Building a Paper Prototype For Your Narrative Design

00:30:23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taxcb_5lEI8

Résumé

TLDRJamie Anthony discute du prototypage narratif sur papier, une méthode essentielle pour les concepteurs de jeux afin de tester et d'affiner les récits. Il explique que le prototypage permet de réduire les risques liés à la création de jeux en offrant une approche rapide et flexible pour explorer les éléments narratifs. Anthony décrit le processus de création d'un prototype, en insistant sur l'importance de définir clairement le prémisse, le rôle du joueur, les objectifs, les conflits et les choix. Il souligne également l'importance des tests de jeu pour recueillir des retours et améliorer le prototype. En fin de compte, le prototypage narratif aide à transformer le développement précoce en une expérience amusante et enrichissante.

A retenir

  • 🎮 Le prototypage narratif aide à tester les récits de jeux.
  • 📝 Utilisez des matériaux simples pour créer des prototypes.
  • ⏳ Fixez une date limite pour le prototypage rapide.
  • 👥 Impliquez un petit groupe pour construire le prototype.
  • 📊 Testez le prototype sur vous-même avant d'impliquer d'autres.
  • 🔄 Recueillez des retours pour améliorer le prototype.
  • 📅 Concentrez-vous sur les éléments narratifs clés.
  • 💡 Le joueur est le héros de l'histoire du jeu.
  • 🎉 Transformez le développement en une expérience engageante.
  • 🔍 Analysez les retours pour identifier les problèmes majeurs.

Chronologie

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Jamie Anthony présente le concept de prototypage narratif sur papier, en expliquant son importance pour résoudre des problèmes spécifiques dans le développement de jeux. Il souligne son expérience en tant que designer de jeux et écrivain, notamment chez Disney, et son intérêt pour les jeux qui favorisent des résultats positifs et des expériences inattendues pour les joueurs.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Il définit le prototypage comme un moyen de créer des maquettes de jeux pour réduire les risques de développement. Il compare le prototypage numérique, qui se concentre sur l'expérience de jeu immédiate, à celui narratif, qui aborde l'expérience globale du joueur et l'importance de la narration dans les jeux.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Anthony explique que la narration dans les jeux diffère des narrations traditionnelles, car le joueur est l'héro de l'histoire, influençant les événements par ses actions. Il souligne l'importance de créer un prototype narratif pour tester les éléments narratifs et s'assurer qu'ils s'alignent avec l'expérience du joueur.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Il aborde le processus de création d'un prototype narratif sur papier, en soulignant la nécessité d'une idée claire, d'une date limite, d'une petite équipe et de matériaux simples. Il insiste sur l'importance de se concentrer sur la narration et les choix du joueur plutôt que sur les mécaniques de jeu.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Anthony décrit les étapes de la création d'un prototype narratif, y compris la rédaction initiale des éléments narratifs, la définition du rôle du joueur, l'établissement des objectifs et des conflits, ainsi que l'identification des choix et des ressources disponibles pour le joueur.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:23

    Enfin, il conclut en soulignant que le prototypage narratif sur papier permet de gagner du temps et de l'argent, d'évaluer la cohérence des éléments narratifs et de créer une vision partagée du jeu avec les collaborateurs, transformant ainsi le développement précoce en une expérience amusante et enrichissante.

Afficher plus

Carte mentale

Vidéo Q&R

  • Qu'est-ce qu'un prototype narratif ?

    Un prototype narratif est un modèle jouable qui permet de tester les éléments narratifs d'un jeu vidéo.

  • Pourquoi utiliser le prototypage sur papier ?

    Le prototypage sur papier est rapide, facile et permet d'improviser, ce qui aide à tester des idées sans investissement lourd.

  • Quels sont les éléments clés d'un prototype narratif ?

    Les éléments clés incluent le prémisse, le rôle du joueur, les objectifs, les conflits, les choix et les événements.

  • Comment créer un prototype narratif ?

    Commencez par une idée, fixez une date limite, rassemblez des matériaux simples et définissez les éléments narratifs.

  • Comment tester un prototype narratif ?

    Testez d'abord le prototype sur vous-même, puis avec des amis, et enfin avec des testeurs dont l'opinion compte.

  • Quels matériaux sont nécessaires pour un prototype narratif ?

    Des cartes, des post-it, un tableau effaçable, et d'autres fournitures simples.

  • Comment recueillir des retours sur le prototype ?

    Enregistrez les sessions de test et notez les commentaires des joueurs sur ce qui fonctionne ou non.

  • Quelle est l'importance de la narration dans les jeux ?

    La narration engage les joueurs et leur permet de s'identifier aux personnages et aux défis.

  • Comment améliorer un prototype après les tests ?

    Analysez les retours, identifiez les problèmes majeurs et apportez des modifications audacieuses.

  • Quel est l'objectif final d'un prototype narratif ?

    Le but est de créer une expérience de jeu cohérente et engageante pour les joueurs.

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Sous-titres
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Défilement automatique:
  • 00:00:05
    alright hello everybody as Tom said I'm
  • 00:00:09
    Jamie Anthony's and today I'm going to
  • 00:00:11
    talk with you a little bit about
  • 00:00:12
    narrative paper prototyping this talk is
  • 00:00:15
    going to have three main parts first I'm
  • 00:00:18
    going to be talking about the problems
  • 00:00:20
    that a narrative paper prototype is
  • 00:00:23
    designed to solve sort of why prototype
  • 00:00:25
    for narrative and what a narrative
  • 00:00:28
    prototype is I'm going to talk you
  • 00:00:29
    through a building process how you can
  • 00:00:32
    actually make a narrative paper
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    prototype effectively and I'm going to
  • 00:00:36
    finish up with just a couple notes on
  • 00:00:38
    running fixing and using that prototype
  • 00:00:41
    you've created to improve your final
  • 00:00:43
    game first a little bit about me I'm a
  • 00:00:46
    game designer and a writer I'm working
  • 00:00:49
    at Disney I have a great job at Disney
  • 00:00:51
    digital publishing I make interactive
  • 00:00:53
    children's storybooks and apps but
  • 00:00:57
    that's that's my current job that's not
  • 00:01:01
    everything that I've done I've had a lot
  • 00:01:03
    of different sort of made many different
  • 00:01:07
    kinds of games over the years that cover
  • 00:01:09
    a wide range of interests first I've
  • 00:01:12
    made games that allow players to be
  • 00:01:14
    creative with their choices I've been
  • 00:01:17
    really interested in games that create
  • 00:01:19
    positive and lasting player outcomes
  • 00:01:21
    I've worked in games for health and
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    games for change I've worked on a few
  • 00:01:25
    games where the focus was to really
  • 00:01:27
    generate powerful and unexpected
  • 00:01:29
    experiences for the player whether
  • 00:01:31
    that's fear as in hush delight and
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    happiness is in my work with a mat
  • 00:01:36
    korban Winterbottom or tranquility or
  • 00:01:39
    sorrow or some weird mix of emotions as
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    in the game the pond and I've also been
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    really interested in games that connect
  • 00:01:47
    players to story in new and interesting
  • 00:01:49
    ways so in this process did as you can
  • 00:01:54
    see I'm sort of interested in games that
  • 00:01:55
    don't fit right into a clear mold I'm
  • 00:01:58
    interested in innovating a little bit
  • 00:02:00
    and to do that I've really turned to
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    paper prototyping and I'm huge on this
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    concept of paper prototyping as a way to
  • 00:02:07
    make great games so first of all let's
  • 00:02:10
    define our terms
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    this is pretty this is pretty basic
  • 00:02:13
    what is a prototype a prototype is a
  • 00:02:16
    mock-up or draft of a potential game and
  • 00:02:20
    it's made to sort of sort of narrow the
  • 00:02:23
    risk of making something that doesn't
  • 00:02:24
    work let's say I wanted to buy a tuxedo
  • 00:02:28
    but I but I'm not sure if it's really
  • 00:02:31
    going to work for me I'm not sure if
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    it's going to be if it's going to be a
  • 00:02:35
    good investment
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    this shirt is sort of my prototype of a
  • 00:02:38
    tuxedo it is focused so so the tuxedo
  • 00:02:44
    shirt is not focused but um a prototype
  • 00:02:47
    a good one is usually focused on a core
  • 00:02:50
    aspect of the experience I guess in this
  • 00:02:52
    case just this is the core of the tuxedo
  • 00:02:55
    its playable tuxedo is not playable but
  • 00:02:59
    but a game prototype is and it's
  • 00:03:02
    playable so that you know you basically
  • 00:03:05
    want to make sure that people can really
  • 00:03:07
    test it out it's made quickly and it's
  • 00:03:11
    basically a disposable practice run of a
  • 00:03:13
    larger project so here's something that
  • 00:03:17
    you might be used to seeing as prototype
  • 00:03:19
    this is a this is a very common
  • 00:03:21
    prototypes in game it's something that's
  • 00:03:22
    used a lot the digital sandbox
  • 00:03:25
    it's something that game makers use to
  • 00:03:28
    early on determine the game feel you
  • 00:03:30
    sort of put players in a area with not
  • 00:03:33
    much art with pieces of the game all
  • 00:03:36
    over the place and just see how they
  • 00:03:37
    interact with the controls and you
  • 00:03:39
    figure out the moment-to-moment and what
  • 00:03:41
    feels good and that is incredibly
  • 00:03:44
    important but it doesn't tell you
  • 00:03:47
    everything about the experience of a
  • 00:03:50
    game in fact there's a lot that that
  • 00:03:52
    prototype doesn't tell you it really
  • 00:03:54
    focuses on that single moment of first
  • 00:03:56
    contact with the game where you're sort
  • 00:03:58
    of feeling through and excited by this
  • 00:03:59
    notion of oh I can jump and swing my
  • 00:04:01
    sword it's goal free it's free of
  • 00:04:04
    context and it doesn't really address
  • 00:04:06
    this larger experience of a game it
  • 00:04:09
    doesn't address the game's narrative so
  • 00:04:12
    before I go too far into that statement
  • 00:04:14
    I'm going to talk about what's a game
  • 00:04:16
    narrative and I'm sure that there is
  • 00:04:18
    there are many different answers to that
  • 00:04:20
    question in this room since we're at the
  • 00:04:21
    narrative summit but I'm going to take a
  • 00:04:24
    stab at what I think a game Nerra
  • 00:04:26
    is and bear with me for a moment first
  • 00:04:29
    I'm going to sort of point out that
  • 00:04:31
    traditional narrative this is going to
  • 00:04:34
    be very reductive in a traditional
  • 00:04:35
    narrative in books in TV in movies a
  • 00:04:40
    hero is often called to action and
  • 00:04:42
    through a series of events they strive
  • 00:04:45
    to overcome challenges in order to
  • 00:04:48
    achieve a goal and why is this an
  • 00:04:52
    audience really in they really enjoy
  • 00:04:54
    these narratives there you see this form
  • 00:04:57
    this sort of basic structure in all
  • 00:05:00
    sorts of narratives that audiences
  • 00:05:01
    relate to and why because they can step
  • 00:05:05
    inside the shoes of one of it at least
  • 00:05:07
    one of these characters they can
  • 00:05:08
    empathize and suddenly they feel like
  • 00:05:12
    they're they get the rush of that
  • 00:05:14
    they're overcoming a challenge and they
  • 00:05:15
    get the excitement of trying to achieve
  • 00:05:17
    a goal in a game narrative it's a little
  • 00:05:22
    bit like this traditional narrative
  • 00:05:23
    structure that's a little bit different
  • 00:05:25
    as well in a game narrative the player
  • 00:05:27
    is performing the actions that influence
  • 00:05:29
    events and they're learning to master a
  • 00:05:32
    system and rules that you've put in
  • 00:05:34
    front of them to achieve their goal so
  • 00:05:37
    basically a game narrative structure the
  • 00:05:40
    player is the hero and I just want to
  • 00:05:44
    emphasize that because that's really
  • 00:05:45
    important the player is the hero so a
  • 00:05:50
    lot of games take a lot of time to try
  • 00:05:53
    to create an association between an
  • 00:05:56
    avatar and the player they try to make
  • 00:05:57
    you feel like you are this collection of
  • 00:06:00
    pixels you're Mario you're Batman
  • 00:06:01
    you're Qbert but the avatar is not the
  • 00:06:06
    hero
  • 00:06:06
    the avatars story is completely directed
  • 00:06:10
    by an outside force
  • 00:06:11
    it's the player that is chasing a goal
  • 00:06:13
    that's in their head overcoming
  • 00:06:15
    challenges that have a that feel real to
  • 00:06:19
    them there's a player that's taking the
  • 00:06:21
    action if they are the hero of the game
  • 00:06:24
    narrative so now that we talked a little
  • 00:06:28
    bit about game narrative and prototyping
  • 00:06:29
    we're going to talk a little bit about
  • 00:06:30
    narrative prototyping for narrative
  • 00:06:32
    which is not the normal mode of game
  • 00:06:36
    prototyping but it is
  • 00:06:39
    extremely popular and useful in other
  • 00:06:42
    storytelling mediums so in books before
  • 00:06:48
    an author spends months or years trying
  • 00:06:53
    to create sort of write a story they'll
  • 00:06:57
    often go to an outline or to some notes
  • 00:06:59
    because they want to do a smaller risk
  • 00:07:02
    right up to see if their narrative the
  • 00:07:05
    narrative that they plan makes sense
  • 00:07:08
    in film or TV now we have a medium
  • 00:07:11
    that's a little bit more complicated and
  • 00:07:14
    there are a couple prototypes first
  • 00:07:17
    there's a script which is just getting
  • 00:07:19
    the ideas down on the page seeing if the
  • 00:07:20
    ideas make sense in themselves and then
  • 00:07:23
    once you've gotten through that big risk
  • 00:07:25
    you go to the next level of risk does
  • 00:07:27
    this do these ideas make sense visually
  • 00:07:29
    you create a storyboard in animated
  • 00:07:32
    films there are it's an even more
  • 00:07:35
    complex medium there's so many technical
  • 00:07:38
    steps between the idea and the final
  • 00:07:39
    product and basically it's a much bigger
  • 00:07:43
    production so prototypes get even more
  • 00:07:45
    important script storyboard than an
  • 00:07:47
    animatic where you see how it all this
  • 00:07:50
    storyboard looks set up in a camera so
  • 00:07:52
    that you're not wasting time on shots
  • 00:07:53
    that don't matter
  • 00:07:55
    all these all of these narrative
  • 00:07:58
    prototypes addressed huge risks and then
  • 00:08:01
    smaller and smaller risks that these
  • 00:08:04
    elaborate ideas that people have for
  • 00:08:07
    their stories only make sense in their
  • 00:08:09
    head so games as a narrative medium are
  • 00:08:13
    undeniably complex they have everything
  • 00:08:16
    that animated movies have and more you
  • 00:08:19
    have to make all your pieces from
  • 00:08:20
    scratch very often for this very literal
  • 00:08:22
    presentation turn an idea to art and
  • 00:08:24
    sound an animation and logic but that's
  • 00:08:27
    not the biggest risk in your game
  • 00:08:29
    narrative the biggest risk and unknown
  • 00:08:32
    in games is the player so if your
  • 00:08:37
    premise and goals and choices and
  • 00:08:39
    challenges don't make sense to the
  • 00:08:41
    player if they don't line up then you're
  • 00:08:45
    sunk
  • 00:08:45
    because the hero doesn't is not
  • 00:08:47
    interested in continuing on this journey
  • 00:08:49
    so let's put the hero in the narrative
  • 00:08:51
    as cheaply as possible as
  • 00:08:53
    early as we can basically I think it's
  • 00:08:57
    really useful when you're addressing
  • 00:08:58
    this risk of games as a narrative to
  • 00:09:01
    create a narrative prototype a playable
  • 00:09:04
    and flexible outline of the premise the
  • 00:09:06
    rules the events and the choices that's
  • 00:09:09
    made to answer some really fundamental
  • 00:09:11
    question of what's the hero's journey
  • 00:09:13
    for the player do all your pieces fit
  • 00:09:16
    together into a compelling experience
  • 00:09:17
    and does it all make sense so that's a
  • 00:09:22
    big question that's a really heavy
  • 00:09:24
    question to try to tackle and
  • 00:09:27
    architecting something like that
  • 00:09:29
    digitally seems to me at least a bit
  • 00:09:31
    overwhelming because we want this
  • 00:09:34
    narrative prototype to be flexible and
  • 00:09:36
    to be something that the players can
  • 00:09:40
    interact with in a sort of fluid way we
  • 00:09:42
    wanted to have lots of small inputs sort
  • 00:09:44
    of address a bunch of the features that
  • 00:09:47
    you see from your larger game and
  • 00:09:48
    respond to the player intelligently in
  • 00:09:51
    code trying to build a prototype like
  • 00:09:53
    this would be could itself become a
  • 00:09:56
    cumbersome and overreaching mess like
  • 00:09:58
    Matrix Reloaded and but so that is why I
  • 00:10:05
    suggest doing a narrative prototype on
  • 00:10:08
    paper paper is quick and easy and
  • 00:10:10
    disposable it allows for improvisation
  • 00:10:13
    and imagination basically if your game
  • 00:10:16
    is a show starring the player the
  • 00:10:18
    easiest way to get them engaged early is
  • 00:10:20
    to basically create this little
  • 00:10:21
    narrative paper prototype set up a
  • 00:10:23
    cardboard TV essentially and invite them
  • 00:10:26
    inside or put another way make your
  • 00:10:29
    narrative outline as a board game
  • 00:10:33
    so you met one or two of two reactions
  • 00:10:34
    at this point you might be saying oh
  • 00:10:36
    cool okay I'll get started or you might
  • 00:10:38
    be saying okay I have no idea how to do
  • 00:10:41
    that I don't know how to make a
  • 00:10:42
    narrative outline as a game I've done
  • 00:10:45
    this a lot I've done this for a few
  • 00:10:46
    different project and so I'm going to
  • 00:10:48
    walk you through my steps for creating
  • 00:10:51
    for creating a narrative prototype
  • 00:10:54
    effectively the first thing is what you
  • 00:10:57
    want before you get started and this
  • 00:11:01
    this is a set of the things that you
  • 00:11:02
    really need to have before you begin
  • 00:11:04
    prototyping you need an idea
  • 00:11:06
    which is pretty obvious you need an idea
  • 00:11:08
    that you're excited about for a game and
  • 00:11:10
    a willingness to expand it
  • 00:11:12
    second thing believe it or not I would
  • 00:11:14
    say for a narrative prototype is you
  • 00:11:15
    need a deadline and I try to make this
  • 00:11:18
    thing quickly if I can because it should
  • 00:11:21
    be disposable it will change I spend at
  • 00:11:24
    most three days or a hundredth of my
  • 00:11:26
    total timeframe autumn's prototype you
  • 00:11:28
    need some people who are willing to make
  • 00:11:30
    this thing that's probably you and you
  • 00:11:34
    can have someone else work on this with
  • 00:11:35
    you too but I'd say one or at most two
  • 00:11:37
    people should be involved in the actual
  • 00:11:38
    construction of a prototype if you have
  • 00:11:41
    a lot of collaborators that doesn't mean
  • 00:11:42
    that you can't brainstorm and come up
  • 00:11:44
    with ideas beforehand but the people
  • 00:11:46
    that are doing the building you want to
  • 00:11:48
    keep that small because you have such a
  • 00:11:49
    short time frame and want ideas to be
  • 00:11:51
    really pure and clean and you want some
  • 00:11:55
    simple supplies so a couple things that
  • 00:11:58
    are important here little dry erase
  • 00:12:00
    board is can be very useful playing
  • 00:12:04
    cards a couple pieces from old board
  • 00:12:06
    games post-it notes are great because
  • 00:12:07
    they're sticky but not too sticky you
  • 00:12:09
    can move them around but basically most
  • 00:12:11
    of this stuff you're going to either
  • 00:12:13
    have around you're going to be able to
  • 00:12:15
    get when you need it you also based on
  • 00:12:18
    your idea you need some narrative
  • 00:12:20
    reference points at least one game that
  • 00:12:23
    has real similarities to your idea and
  • 00:12:25
    thoughts about its player narrative you
  • 00:12:28
    so this is a game where the premise or
  • 00:12:31
    the mechanics or something is really in
  • 00:12:33
    line and where you are and where you
  • 00:12:37
    played through the game you don't need
  • 00:12:39
    to like the game that your that is your
  • 00:12:41
    narrative reference point but you should
  • 00:12:43
    have thought about what you went through
  • 00:12:45
    as a player in that game so last is a
  • 00:12:49
    second to last is a personal
  • 00:12:50
    storytelling experience and this is a
  • 00:12:52
    little bit touchy-feely but you really
  • 00:12:55
    want a time to look back at a time when
  • 00:12:58
    you felt engaged and empowered as a
  • 00:12:59
    storyteller you want to look for your
  • 00:13:02
    comfort zone as a storyteller and hold
  • 00:13:05
    on to that because you're going to use
  • 00:13:06
    that later for you this may be telling a
  • 00:13:08
    story around a campfire telling a joke
  • 00:13:10
    or to a laughing audience or painting a
  • 00:13:12
    picture but me I always think personally
  • 00:13:15
    about being ten years old and my first
  • 00:13:18
    experience with role-playing games so
  • 00:13:20
    my friends and I didn't have Rule books
  • 00:13:21
    but I made up a pretend world my friends
  • 00:13:24
    made up characters and we rolled dice
  • 00:13:26
    and told collaborative stories that are
  • 00:13:27
    it's still this place of warmth and
  • 00:13:30
    comfort where I feel like anything is
  • 00:13:31
    possible when I think back at that time
  • 00:13:34
    so finally of course you need that focus
  • 00:13:36
    on the central question of game their
  • 00:13:37
    narrative as you go forward and as you
  • 00:13:40
    get ready to make this thing you want to
  • 00:13:41
    keep this about how the premise rules
  • 00:13:43
    and actions come together to create a
  • 00:13:47
    player story you're not testing the
  • 00:13:51
    mechanics the look and feel or the game
  • 00:13:53
    balance that's going to and you want to
  • 00:13:55
    keep in mind that those are not what's
  • 00:13:57
    on the table here so once you have that
  • 00:14:00
    all ready basically my first step is an
  • 00:14:04
    initial write-up I lay out the narrative
  • 00:14:06
    elements of my game these can be notes
  • 00:14:08
    they can be totally informal they only
  • 00:14:10
    have to make sense to you and I'll go
  • 00:14:12
    through these pieces in the order that I
  • 00:14:13
    like to use because this is the order
  • 00:14:14
    that makes sense to me first of all the
  • 00:14:17
    premise this is the going to be the most
  • 00:14:20
    fun part of this write up just go nuts
  • 00:14:21
    write down everything that's exciting to
  • 00:14:24
    you about your game so you know you
  • 00:14:27
    might you might be like oh my game is
  • 00:14:30
    this world where story two where stories
  • 00:14:33
    come to life and there are luck dragons
  • 00:14:34
    and rock writers and empresses write all
  • 00:14:38
    the stuff that you think is really
  • 00:14:39
    exciting but only do this for about 10
  • 00:14:43
    minutes because that will force you to
  • 00:14:44
    stick with the things that you think are
  • 00:14:46
    most exciting and important and it'll
  • 00:14:49
    cut you off because if you don't do this
  • 00:14:50
    you could waste a lot of time just
  • 00:14:52
    writing down exciting things about your
  • 00:14:54
    game before you get to the meat of it
  • 00:14:56
    which is the player the second thing is
  • 00:14:59
    putting the player in that world think
  • 00:15:01
    about a player role does the player
  • 00:15:04
    actually assume a role in the game are
  • 00:15:05
    we going to put them in the shoes of a
  • 00:15:07
    character in the narrative are they
  • 00:15:09
    going to be John Malkovich at how much
  • 00:15:12
    of an identity are we asking them to
  • 00:15:14
    take on here
  • 00:15:15
    or are they really just playing the game
  • 00:15:17
    as themselves this is the second
  • 00:15:18
    question you want to answer the goals of
  • 00:15:22
    the player so what's the carrot on the
  • 00:15:25
    stick what's pulling them through the
  • 00:15:27
    experience so I always go back to
  • 00:15:30
    Scrooge McDuck man Scrooge is so great
  • 00:15:33
    Scrooge loves getting money and you
  • 00:15:36
    might think that that it is his goal
  • 00:15:38
    it's nice it's simple but money itself
  • 00:15:41
    is not his goal his goal is to get all
  • 00:15:44
    this money and then to swim around in a
  • 00:15:46
    huge pile of his own money like most
  • 00:15:49
    players his goal is experiential there's
  • 00:15:52
    an experience that he wants to get out
  • 00:15:53
    of this and your players are going to be
  • 00:15:56
    the same way conflict so what obstacles
  • 00:16:00
    are in the way of that goal in your
  • 00:16:02
    story what are the barriers to efficient
  • 00:16:04
    victory and when I say efficient victory
  • 00:16:06
    because a player can play your game for
  • 00:16:09
    as long as they are intrigued by it so
  • 00:16:11
    Sisyphus here his goal is to get the
  • 00:16:13
    rock up the mountain and his conflict is
  • 00:16:15
    with gravity and for some reason he
  • 00:16:18
    keeps on playing this game it's
  • 00:16:19
    compelling to him I don't know why so
  • 00:16:22
    also so then we start to get into more
  • 00:16:25
    of the meat of where narrative comes in
  • 00:16:27
    at player choices jot down the big
  • 00:16:30
    interactive choices and basically this
  • 00:16:34
    is where you want to look at in the
  • 00:16:36
    abstract big picture what is the player
  • 00:16:41
    trying to do or these choices tough are
  • 00:16:43
    they meaningful like deciding whether or
  • 00:16:45
    not to get on that plane
  • 00:16:47
    are they strategic or are they more
  • 00:16:50
    tactical is a more a matter of who to
  • 00:16:52
    aim at and who to shoot in a moment
  • 00:16:54
    these are all choices and whether
  • 00:16:56
    they're large or small you want to write
  • 00:16:57
    them down and you also want to write
  • 00:17:01
    down actions here so actions and choices
  • 00:17:04
    that's a sort of a fine-grained
  • 00:17:05
    distinction but think about in terms of
  • 00:17:08
    this one-man band his choices are where
  • 00:17:11
    to play and when to play and his actions
  • 00:17:13
    are this is player verbs his guitar his
  • 00:17:17
    cymbals his his drum kit when he plays
  • 00:17:21
    those things those are his playing the
  • 00:17:22
    drums playing the guitar those are his
  • 00:17:24
    verbs resources so this is where you've
  • 00:17:28
    talked a lot about what the player can
  • 00:17:29
    do and this is where you draw the first
  • 00:17:31
    clear connection between your world and
  • 00:17:33
    your player what in the world can the
  • 00:17:36
    player use and these these resources
  • 00:17:38
    should be simple to understand if
  • 00:17:39
    possible but elegant you know in
  • 00:17:43
    monopoly monopoly is you know a little
  • 00:17:45
    bit maligned as a game
  • 00:17:46
    but as a resource monopoly money is
  • 00:17:50
    great it's it gives an opportunity to
  • 00:17:53
    the player it provides information when
  • 00:17:55
    you look around and see how much money
  • 00:17:56
    people have compared to how much you
  • 00:17:58
    have and it also limits your actions in
  • 00:18:01
    a challenging way when you don't have
  • 00:18:02
    the money you need so for the final
  • 00:18:04
    element of we're going to go for a
  • 00:18:06
    little farther into the world in the
  • 00:18:07
    story and we're going to outline our
  • 00:18:10
    game events now you don't want to think
  • 00:18:12
    about this as a formal system of rules
  • 00:18:13
    not yet we still want to keep at high
  • 00:18:15
    level and think about what sort of
  • 00:18:16
    changes are taking place these changes
  • 00:18:19
    regular and predictable or are they you
  • 00:18:22
    know are they clockwork or are they big
  • 00:18:24
    and dramatic put in biblical terms does
  • 00:18:28
    it rain twice a week in your world or is
  • 00:18:31
    there a flood on the way that's going to
  • 00:18:33
    hit a tower too these are the things you
  • 00:18:35
    want to think about so now that you've
  • 00:18:37
    done that you've sort of written down
  • 00:18:40
    some elements in this area that crosses
  • 00:18:42
    if it's formal and informal you've sort
  • 00:18:45
    of laid out narrative elements of your
  • 00:18:47
    game and you've thought about how the
  • 00:18:49
    player is going to interact with that
  • 00:18:51
    world so now it's time to start building
  • 00:18:53
    out your story doing this well may take
  • 00:18:56
    you back into your write up to make
  • 00:18:57
    changes and that's okay but I want to go
  • 00:19:01
    through a couple examples of games that
  • 00:19:02
    do this well as and a couple principles
  • 00:19:05
    that I think really work first of all
  • 00:19:07
    when you're thinking about story you
  • 00:19:09
    want to think about how you're going to
  • 00:19:10
    show the player your goal in journey you
  • 00:19:13
    see the mountain with the light and you
  • 00:19:15
    don't need to be told to go there you
  • 00:19:18
    know if you can make something like that
  • 00:19:20
    fantastic give meaning to rules in your
  • 00:19:24
    game this is a screen from Dino run
  • 00:19:26
    which is a game where you know the rules
  • 00:19:29
    are pretty simple you're it's a little
  • 00:19:31
    running game and there's a timer that
  • 00:19:33
    where if you fall too far behind you're
  • 00:19:35
    going to have to restart but Pete but
  • 00:19:39
    story was used to really narrative eyes
  • 00:19:42
    this goal in a really interesting way in
  • 00:19:44
    dinah run an asteroid hits and you have
  • 00:19:47
    a wall of destruction this sort of the
  • 00:19:49
    extinction level event coming up from
  • 00:19:50
    behind you staying one step ahead of
  • 00:19:52
    that is much more interesting than a
  • 00:19:54
    timer use characters if you can up
  • 00:20:00
    people
  • 00:20:00
    they see characters everywhere and once
  • 00:20:02
    they start seeing characters they start
  • 00:20:04
    caring use that characters can be goals
  • 00:20:07
    keep Clem safe characters can be
  • 00:20:10
    resources in classic JRPGs your options
  • 00:20:12
    are for play are personified as
  • 00:20:14
    characters the characters can be
  • 00:20:16
    conflict now sometimes a character can
  • 00:20:18
    work as many many narrative elements as
  • 00:20:20
    want which is fantastic like donkey kong
  • 00:20:22
    he's a source of conflict I mean he's
  • 00:20:25
    holding your goal this damsel in
  • 00:20:26
    distress he and but he's also throwing
  • 00:20:28
    obstacles in your path
  • 00:20:29
    he's also disappearing back up the level
  • 00:20:31
    in driving you onwards for a long-term
  • 00:20:33
    goal he's such a central part of the
  • 00:20:35
    game narrative that even though he's not
  • 00:20:37
    the playable character he's not playable
  • 00:20:39
    the game is named after him the game is
  • 00:20:41
    not called Mario
  • 00:20:42
    it's called Donkey Kong because this
  • 00:20:45
    character is so key to the understanding
  • 00:20:48
    of the story finally you've got your
  • 00:20:52
    story events that you've been interested
  • 00:20:53
    in the things that happen try to tie
  • 00:20:55
    them into the players actions as much as
  • 00:20:57
    possible
  • 00:20:58
    the things that you know the player will
  • 00:20:59
    be doing and that will make them
  • 00:21:02
    meaningful so finally now you want to
  • 00:21:06
    cut story points that don't do any of
  • 00:21:08
    these things that don't reinforce or
  • 00:21:10
    showcase goals call the player to action
  • 00:21:12
    give them feedback or provide a break or
  • 00:21:14
    reward I think I don't have as much time
  • 00:21:16
    as I think I do so I'm going to go fast
  • 00:21:18
    okay so next drafting the rules
  • 00:21:22
    basically when you're figuring out the
  • 00:21:26
    rules of the game now that you've got
  • 00:21:27
    the elements now do you figure out the
  • 00:21:28
    story remember you're playing as the
  • 00:21:29
    computer so keep these rules simple
  • 00:21:31
    remember you're not testing mechanics so
  • 00:21:34
    if you can substitute but you can sup to
  • 00:21:37
    do a challenge for another moment of
  • 00:21:40
    excitement and test different outcomes
  • 00:21:42
    if you can do that that's great
  • 00:21:43
    so dice are a good simple way to do this
  • 00:21:47
    they may not be the same test that it to
  • 00:21:50
    a player as combat but they can provide
  • 00:21:52
    that little challenging moment but let's
  • 00:21:54
    say you really want to test a player's
  • 00:21:55
    skill to some degree all right you can
  • 00:21:57
    do that let's say you think it's
  • 00:21:59
    important for the game narrative to
  • 00:22:02
    basically test their accuracy as a
  • 00:22:05
    shooter as a shooter will do so okay
  • 00:22:09
    make a little micro prototype put up a
  • 00:22:11
    dartboard and make that a little part of
  • 00:22:13
    your game
  • 00:22:13
    and success or failure can can sort of
  • 00:22:17
    depend on where they hit on the
  • 00:22:18
    dartboard so rules will be different for
  • 00:22:22
    every game but there's one more thing I
  • 00:22:23
    want to emphasize you may be simplifying
  • 00:22:25
    at actions but you want to keep the
  • 00:22:27
    elements of choice strong in your game
  • 00:22:29
    or else the player is not going to be
  • 00:22:30
    doing anything in this narrative
  • 00:22:32
    prototype identify your most important
  • 00:22:34
    choice points and figure out what's
  • 00:22:36
    behind either door so now it's time to
  • 00:22:40
    actually start building and I'm going to
  • 00:22:42
    rush through this because it's pretty
  • 00:22:43
    straightforward
  • 00:22:43
    choose your pieces and use simple
  • 00:22:46
    familiar materials as I said before one
  • 00:22:49
    quick note don't use anything too light
  • 00:22:51
    so you're going to be tempted to draw on
  • 00:22:53
    paper and just like make a little
  • 00:22:55
    resource that way but once you start
  • 00:22:57
    playing these games that's going to go
  • 00:22:58
    all over the place
  • 00:22:59
    wait it down on something like a coin or
  • 00:23:02
    it'll scatter making the board so so if
  • 00:23:07
    your final step is setting up a space
  • 00:23:08
    that's going to abstract Lee for the
  • 00:23:10
    player represent their world or more
  • 00:23:13
    accurately their screen this is your
  • 00:23:16
    game board and you want it to have
  • 00:23:17
    weight you want it to be flexible and
  • 00:23:19
    sticky and you want it to have some
  • 00:23:21
    simplicity and focus to it as well you
  • 00:23:23
    really don't want to over complicate
  • 00:23:24
    this with the UI elements that you'll
  • 00:23:26
    need down the road just think about what
  • 00:23:28
    the player needs in that space so now
  • 00:23:31
    we've got a premise a goal a board to
  • 00:23:33
    play on resources that the players can
  • 00:23:36
    use to achieve their goals choices rules
  • 00:23:39
    that create conflicts and opportunities
  • 00:23:40
    and events that affect an in-form play
  • 00:23:43
    so I know I started a little bit late so
  • 00:23:47
    I'm going to keep on going for a minute
  • 00:23:48
    or two you guys can obviously leave if
  • 00:23:50
    you want
  • 00:23:52
    so finalizing your prototype basically
  • 00:23:56
    what you what you need to do now that
  • 00:24:00
    you've created this formal system so it
  • 00:24:02
    makes sense to you is build out your
  • 00:24:03
    presentation and this is where you're
  • 00:24:05
    using that comfort that comfortable
  • 00:24:07
    place that storytelling place that
  • 00:24:10
    really makes you feel like you're
  • 00:24:13
    conveying a good story arm so so some of
  • 00:24:18
    you may be visual or written or some
  • 00:24:20
    performative but this is where you're
  • 00:24:22
    figuring out how to communicate those
  • 00:24:24
    rules and systems to the player you're
  • 00:24:26
    presenting that
  • 00:24:28
    now that you've done that presentation
  • 00:24:31
    it's you're ready finally to start
  • 00:24:33
    rehearsing the running of this prototype
  • 00:24:35
    phase one run the prototype on yourself
  • 00:24:38
    you want to be able to do one successful
  • 00:24:40
    solo run if possible but it has to be
  • 00:24:42
    possible you need to do a successful run
  • 00:24:45
    on your own and just see this as a
  • 00:24:48
    conversation between you the the
  • 00:24:51
    developer who's made this game and knows
  • 00:24:53
    all the rules and you the player who
  • 00:24:56
    knows nothing about this game you're
  • 00:24:59
    going to find that you missed a lot of
  • 00:25:01
    things that's okay you can just expect
  • 00:25:04
    imperfection fix those mistakes run it
  • 00:25:07
    again
  • 00:25:08
    phase two once you've gotten your
  • 00:25:09
    successful run yourself do a do a
  • 00:25:12
    rehearsal with someone who will love you
  • 00:25:15
    even if you totally flub the entire
  • 00:25:18
    thing you want to leverage their
  • 00:25:20
    patience to work out the kinks in those
  • 00:25:22
    presentation elements that you that you
  • 00:25:24
    put together and then once that has
  • 00:25:29
    worked and you've got that presentation
  • 00:25:30
    worked out and you figured out from the
  • 00:25:32
    first playtesters this person you love
  • 00:25:34
    what is really unclear now it's time to
  • 00:25:37
    bring in some people whose opinion of
  • 00:25:39
    this prototype really does matter bring
  • 00:25:41
    back your conspirators the so either the
  • 00:25:45
    collaborators or people whose opinions
  • 00:25:47
    you trust and this is pretty obvious
  • 00:25:50
    just um just listening to this feedback
  • 00:25:54
    oh my right cut off okay um great listen
  • 00:25:59
    listen to their feedback and look at
  • 00:26:01
    what they enjoyed what's fun frustrating
  • 00:26:02
    boring or unclear and adjust that
  • 00:26:04
    prototype as you prepare for playtesting
  • 00:26:07
    um dipper's did such a good job talking
  • 00:26:10
    about plate you know I was so cool
  • 00:26:12
    talking about deeper user testing this
  • 00:26:14
    stuff is going to be very light I'm just
  • 00:26:15
    going to wrap up on this I used to have
  • 00:26:18
    a list of questions here I got rid of it
  • 00:26:19
    um I will put it up on the GDC volt but
  • 00:26:24
    um write down a few questions beforehand
  • 00:26:25
    because you won't want to think about
  • 00:26:27
    them afterwards you want to write down
  • 00:26:30
    questions and also if you can you want
  • 00:26:32
    to think about recording the play tests
  • 00:26:34
    do video use video if possible but you
  • 00:26:38
    need to get permission from play testers
  • 00:26:41
    and if you want to improve your
  • 00:26:42
    presentation style point the camera at
  • 00:26:44
    yourself if you want to improve your
  • 00:26:46
    game you're going to learn a lot more
  • 00:26:48
    though by turning the camera on someone
  • 00:26:50
    else so playtesting it's I'm just going
  • 00:26:53
    to sort of roll through that because
  • 00:26:54
    that's super basic stuff about what it
  • 00:26:57
    means to play test and but the real
  • 00:26:59
    important thing here is this is not a
  • 00:27:01
    scientific play test it doesn't matter
  • 00:27:03
    if your variables are all super clean
  • 00:27:06
    and your thing and every all your ducts
  • 00:27:08
    are lined up in the road this is
  • 00:27:09
    something that you this is a crucible a
  • 00:27:10
    trial by fire to make your game better
  • 00:27:12
    so you can improvise if if you're you
  • 00:27:16
    listening for choices from the player
  • 00:27:17
    allow them to skip things but that you
  • 00:27:20
    believe they could skip and if they have
  • 00:27:22
    a smart suggestion if they want to grab
  • 00:27:23
    the mic and say hey this is what I want
  • 00:27:25
    to do incorporate it into your play just
  • 00:27:28
    let it happen
  • 00:27:29
    and see if it improves the game as long
  • 00:27:31
    as it doesn't seem like it's going to
  • 00:27:33
    mess up the game too much but whatever
  • 00:27:34
    you do in those play tests just note it
  • 00:27:37
    so that you know so that you have a sort
  • 00:27:41
    of log of those changes so people are
  • 00:27:44
    polite so have a third party ask
  • 00:27:46
    questions for you and also set aside
  • 00:27:49
    time to review again another really
  • 00:27:51
    basic thing so almost done here so once
  • 00:27:56
    you've got all that you've got play test
  • 00:27:57
    notes and you want to look at the
  • 00:27:59
    biggest problem with your prototype is
  • 00:28:01
    the goal unclear is it too hard is it
  • 00:28:04
    they're dead ends and the game players
  • 00:28:06
    are just not that awesome this prototype
  • 00:28:08
    that's the nice thing about the fact
  • 00:28:10
    that you made this thing in three days
  • 00:28:11
    it's disposable figure out some bold
  • 00:28:16
    solutions to your problems
  • 00:28:17
    discard kill your darlings and try again
  • 00:28:21
    so when you finally achieve something
  • 00:28:24
    that feels like a narrative outline that
  • 00:28:26
    is interesting and exciting to players
  • 00:28:28
    there's a couple ways you can do it go
  • 00:28:30
    you can expand that prototype you can
  • 00:28:33
    generalize because you're going to learn
  • 00:28:34
    a lot from having someone run that
  • 00:28:35
    prototype on you so that's a matter of
  • 00:28:37
    getting the rules in sort of a really
  • 00:28:39
    formal set up so that you can be a
  • 00:28:42
    player of your game which will be useful
  • 00:28:43
    later on but you can also use this
  • 00:28:46
    narrative outline it's it's sort of this
  • 00:28:47
    it if your collaborators and everyone
  • 00:28:50
    all feels like yeah this is the game we
  • 00:28:51
    want to make this is an extraordinary
  • 00:28:52
    production tool
  • 00:28:54
    you can bust out into asset lists in to
  • 00:28:56
    think about the animations and all the
  • 00:28:59
    pieces that that you were sort of need
  • 00:29:02
    to create as part of this game and then
  • 00:29:04
    you're also going to see some areas
  • 00:29:06
    where this narrative obviously where the
  • 00:29:08
    narrative outline this paper prototype
  • 00:29:12
    you made really hasn't um where it where
  • 00:29:16
    it's really not addressing issues so
  • 00:29:19
    then shift your focus maybe it is now
  • 00:29:21
    time for that digital sandbox so go back
  • 00:29:25
    and prototype the next big question in
  • 00:29:27
    your game so that's all a lot of stuff
  • 00:29:30
    it's a lot of work even though it's
  • 00:29:32
    disposable and quick it's a lot to do
  • 00:29:34
    why do I go through this process why do
  • 00:29:36
    I think about it this deeply basically
  • 00:29:39
    because a narrative paper prototype is
  • 00:29:40
    going to help me save time and money it
  • 00:29:42
    helps me see if my premise rules and
  • 00:29:44
    choices are compelling to see if the
  • 00:29:46
    piece if the pieces fit together
  • 00:29:47
    coherently it helps me form a shared
  • 00:29:50
    vision of this whole game with my
  • 00:29:52
    collaborators as early as possible it
  • 00:29:54
    shows me of course the players
  • 00:29:56
    perspective but most of all because it
  • 00:30:00
    can turn early development which can be
  • 00:30:02
    very difficult and unsure into a fun and
  • 00:30:05
    empowering experience thank you
  • 00:30:18
    you
Tags
  • prototypage
  • narratif
  • jeux vidéo
  • design de jeux
  • test de jeu
  • expérience joueur
  • créativité
  • Disney
  • développement de jeux
  • innovation