Narrative design in games

Hi all! In this article we will examine the topic of narrative in games. Despite the fact that a lot has already been written about narrative, plot and setting, they still continue to be confused. But why?

I want to say right away: if you are well versed in the topic, feel free to close this article so as not to waste time. I won’t tell you anything new, and I won’t delve into the wilds either. But for beginners who are still navigating these seemingly similar terms, I will most likely help them sort everything out.

Go. First, let's understand the terminology:

Narrative (literally “narration” from the English narrative) is the entirety of the story, the atmosphere of the game and the player’s perception of the narrative. This is a very comprehensive concept, which is defined using various components: gameplay, text, sounds, images, animations and other things.

Plot – a set of events and sequences that tell the story of the game. The plot is part of the narrative, or rather, even one of the means of creating it.

Setting – the environment in which the game takes place. This is the time, place and conditions under which the game exists.

As the plot develops in the game, the narrative changes (develops, adapts), thus the narrative becomes more alive, and the game is more varied and exciting. The setting most often remains unchanged.

All three of these “components” work together and serve one purpose: not just to make the game more interesting, but to create an entire universe, a separate world in which the player will experience real emotions and live. Create a new reality.

Let's look at this point with an example. Let's take for this the classic Mario, which many of you probably played on Dendy.

Game setting – fantastic, multi-layered, cartoonish (the laws of the world have nothing to do with reality).

Plot – the villains captured the beautiful princess and the heroes (plumber Mario and his brother Luigi) go through the Mushroom Kingdom, overcoming a lot of difficulties and destroying the minions of the turtle King Koopa to save her.

Narrative here it manifests itself in heroes and villains, in art, sounds, music, which changes depending on the type of level, in gameplay. Agree, we can guess what’s going on even without dialogue. We understand who our enemy is and what the goal is. We feel the liveliness of this world and live its history.

Notice how the narrative changes from the first to the second level and to the first boss level. How game designers convey these changes to the user.

At the beginning (Level 1-1) Mario runs through a bright sunny space, there are trees around, clouds overhead. The colors are bright, light, the music is cheerful, the background and landscape are natural, everything looks friendly and peaceful.

Then (Level 1-2) the hero descends underground, where everything is much more hostile. The colors are dark and gloomy, and the music also becomes ominous. Instead of blocks of earth and grass there are stones. The background is no longer blue, but black.

Agree, the difference is obvious, the difference in the narration (or narrative) of these two levels. We don’t need to explain that underground is dangerous, it goes without saying.

Now let's remember our first meeting with the boss (Level 1-4). The music is no longer just gloomy: it is fast, alarming. We do not meet any enemies on the way, this also escalates the situation. The blocks are not just stone, but brick. Contrasting colors: red, black, white. Instead of water – lava.

Then in subsequent levels everything is repeated, alternated, new levels are mixed in (with water and fish, with bridges and bees, with palm trees, etc.), together creating cyclical nature of the narrative.

The cyclical nature of the narrative – a technique that allows you to create the illusion of an infinite variety of events (in this case, game levels, typical for platformers and casual games). It allows you not to spend a lot of resources on creating new content and mechanics, while maintaining the player’s interest (after all, you never know what’s new around the corner).

And now, like in school, let’s repeat it again to remember:

Narrative is the narrative of the game, embodied through all its components. This is the complete gaming experience that the user receives. The concept of narrative is much broader than the plot or setting, since it is determined by both the setting and the plot, as well as graphics, sounds, the player’s personal subjective perception and much more.

I hope it became clearer =)

But that is not all. There is another important topic related to narrative that I would like to talk about: Layers of narrative design.

Speaking of layers, food associations come to mind)) After all, just like in any delicious pie, in any delicious pizza or even in a salad, one ingredient is not enough. Even if this single ingredient tastes great, it's not enough for the dish. Pizza, for example, needs a layer of dough, a layer of meat or sausage, cheese… Of course, the original sauce. Then it turns into a real culinary masterpiece!

The same applies to narrative design. There are 4 main layers here, each of which has different “ingredients” and its own special “taste”.

Layer 1: Gameplay. These are all game interactions, mechanics, events and, last but not least, the unique player experience.

Remembering the same Mario, the gameplay layer of the narrative is expressed in moving around the world, killing certain enemies, collecting bonuses in the form of mushrooms and flowers (not candies or first aid kits, for example), diving into the underworld through pipes (after all, Mario is a plumber, so here this is important) and so on.

Layer 2: Narrative Purpose. In other words, the overall goal of the game in terms of history. And this is where the plot comes to the rescue. It is usually he who forms the narrative goal.

In the case of our game, the narrative goal is to save the princess =)

Layer 3: Narrative Background. The narrative background that creates the game universe and the basis for the entire story. Partially, this background refers to the setting, but more often it is the game world itself, that is, its laws, details, visual elements, sounds, musical theme and everything that helps the user dive deeper into the game and build associations with it.

The musical theme from Mario, familiar from childhood, is one of the means to create a narrative background in the game. It permeates the entire game and tells the story. By closing our eyes, we can guess from the sound where our hero is and what awaits him on this level. Also, the narrative background is created by fragments of history, hints, Easter eggs… Small crumbs of narrative scattered throughout the game world.

Layer 4: Mental model. These are all the feelings and experiences that arise in the player’s head during the game and beyond.

Empathy for the kidnapped princess, sympathy for Mario's indignation when, after killing the next boss, he receives a mushroom instead of a beautiful girl. And also thoughts about what kind of relationship can a person of royal blood and a simple plumber have?

You can read more about all four layers Here.

Well, for dessert, so to speak, 4 of my favorite techniques (with examples of games) that help create a good narrative. Of course, there are dozens of such techniques, so I don’t want to spread myself thin and tell you only about the four most elegant ones, to my taste.

A clear mood of the narrative (a clear setting, goal, point of view of the narrator, emotions and thoughts that the game evokes are also clear)

A great example in this case is the game STRAY. It is made in a post-apocalyptic setting. When intelligent machines live in the world instead of people. The game is about friendship, the struggle for life and freedom, and how important home is. The goal of the game is to get home, return to your friends and family. The narrator empathizes not only with the cat, but also with the robots, who are very humanized here. If you haven't played it yet, I recommend it.

Fictional languages

World of Warcraft and its unique linguistics. Each nation here has its own language and even its own dialects, the characters speak it, their phrases are recognizable. Of course, this decorates the world, makes it more real and helps set the narrative.

The narrative is set through the gameplay, that is, every action of the player contributes to the narrative, immerses in the world, or even influences it.

Here I would like to recall the game Never Alone. A masterpiece, where through the gameplay, through mechanics and controls, the essence is conveyed to the user: friendship, trust and joint efforts can move mountains. The value of listening to the tips of your companion and helping him.

Story through characters. When it seems that there is no narrative at first glance. And he is.

This technique is typical for the MOBA genre. In them, the narrative is set primarily through the Persians and their properties: abilities, appearance, description, unique phrases or jokes. Let's take Smite as an example: a beautiful and spectacular battle of gods from different pantheons.