Create narrative design for video games

A narrative game is primarily about telling a story that thrills the players, and it must play as part of a personal journey that changes them.

When we create a narrative design, we're working on the heart of the story—the deepest part of the game that players will remember most.

In this article, we'll explain the practical, easy-to-implement process we follow at Gametopia to create our narrative designs, from a blank sheet of paper to a production-ready script.

Why do I want to write about...?

For us, it is essential to know why we want to tell a story and what it means to us. In Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, I wanted to evoke nostalgia for the extraordinary, pay tribute to Jules Verne—who captured my imagination as a child—and introduce players to his works.

We wanted to thank Verne for making us love science fiction and raising our curiosity.

When you tell a story that moves you—one that contains an important part of you—and put a lot of effort into it because you believe in it, players will quickly notice and appreciate it.

Our greatest success was receiving messages from players in various countries who had bought books by Jules Verne thanks to the game.

Exhaustive documentation

One of the main comments we receive from our players is that they like to learn new things while playing. That is our motivation for writing, but first, we need a solid foundation of knowledge, especially when dealing with historical topics. Even for a magical fantasy game, if I haven't read enough books, seen enough movies, and played enough games (including board games), I probably don't know enough about the genre to write a good story. So, you always have to do your research.

There are two types of documentation:

Nuts-and-bolts

This is the simplest type because it involves learning practical information. In Verne's case, this includes publication dates, events, etc.

Why do people do what they do?

This is the question that really interests me and is the most difficult to answer. Why did Jules Verne want to be a writer? Where did he get his ideas? Why did he write the way he did? What were his true motivations and desires?

Understanding the motivations of characters is what allows you to write about them.

There is never an easy answer to that question. First, we need to read a large amount of material and search for information. This will help us understand what was going on in Jules's mind. Then, we can make an educated guess to help us write a good character.

Before I started writing the script, I read several biographies and reread some of his works to simulate his narrative style.

Outline

After the documentation comes the first step of the writing process: writing an outline. In my case, this means summarizing the story from beginning to end and reflecting the main events of the plot.

I try to follow a structure that outlines the three acts and highlights the events I consider essential to a story:

Establish the story's premise.
The problem and the general conflict.
Depict the characters' debate to find a solution, which usually leads to Act 2.
Introduce the Midpoint Twist, where the character's world and beliefs change.
All is lost. This is when it seems that there is no solution, and the character must fight even harder to achieve their goal.
The resolution.

To write the outline, I use Scrivener which allows me to see cards with a brief summary of what happens in each scene.

Worldbuilding

At Gametopia, we are obsessed with worldbuilding. We believe that a detailed universe offers more possibilities for storytelling and creating video games. After outlining the plot, we create a comprehensive document detailing the world's rules and a timeline of events that occurred before the game begins. This information doesn't necessarily appear in the story, but it helps us, as creators, understand why things happen and ensures consistency.

For example, a character's behavior is shaped by past events. In order to ensure consistent character behavior, it is important to understand what happened to them in the past.

In Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, the document was over 20 pages long and included many ideas that never made it into the final script.

Writing the video game script

When writing all the branches and possible endings, we focus on intention and obstacles—in other words, the conflicts the character must overcome to achieve their goal. In addition to the main conflict, each scene must have its own.

Everything is based on intention and obstacle—conflict!

All stories begin with "but then..." In our story, Verne is a scientific officer aboard Nemo's Nautilus, fighting against the dreadful Nation. That's fine, but there's no conflict. So, the story begins with, "But then Verne discovers a dangerous and dark secret about Nemo that puts everyone in danger." That's the "but then" that completely changes the character's life.

We use a traditional film format to write the script because it's the format I'm most comfortable with, and it makes it much easier to work with the voice actors when we record it. We use Final Draft software.

This is an excerpt from the script for the new game we are developing.

Interactive dialogues

In the script, we only include one branch of the dialogue as if it were a movie. This allows us to get a general idea of the objective we want to achieve with the dialogue, such as presenting a problem, opening a new mission, or obtaining key information.

Then, we write the dialogue with all its options and decisions separately. For this, we use Draw.io, mind mapping and diagramming software.

This is an example of a dialogue from our upcoming game in which the player can choose between more aggressive and more empathetic responses.

Analyze the characters

Once the entire story is finished, we focus on each character for a final review. We want to ensure they all have their own agenda and motivations, undergo transformation, and serve the story.

The characters must have their own agendas and motivations.

This part isn't easy, but seeing the story from a character's perspective helps you fill in any holes in the plot.

The Nautilus crew.

From script to level design

The final step is to translate the entire narrative into a level design. We draw maps that include all of the level's events to ensure that the narrative and gameplay flow smoothly. Often, after drawing a map, we have to adjust parts of the script or redesign parts of the map to improve the narrative.

We use Adobe Illustrator to create the maps at the size they will appear in the game since we paint the pixel art on them.

Nautilus exterior design in Verne's The Shape of Fantasy.

This is our workflow for creating narrative games that spark players' curiosity. What do you think? We hope you found these design steps useful! We'd love to hear your thoughts on our social media channels!

Daniel González
Gametopia Creative Director.