Notes: Tools on Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics

Photo by Olga Kiriliuk. Source

Narrative can be applied to games, in game design this is described as an "aesthetic" (MDA) that implies the emotional response evoked by a player when they play a game. These aesthetics can be many but for this week we will focus on narrative and dramatic tension.

This post is based on the notes I made from the reading material by Marc Leblanc on "Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics".

Games and stories have merged, players can experience a story of their own by playing a game, the game becomes a story of their experience, these include elements of narrative such as: sights, sounds, characters, and plots seen similar in film.

"Comparisons to traditional narrative form - prose, theater, film and TV - are inevitable "

 Similarly, between Video Games and Game Shows, the game becomes a climactic struggle that builds to a satisfying conclusions". This means that games are Dramatic, they involve the audience and the player on an emotional level.

 Game Designers can only create circumstances from which drama will emerge. Mechanics  - by working backwards after choosing the emotional impact you want a game to convey - to create these dramatic events through game dynamics.

Aesthetic Objectives --> Dynamics to Accomplish --> Design Mechanics

What is dramatic tension?

Dramatic tension is the level of emotional investment the audience or player has in the story's conflict. Emotional responses may be of concern, apprehension and urgency.

Dramatic tension can be described as the shape of an arc: Conflict accumulates and discharges, rising the dramatic tension. Then as the conflict is resolved via a climax, the dramatic tension is decreased, ending in a resolution. The drama arc does not apply to every story and it only describes the desirable property of dramatic stories, it creates context for the player or audience so that the narrative is meaningful, powerful, and rel event. Drama originates from conflict.

There are two factors to create dramatic tension:

Uncertainty: The sense that the outcome of the contest is still unknown. Any player could win or lose.

Inevitability: The sense that the contest is moving forward toward a resolution. The outcome is imminent.

Dramatic tension relies on these two factions in combination.

No uncertainty: game is predictable, player can conclude the end, players become the spectators.

No inevitability: conflicts meaningless or pointless, players have no incentive to invest their time or emotion in the game.

Climax:Moment of realization: the outcome of the contest is known. Uncertainty is dispelled.

Dénouement: Time between climax and the end of the game, Process of resolving the tension created within the game.


Game Dynamics that Produce Dramatic Tension


Uncertainty: 
To create an ongoing sense that the game is close, that the contest is undecided.

• Force: Manipulate the state of the contest itself. Can apply limits on how much an advantage one player can have over another, this can make the game "close".
• Illusion: Manipulates the players perception so that the game seems closer than it truly is.

Dramatic inevitability:

Single organizing concept: the Ticking Clock.

•  Sense of imminent resolution, to give momentum and forward progress.
• Constant reminder that the game will end soon.

Uncertainty & Feedback Systems:

Mechanical Bias: Actuator of the feedback system.

Negative Feedback:

Strives to make the difference in score as small as possible.  Sustains dramatic tension but can also cause game to stagnate. It stops early leaders so that the game remains fair.

Positive Feedback: 

Lets player keep the advantage over another. Aid to Dénouement: Dispels uncertainty, bringing climax, breaks the equilibrium and moves the game forward.

Uncertainty:

• Pseudo-feedback: Appear as if game is driven by negative feedback system. e.g player catching up to score but when inspected there is no actual feedback system present, only the perception.
• Escalation: Score changes faster and faster over the course of the game. More points at stake at the end compared to the beginning.
• Hidden Energy: Effective use of the "buff" or "turbo" key to achieve success or lead. Manipulates the player's incomplete understanding of the true score of the game.
• Fog of War: Covers parts that units cannot see, limits information available to players.
• Decelerator: Obstacles that slow down players late in the game. Changes scale and pace.
• Cashing Out: Score of game is reset to zero.
• Sources of Inevitability: the contest is moving forward. No source of inevitability means there is no sense of urgency and the tension is dispelled. This emerges from any game mechanic that can function as a ticking clock. It is a measurement of progress.

Other notes:

Uncertainty and inevitability are not opposites

From 21/21 Hindsight, twenty one - Pure uncertainty makes a game fail.

In the next post I will show examples of Games and Game Shows that take advantage of Narrative. Watch this space!



Reference

Salen, K., 2006. The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, MIT Press, PP:438-458.