StoryTheory

International Game Developers Association

Here are various articles and the points I got out of them.

• What is plot? by Bill Johnson. This article raises a few good points about what the computer should do. Some of the key things that I got out of it are:
  • "What a plot does is raise dramatic questions a reader or viewer will follow a story to its conclusion to get answers." The story that is generated needs to have a strong plot that raises dramatic questions that the player wants to have answered. This will help the game be more immersive.
  • "In any story, as characters act to achieve goals, the actions of such characters should advance the story toward its resolution and fulfillment." For me this means that the AI of the game needs to be aware of the plot and help move it forward, either by opposing or helping the player in their goals. This will require complex AI, which I will think about later.
  • "A plot operates around the effect of making a story's movement toward resolution and fulfillment dramatic." This ties into the first point in that the plot should help move the story forward to completion. The key here is the last word - dramatic. How can the computer-generated story and AI make the movement of the story dramatic?
  • "A story is about an issue of human need. A plot is what makes that issue acted out to resolution and fulfillment dramatic." So here is the core of the story - it is about an issue of human need. When the computer is going to generate the story the program will have to take into account human needs and pick one to build the story around. Now, we can limit the needs to a few because we are a computer game. Something that could be tied into here is some type of personality test the player takes that can give the computer a hint to a need that the player would be able to relate to.
  • "When every character's actions revolve around a story's core dramatic issue, the actions of each character affect every other character. A well-designed plot ensures those premise-generated actions increase the drama around the story's course and outcome. That makes the story's journey to its ultimate destination more potent." Once the story and plot structure are generated, the computer cannot simply let the AI go and sit back and drink a beer or something. Rather it most continuously monitor the story and the actions taken by the player and the AI to ensure that they are working within the story.
  • "Engaging the interest of an audience around an issue of human need invests them in the story's outcome." It's all about immersion of the player in the game. Just reinforces the idea that the story should be based on a human need.
  • "To create a great plot, start with your premise. Understand how what's at stake in your story raises questions to which your audience desires answers. Understand that your plot should make the journey to get those answers potent and dramatic." Here the premise and human need I believe could be the same for the story. That is the building block that should drive plot structure, if necessary, and the plot itself. The challenge here is to determine if the computer is going to be able to determine if an action done by the player or an NPC is related to the premise of the story.

• An Introduction to Plot, Plot Structure, and the M.I.C.E. Quotient by Dr. John L. Flynn. Basically taking the plot structure from here. The basics are:
  • Exposition - introduction of the main characters and setting; “en medias res” in shorter forms
  • Rising Action - one (or more) characters in crisis
  • Climax - point of highest emotion; turning point
  • Falling Action - resolution of character’s crisis
  • Denouement - “untying of plot treads”; resolution

• 20 Plot Exercises. A list of various types of plots. I am sure they could all be mapped into the M.I.C.E quotient of the previous article. What these plot structures could be are templates for the computer to use to generate the plot structure...

• Three articles about movie plots and applicability to online games by Shannon Appelcline. part 1 part 2 part 3. Something to read in the near future....

• And what would a story be without characters? Some basics on what a character is Creating Character.