© 2004. turbine entertainment software corp. all rights reserved. designing stories for connected...

Designing Stories for

Connected Worlds:

Where The Designer’s Storytelling Stops and The Player’s Begins

Jessica MulliganExecutive Producer

Turbine Entertainment SoftwareSeptember 21, 2004

TODAY’S AGENDA• The difference between storytelling and online

storytelling

• What is an Online Game Story?

• How do you create compelling stories for millions of online game players?

• The Future

• Q&A

WHO AM I?• EXPERIENCE:

– Have been designing, developing and managing online games since 1986.

– Since 1988, have variously managed development and/or the service side for General Electric, AOL, Interplay, EA and MM3D, among others.

– Have been involved in over 50 online games and over dozen massively-multiplayer games, including Ultima Online, Dragon’s Gate, Warcraft II Online, Middle Earth Online and the Asheron’s Call Franchise.

• CURRENT POSITION: – Executive Producer managing the P&L of Asheron’s Call for Turbine

Entertainment.• AUTHOR:

– Wrote the industry column Biting the Hand… for 6 years– With Bridgette Patrovsky, co-authored Developing Online Games: An

Insider’s Guide in 2003, now in several languages worldwide.• One of the pioneers –

. and I have the arrows in my back to prove it

The Online Subscriber

Storytelling Online• Traditional stories have a beginning,

middle and end.– Film– Novels– TV

• Online stories have no end.– Break points: the end is just the beginning– Free form: One more adventure in RPG-land

Traditional OnlineStorytelling

•Designer Driven– You follow someone else’s story

•One Main Objective•A Clear Ending

•Player Driven– Players use the game to create their own stories

•Many Objectives•Rarely Ends, or ends as a scenario in a larger thread

In Short…OBSERVATIONAL: You tell the story, the audience observes and reacts.

PARTICIPATORY: You start the story, the audience participates and drives your work.

Why this Difference?• Traditional stories are presented via

entertainment devices.– Oral Storytelling– Film Screen– Books– Television Set– Radio

• Online stories are presented via information tools.– PCs– Consoles– PDAs– Cell Phones

What is a Traditional Story?The Oral Tradition• In the market• At the city gate• A professional, wandering guild• The story wandered into your sphere or

lived there as the keeper of the flameTranslated to modern devices:• In most cases, you make a decision to go

to the story

The Traditional Story (con’t)Little Participation• You listened to the storyteller• You watched the performers

Set Objectives• Tell an “approved” story

– Religious– Political– Cultural

What Has Transformed?Today’s Online Story• Players participate in one or more roles• The player becomes the performers• Very little pure observation• The storyteller is also a director

Free-Form Objectives• Every player a Hero• Every action a Story• Every story changes direction constantly

What is an Online Game Story?An online story is a starting place with 4 elements:

BaitMake the player stop and pay attention

HookMake the player want to know more

EngagedMake the player take some action to know more

Interaction and ChangeThe real game story begins!

The Rhyme of the Ancient MarinerPART THE FIRST

It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.

"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin;

The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

"Hold off! unhand me, greybeard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

He holds him with his glittering eye - The wedding-guest stood still,

And listens like a three years' child: The Mariner hath his will.

THE BAIT

PART THE FIRST It is an ancient mariner,

And he stoppeth one of three. "By thy long grey beard and glittering

eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?”

The Hook

"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin;

The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din."

He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he.

"Hold off! unhand me, greybeard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

Engaged

He holds him with his glittering eye - The wedding-guest stood still,

And listens like a three years' child: The Mariner hath his will.

Interaction

The wedding-guest sat on a stone: He cannot chose but hear;

And thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed mariner.

"The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,

Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill,

Below the lighthouse top.

OK, What Happens Next?Your Story Changes!

• Player Motivation

• Player Action

• Player Effect

Types of StorylinesThe Linear Script

Types of StorylinesThe Branched Tree

Types of StorylinesThe Extended Loop

Types of StorylinesNon-Connected Stories

Types of StorylinesThe Interactive Game with Multiple Stories

and Multiple Endings

Types of StorylinesThe Futility of Pre-Planned Endings in

Online Games

What Do We Learn From This?

• Don’t Over-Plan– Even the most carefully designed, non-

linear story will break down in the face of thousands of participants

• Be Flexible– Watch what happens and then do some

of that “designer stuff”.• Embrace The Players

– Remember that you are there for them.

Hey, Am I Useless?

Fear Not, Gallant Bard…

• The players need you… and they know it

• The GameMaster/Bard– Players want more than a GM and less

than an film auteur

• In a sense, you are the spirit guide in a vision quest.

Core Vision• Vision

– Audience (Demographic, Play habits)– Core Active Theme

•Exciting adventure?•Social gaming?•Building cities?•The battle of good vs evil?

– Context (Story)– Environment (Look & Feel, Location,

etc..)

Design Process• Design vs. Exploration• Don’t Overdocument• Don’t Overexplore –when to focus design• “Play on Paper” - don’t wait until it’s built• Focus Testing – test your assumptions• Prototyping – play your design early• The role of the lead Designer

– Every system in an MMO is monstrously complex..

– You have to have somebody who can hold it all in their head

– Conceptual bandwidth is as essential as gaming experience

Don’t forget the Tools• Plan in Parallel with Gamedev

– Very difficult to retro tool integration later– Need dev teams to support this integration

Don’t forget the Tools• Tool Types

– Content Authoring• Art Assets• Quests• World Building

– Customer Service– Data– WebPub– Billing/Authorization

Lessons & Solutions

Tools, Tools, Tools!

Data, Data, Data!

Content, Content, Content!•More Facile Authoring Tools•Larger Design Teams

•Authoring Tools•Tracking Tools

•In-game transactions•Moderation History•Network Monitoring

Revise, Revise, Revise! •Improved Communication•Reacting to the Players•Enhancing Their Story

The Future• Mobility

– There are electronic portals into and out of everyone’s life• Mobile and Regular Phones

• PDAs

• Wireless Computing

– Games and stories will follow you everywhere

The Future• Blurring: What is Real?

– The line between reality and online will become increasingly tenuous

– Once you opt in, the game and the story will become part of your reality

– The new reality game show will be partly online and partly on TV

The Future• Interconnectivity

– The lines between old and new media will break down completely

– Stories will be experienced simultaneously across a range of input and output devices

– This will require the Bard of the future to tell his stories in a new way

Summing Up• PARTICIPATION: Online stories are more

about participation than they are about observation.

• NEW MEDIUM: This is not TV or film; linear stories do not work well.

• FLEXIBILITY: The player begins to modify your story as soon as he touches it; be ready to alter your story, not that of the players.

• VISION: The player wants you to provide context for his/her personal or group story.

• THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE: You can’t separate the Customer Service aspect from the story; everything affects how the players perceive you and your story.

Summing Up• The Future

It’s all about the new

technology, baby!

Thank you for listening!

Question and Answer

Period

© 2004. turbine entertainment software corp. all rights reserved. designing stories for connected...

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