Video Games & Dungeons and Dragons
A lesson in narrative
Similar to many of you reading this article, I have become enamoured with tabletop roleplaying games, namely in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons. As a writer and a game designer, Dungeons and Dragons has taught me that combat is not the end all be all solution to many problems. We know that many roleplaying games send you on quests like ‘Go to the fields and fetch me 10 Bear pelvises’ or ‘I’ve lost my wife can you find out what happened to her’ (RIP Mankirk’s wife. Pour one out).
However, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) has shown me that there are a thousand ways to move a narrative that don’t include fetching some random piece of anatomy from the local wildlife or finding an item for a hapless peasant.
It’s all about motive
During my D&D games, I’ve found that motive is one of the most powerful tools you can have at your disposal when you’re writing for an interactive product. Sure, when you’re writing a book you have to write sensible motives for characters. But with just story writing you are not fighting against the urges and inquisitive nature of another human being.
‘Why is that door shut?’, ‘Why does the Queen want us to find an old wizard?’, ‘Why do I even care that the kingdom is under siege? I could just move!’
Questions like this are things that we’ve all thought when we’ve been exploring new lands in our video game adventures. Whether it be Tamriel, Azeroth, Amalur or Albion, we’ve all ran into quests that made us scratch our collective heads and think ‘Why am I even doing this?’
A player focuses on XP and items
Well, the simplest answer to that question is a meta answer – Experience Points. As gamers we love to watch the number go up. I myself, raided from vanilla to Warlords of Draenor in World of Warcraft. While I saw some interesting narrative decisions, I was more interested in the shiny hat the boss was going to drop.
So, as writers and designers we need to find a way to take the player away from loot and XP being their primary focus. I’ve found various tactics of doing this, but the tried and true method so far is attachment. The key to this is to create a truly lovable character.
A cheeky puckish bard with a hidden tragic backstory of love and betrayal. Or maybe a hardened warrior with a soft spot for small furry creatures and a yearning to settle down away from bloodshed. These juxtapositions create unique and textural characters with emotions, goals and bonds.
How to get the player attached
Now, it’s time to get evil. We have given our players power and allies, now we take them away. A truly brilliant villain is one that can take everything from you, and leave you alive to suffer. Looking around at popular media, you can name a few off the top of your head. I’ll name one for now.
Our example villain is Killgrave from Jessica Jones. The thing that makes Killgrave a perfect villain is his ability to take everything from you; your freedom, allies and ultimately your life, are all just chess pieces in his wicked game. Utilizing his ability to turn your allies into your foes is an excellent way to tug at your player’s heart strings and make them lock into the narrative that they’ve been placed in. This forges a bond with the story you’ve woven around their choices and decisions.
An example Narrative
With these building blocks you can weave a pretty convincing and compelling narrative with this equation alone. Let’s try a short example now:
Act 1
“You are the descendant of a regional hero in your country. To escape the shadow of your predecessor you’ve forged outward to make your own fable.”
Setting the scene to show the player character has pre-defined power but isn’t defined by it.
Act 2
“Along the journey you meet a barbarian locked in a fierce battle with some roving bandits trying to torture and kill a baby hippogriff. You help and earn the barbarian’s trust as he travels alongside you”
This introduces a new character with a harsh exterior and a soft interior.
Act 3
“While on a job for a local noble to acquire an artifact, a local seer tells you the artifact is of great importance but can be dangerous in the wrong hands. You thank the seer for the information and keep your eye out for any foul play. The noble receives the artifact and uses its power to mind control your barbarian friend and he attacks you. A tough battle ensues and you manage to break the spell, but not before wounding your ally. You then fight with the empowered noble with the help of your hippogriff companion and the day is saved, and your barbarian friend is healed.”
This leads us to player decisions that are difficult, and bring feelings of guilt and desperation. This is where the player is truly affected by the story and what makes a narrative meaningful.
Weave your own narrative
Think about your characters and try to understand what makes them tick. What things might happen to them in your game that your player can relate to? See how you can adjust your story so that your player really wants to go and defeat the evil boss. This will really help make your game so sticky that the player wants to keep coming back to see it through.
That’s my two cents on what I’ve learned from writing D&D campaigns over this odd period in history. If you want to follow my work feel free to follow me on Twitter and join our discussions on Discord!
