Traditional and Emergent Storylines - leemet16/game-design-toolkit GitHub Wiki

Movie storylines have a set beginning, middle, and end, and are referred to as linear or traditional storylines (Terence, 2013). When people watch a movie, they are passive viewers, and no action of their own will impact how the story unfolds.

Games, on the other hand, allow players to step into the experience and make decisions that, depending on the mechanics of the game, could possibly impact how the story unfolds. Storylines that unfold based on player decisions are referred to as emergent storylines (Lee, 2011). Decisions that can affect the storyline include actions (e.g. choosing to take one path over another) and narrative choices (e.g. choosing to say something nice to a character as opposed to something mean).

Image Source: Wikiwand

In emergent storylines, these choices impact how the player progresses through the game and can potentially lead to very different paths and endings. For example, choosing to go east instead of west may lead you to a more difficult level with more reward points.

Whether you choose to use a linear or emergent storyline will have a large impact on how you go about creating your story. If you decide to use an emergent storyline, you will need to account for all the different paths a player could take (tools like MindMeister can help you map out your story). This can be quite time consuming if there are a lot of player choices.

Ask yourself the following questions if you are considering using an emergent storyline:

• Does the game development tool I’m using allow me to create an emergent storyline? In other words, does the tool allow me incorporate player choice in a way that affects the overall story?
• Is an emergent storyline appropriate for the type of story I’m trying to tell?
• What choices should players be given and how will these choices affect the story?

In order to learn more about emergent storylines and how player choice can shape a game’s story, watch the following videos:

Games as Lit. 101 - Emergent Narrative ~8:45

Choices vs Consequences - What Player Decisions Mean in Games - Extra Credits ~5:36

References

Extra Credits. (2014, July 23). Choices vs Consequences - What Player Decisions Mean in Games - Extra Credits [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iklM_djBeY

Games as Literature. (2015, June 15). Games as Lit. 101 - Emergent Narrative [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tvvgRvxbWI

Lee, J. (2011). Interpretation of emergent game storytelling structure through MDA framework. Archives of Design Research, 24(4), 395-405.

Terence, L (2013). Designing game narrative: How to create a great story. MCV. Retrieved from https://www.mcvuk.com/development/designing-game-narrative-how-to-create-a-great-story.