriously helped by the fact that I didn't meander on one event or idea for too long.
I feel like RTP is a good example of a short story done well. It's overall not about a big world-changing event, but rather about the characters and their struggles, and that always speaks to me :D
The shortest game I have is probably Okiku, Star Apprentice. Well, there's Veil of Darkness, but, Okiku is the better example since it's, like, maybe actually good 'n stuff. Okiku's not out there to change the world, save it, or whatever. She's out there to blow up the world get a couple of ingredients for her master so she can do her thing. Though, if she has to blast a few people/things along the way, well, Okiku's the kind of person that would do that anyway!
Well, Housekeeping said what I wanted to say just in better. No wonder that is understood : D
I love short stories. If you ever make one I'll be sure to play it.
I love short stories. If you ever make one I'll be sure to play it.
author=Marrend
The shortest game I have is probably Okiku, Star Apprentice. Well, there's Veil of Darkness, but, Okiku is the better examplesince it's, like, maybe actually good 'n stuff. Okiku's not out there to change the world, save it, or whatever. She's out there toblow it the worldget a couple of ingredients for her master so she can do her thing. Though, if she has to blast a few people/things along the way, well, Okiku's the kind of person that would do that anyway!
Yeah, I definitely think Okiku is an example of a short game done right. Okiku herself doesn't have any huge character development, but it's a fun ride with a fun character and is a great piece of enjoyment.
author=Kylaila
Well, Housekeeping said what I wanted to say just in better. No wonder that is understood : D
I love short stories. If you ever make one I'll be sure to play it.
Thanks very much! :D I'm looking to make some in the future! ^_^
I've made a couple really short action games with just a bit of story in between scenes :D I found it really helped to make sure the little dialogue I did have served a purpose - either establishing a mood for a scene, exploring a character's personality, or advancing the plot. I tried to cut everything that wasn't really relevant, and condensed what I could.
Also, for a short game, say 1-2 hours, I try to focus on just one little situation or scene. It's not really enough time to build a huge overarching plot where the world hangs in the balance, or an intense political situation (you'll end up cutting too much!) but it's more than enough tell a story about a torn family, or two long-lost friends meeting up again.
I've only ever made short games, so I'm having the opposite problem with a bigger one, now! Managing a bigger story is kind of intense :P
Also, for a short game, say 1-2 hours, I try to focus on just one little situation or scene. It's not really enough time to build a huge overarching plot where the world hangs in the balance, or an intense political situation (you'll end up cutting too much!) but it's more than enough tell a story about a torn family, or two long-lost friends meeting up again.
I've only ever made short games, so I'm having the opposite problem with a bigger one, now! Managing a bigger story is kind of intense :P
