Tag Archives: Game Narrative

Train2Game news: Bioshock: Infinite’s “biggest character” is its world says Levine

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Bioshock Infinite will be PS Move compatibleTrain2Game Game Designers in particular that in order for a game story to be strong, it needs strong characters.

However, a strong setting can also be an important piece of narrative in itself and Irrational Games boss Ken Levine believes this to be the case with the Bioshock series.

“In BioShock 1, I think the biggest character in the world … was the world, the world of Rapture,” he said in a newly released Bioshock: Infinite developer diary which Train2Game blog readers can see below.

“In Infinite we’re continuing that tradition as well: that there’s a lot of narrative told in the world, probably on the same scale as with BioShock 1.”

The developer diary also features Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper,  the voices of Bioshock: Infinite Booker and Elizabeth respectively.

“Our challenge is we don’t have a very presentational medium” said Baker.

“When you think about storytelling in a lot of games you think about cutting to a cutscene and being locked into place, and that’s not something we really like to do. So we created these two characters,” he added.

The idea of an environment as a character in games was discussed at the BAFTA Games Writers Panel earlier this week, with games writer Rhianna Pratchett arguing that the “character of Rapture” was a particularly strong way of telling the story of Bioshock.

Train2Game interviews with members of the BAFTA Games Writers Panel will be published on the Train2Game blog in the near future.

Earlier this year, the Train2Game blog reported that Levine says game developers of all disciplines need to “get comfortable with throwing their stuff away” Meanwhile, Bioshock featured as a major part of Sony’s E3 presentation.

So Train2Game,  what are your thoughts on the environment as a character in games? What game environments do you think help tell the story?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: VG247]

Train2Game news: Single player and MMO game design will converge says id Software Creative Director Tim Willits

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Train2Game Game Designers will build games in which MMO elements form part of the single player narrative.

At least that’ll be the case if the predictions of id Software’s Creative Director Tim Willits come true. In an interview with MCV, he discussed the future of narrative in games and believes social aspects will become an integral part.

“Storytelling is key in open world games, and then just the sheer variety of things you can do.” He told the industry publication.

“We have games like Skyrim, where there’s just SO much you can do: you can develop your character the way you want, you can develop the game the way you want and play it the way you want, and that’s a great trend I hope will continue to grow”

“But it’s the social aspect of games which is hugely important” Willits stated.

“In the future, I believe we will have many more games where the choices that you make in your single player game will affect games that other people play. Yes, we have massively multiplayer games now, but they’re so connected and tied-in and you’ll have a much more social component to many bigger games.”

And when asked if single player and multiplayer MMOs could converge over time, the RAGE Creative Director said he believed they would.”

“Yes. Just think of Fallout” he said. “If you went off to do something and you’re playing through and you made one faction more powerful.”

“Maybe, when your buddy gets there that faction still is. That’d just be cool! If things that you did in your game affected the universe, where you’re not necessarily directly competing, but different people’s outcomes are affected by what you do.”

The Train2Game blog was fortunate enough to speak to Tim Willits at Gamescom last month, and in an in-depth interview he discussed how id Software developed the different aspects of RAGE.

Willits also revealed that he believes modding is an excellent way for Train2Game students to get into the games industry. Train2Game students would therefore be wise to get their hands on the RAGE SDK which as reported by the Train2Game blog will be available following the games release!

Do you agree with Willits? Will single player games include MMO elements? Is it something that you’d like to see? And how will it impact on game design?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: MCV]

Dragon Age gets live action web series

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The narrative of video games is getting increasingly sophisticated – as Train2Game blog readers will have seen earlier this month – but intelligent Game Design rarely seems to transfer into films and television.

Train2Game students may therefore be hoping the latest game to cross the divide will do a much better job!

The USA Today reports that a Dragon Age mini-series, titled Dragon Age: Redemption, is in the works and is being written by actress and creator of popular web comedy series The Guild Felicia Day. She’ll also star as the main character of Tallis, an elven assassin who “fights dirty.”

The six episode series is set in Dragon Age: Origins’ Fereldon and will air later this year.

Long time Train2Game blog readers will know that we’ve been very appreciative of the narrative on Dragon Age: Origins before.

“Tallis is headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor,” said Day. “I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.”

The actress is also aware that game adaptations have a poor history, but as a fan of the Dragon Age series, Day remarked she didn’t want this to be repeated with Redemption.

“I am an organic gamer and I love games, and I particularly love this franchise. I put every single effort into making this something that gamers will be proud of. Even though we were constrained a lot as a Web series, none of the people who were involved took that as a constraint. They took that as a challenge.”

“They are going to take this a step above what we have seen on the Web before” She added.

Bioware co-founder Greg Zeschuk praised the project: “We are really, really excited to work with people like her who have a passion and appreciation for the content and a really good history of quality. That’s who we want to work with.”

Dragon Age: Redemption was filmed over 12 days with Independence Day associate producer Peter Winther as director and Lost’s John Bartley as cinematographer.

Dragon Age 2 itself is set for release next month, but Train2Game students can not only get their hands on the game this weekend at Guardian Gamesblog Live, but also meet Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw. If you’re unable to attend, you can see Mike Laidlaw talk about Dragon Age 2 in this very interesting developer diary, as featured on the Train2Game blog last month.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Dragon Age: Redemption? Do you think the game will transfer well to a web TV series? Do you think Day has enough passion for the Dragon Age? Or are you already convinced that the show will let the game down?

As usual, you can leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively you can let us know your thoughts via the Train2Game Facebook page, or the Train2Game Twitter account.

[Source: USA Today]

Train2Game, in association with DR Studios and the University of Bedfordshire, will be holding a Game Jam at the end of March. For more information, see the official Train2Game Game Jam website or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.

Dragon Age II story developer diary

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Dragon Age 2 Train2Game Blog Image

Bioware has released another Dragon Age 2 Developer Diary which will be of particular interest to Train2Game Games Design Students.

This latest Dragon Age 2 Developer Diary mainly examines the character of Hawke, his (or her!) back story and how decisions made by the player will have consequences for the characters development.

The story of Hawke spans across many years and sees them escape The Blight of Dragon Age: Origins to eventually become the Champion of Kirkwall. But how does this work in just a single game? The Dragon Age 2 developers explain that the story is set within a story, with the tale being told by a character called Varric who knew Hawke. They also discuss how because it’s being told as the story of a legend, exaggerations will often occur!

The Dragon Age 2 writers also discuss romance in the game.

The Developer Diary is very interesting and it’s amazing to think that there are so many different dialogue options and outcomes depending on the choices the player makes.

Train2Game students can watch the Dragon Age 2 developer diary below.

If that isn’t enough information from Bioware about Dragon Age 2, Train2Game students can also check out this almost must watch developer diary from last month. There’s also an extended trailer available in this Train2Game blog post.

The information that’s been revealed about Dragon Age 2 so far seems to suggest that it’ll match or even beat the expert character development and story telling of the original game.

Train2Game students can pick up Dragon Age 2 when it’s released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on March 11th.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the developer diary? Do you think the concept of telling a story over many years will work? Do you think focusing on a specific character – as opposed to creating your own in Dragon Age: Origins – is the way forward?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.