by: Jason Van Horn

Brandon Reinhart – Lead Designer at Spacetime Studios – held a lecture at this year's ION Game Conference called Narrative Design for MMOs: Using Storytelling to Craft and Convey Vision. MMO narrative can be as simple as an NPC telling you to go kill ten rats for a humdrum reason, or something as complex as retrieving a jewel to appease the king of a warring faction. In both examples narrative exists, but the quest involving the jewel is more engaging than the rat quest. Narrative can be an asset to an MMO and help draw players into the world more than anything else, but it can also be nothing more than a string of text players quickly click through to get a new quest and the experience that comes with it.

In Reinhart's mind there are two main laws of visionary designing that should be followed: 1) Thou shalt tailor thine delivery to the audience, and 2) Thou shalt engender buy-in. In non-Shakespearean terms it all boils down to crafting the narrative so that the audience understands the developer's vision, and yet also doing it so that the player might perceive that vision as their own. There is a general rule in writing that states a writer should never tell their audience what they can show them, a statement that Reinhart echoed in his presentation. Though narrative is important to compel the player forward, he said it should be done with images and not words, since stories create mental images and then those images become real to the player.

Reinhart presented three important tools that he believes are important to the overall health of the narrative design of a game. For starters, he believes that designers should break their story down into a concept pyramid, which easily breaks apart and shows the various narratives making up the whole concept of the game. A story about intergalactic war, for instance, could be broken down into a story about humanity versus aliens. This could then be broken down even more by focusing on things like the science of humans versus the religious doctrine of the alien race. By tailoring delivery in such a way, it's possible to break a vision down into its fundamental concepts, compartmentalize complex ideas, create opportunities for dialogue, and inform the audience gradually the overall narrative of the game.

The second tool is the "key moment" – a picture perfect snapshot that encapsulates everything there is about your game in one tightly directed shot. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and Reinhart illustrated that idea nicely by showing some conceptual art from the game he is working on entitled Blackstar. A slideshow of concept art was shown, showcasing intriguing character models, a cool sci-fi setting, and a gigantic battle between two soldiers and a snarling monstrosity on top of a suspended bridge. Reading about a game can sell copies, but more often than not it's a screenshot or video that wows players with promise. The "key moments" should fill the viewer with creativity, making them experience such emotions as suspense, unknown outcomes, and a sense of potential energy.

Lastly, developers should lean toward aspiration driven character design to really stress the narrative elements of their game. When it comes to this aspect of game creation, fantasy genre developers have an easy start, since the plethora of lore available allows players to see a character model and intuitively know what niche they’ll likely fill. Look at an orc, for example, and you'll know almost instantly that they are a barbaric group and more than likely of evil persuasion. If you see a knight dressed in the brightest white armor they can find, there is an instant recognition where players will automatically assume that knight is good. Fantasy games have it easy in that regard, but all games need to focus on player aspiration and convey the character's values without relying on words.

The lecture ended with "The Great Law of Conveying Vision" – a slide that not only pertained to MMO narrative, but all writing in general. Reinhart stated that you can't afford to be a prima donna when it comes to your narration, you should avoid being defensive, constantly revise and rewrite, and always maintain the ability to step back and view the story. It was a panel that not only helped reveal some light on Spacetime Studios' Blackstar, but was also an educational look into how MMO game narration makes it into the final release product.