Gdc 2014 Competitive Storytelling

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COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER PRESENTED BY CHRISTINA NORMAN Twitter: @truffle League of Legends: kitae Link to full slides at end of presentation STORYTELLING

description

Why would you want to develop narrative in a multiplayer competitive game? In this talk, Christina Norman will show how establishing characters, setting and world can increase player engagement and enjoyment in PvP games. Drawing on examples from League of Legends and other multiplayer competitive games, she will describe effective techniques for communicating narrative without disrupting gameplay. She will also share insights gained from narrative development in League of Legends. Takeaway Attendees will gain an understanding of how narrative development can improve player enjoyment in PvP games. Techniques for developing narrative will be discussed that are effective in PvP, co-op and single-player games. Intended Audience This talk is directed at narrative designers and all game developers with an interest in player experience. While all examples are drawn from PvP games, the techniques discussed and insights shared are relevant to both co-op and single-player game development.

Transcript of Gdc 2014 Competitive Storytelling

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COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER

PRESENTED BY CHRISTINA NORMAN Twitter: @truffle League of Legends: kitae Link to full slides at end of presentation

STORYTELLING

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THANKS FOR VIEWING THIS

Want the full version? Ask @megganpez (GDC chair) to make this one of the free

talks viewable on the GDC vault. This version is just the slides, it’s missing the

presentation and thus full context. Hope you find the presentation useful!

ON THE INTERNETS

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INTRODUCTION

WHO AM I? ‣  Game  Designer  &  Writer  @  Riot  Games  ‣  Previously  Game  Designer  &  Programmer  @  BioWare  ‣  Worked  on  League  of  Legends  &  Mass  Effect  1,  2,  3  

   

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AGENDA

WHY HOW NEXT WHY

TLDR; Familiar techniques, it’s all about how you use them

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STORY INSPIRES PLAYERS

AND HELPS THEM IMMERSE

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SETTING

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CHARACTER

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NARRATIVE

“It’s what she’d want. And you know it.”

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CHARACTER

SETTING

NARRATIVE

STORY ALIGNS DEVELOPERS

SO WE CAN CREATE AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE

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COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER GAMES

HAVE STORIES TOO

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SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN

IS A POWERFUL TECHNIQUE

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MULTIPLAYER ONLY GAMES

ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON

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THEIR STORIES

ARE HARDER TO TELL

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TRANSMEDIA

CAN WORK – BUT ISN’T PART OF PLAY

VIDEOS COMICS BOOKS

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WHAT IF STORY COULD BE PART OF COMPETITIVE PLAY?

COMMON CONCERNS ‣  Story  disrupts  gameplay  

‣  Players  don’t  want  or  care  about  stories  

 

IT CAN - LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW

It  doesn’t  have  to  

They  will  if  you  tell  the  right  stories  

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS COMPETITIVE GAMEPLAY

<<< LCS VIDEO GOES HERE >>>

Imagine awesome #LCS gameplay or just watch the #LCS. It’s awesome.

www.lolesports.com  

 

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AGENDA

WHY HOW NEXT

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1. NEVER IRRITATING

2. NO PAUSING OR DELAYS

3. NO DISTRACTIONS

4. NO CONFLICTING GOALS

GROUND RULES

FOR COMPETITIVE STORYTELLING

MULTIPLAYER FIRST    

 

DISTRACTIONS CAN KILL    

 

SUPPORT TEAMPLAY  

 

 

PLAYERS OPT IN  

 

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4 TECHNIQUES

•  Ambient NPC Voice-over

•  PC Voice-over

•  Story Objectives

•  Story Events

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TECHNIQUE: AMBIENT NPC VOICE-OVER

“Can  the  reapers  be  stopped,  Shepard?”  

GOOD FOR ‣  Tone  ‣  SeOng  ‣  Character  ‣  NarraQve    

 

OVERVIEW

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TECHNIQUE: AMBIENT NPC VOICE-OVER

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Tone  mismatch  

‣  Relevance  to  gameplay  

‣  DistracQons  can  kill  

 

CHALLENGES

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CASE STUDY: LOL SHOPKEEPER

GOALS ‣  Establish  world  ‣  Establish  champions  ‣  Lighten  tone  

 

EXAMPLE

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS HAS 118 PLAYABLE CHARACTERS EACH HAS RELATIONSHIPS AND BACKSTORY

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CASE STUDY: LOL SHOPKEEPER

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Tone  mismatch    ‣  Relevance  to  gameplay    

‣  DistracQons  can  kill  

KEY TAKEAWAY

“Priceless!  Now,  hand  over  the  gold.”    

APPROACH

Suppor8ve  humorous  tone  

Speaks  in  response  to  player  shopping  ac8vi8es,  crea8ng  ceremony  

Non-­‐combat  area  

Create  characters  that  work  with  exis8ng  gameplay  and  pacing  

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CASE STUDY: LOL SHOPKEEPER

“You  look  just  like  your  sister…  wait…  I’m  not  supposed  to  talk  about  that.”    

RESULTS

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ONE LINE Tons  of  engagement  

 

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4 TECHNIQUES

•  Ambient NPC Voice-over

•  PC Voice-over

•  Story Objectives

•  Story Events

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PC VOICE-OVER

“I’ve  got  to  keep  moving.”  

GOOD FOR ‣  Confirming  player  acQon  ‣  DirecQng  player  ‣  SeOng  ‣  Main  Character    

 

OVERVIEW

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PC VOICE-OVER

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Tone  mismatch    ‣  Relevance  to  gameplay    ‣  DistracQons  can  kill    

CHALLENGES

Iden8cal  to  NPC  voice-­‐over  

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE EXAMPLE

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE

“Oh,  sweet  Jesus,  look  at  all  these  guns!”  

SCRIPTED

 

APPROACH

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE

“Can  somebody  help  me?  Damsel  in  distress  over  here.”  

GAMEPLAY ALERT

 

APPROACH

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE

“Oh  shit!  Look  at  ya.  Let  me  help  you  up.  

GAMEPLAY CEREMONY

 

APPROACH

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Tone  mismatch        ‣  Relevance  to  gameplay      ‣  DistracQons  can  kill  

KEY TAKEAWAY          

 

APPROACH

Wrote  to  gameplay  tone  

Characters  and  players  have  the  same  goals  

Lines  draw  aEen8on  to  relevant  gameplay  

Observe  gameplay,  write  lines  in  character  to  highlight  relevant  informa8on  

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CASE STUDY: ROCHELLE

RESULTS ‣  Players  learn  about  characters  

naturally  through  play  ‣  Players  develop  character  

preferences  despite  no  gameplay  impact  

 

RESULTS

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4 TECHNIQUES

•  Ambient NPC Voice-over

•  PC Voice-over

•  Narrative Objectives

•  Story Events

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TECHNIQUE: NARRATIVE OBJECTIVE OVERVIEW

GOOD FOR ‣  MoQvaQng  players  ‣  SeOng  up  gameplay  ‣  Moving  the  story  forward    

 

Lol! Another EZ delivery

quest…

NEW QUEST! ‣  Take  the  ring  to  Mt.  Doom    

 

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TECHNIQUE: NARRATIVE OBJECTIVE

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Goals  can  feel  repeQQve  

‣  Team  goals  can  feel  impersonal  

‣  Individual  goals  can  disrupt  teamplay  

CHALLENGES

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CASE STUDY: THE HUNT IS ON

GOALS ‣  Experience  narraQve  

resoluQon  through  gameplay  ‣  PosiQve  experience  for  both  

teams  

 

 

EXAMPLE

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CHARACTER MOTIVATION EXPRESSED IN GAME

HUNT TO GET TROPHIES

APPROACH

HUNT TO EVOLVE

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INTERSECTING BACKSTORY APPROACH

FIGHT WITHOUT A CLEAR VICTOR

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NARRATIVE RESOLUTION

KILL QUEST TRIGGERED LATE GAME

APPROACH

The  Hunt  Is  On!  Kha’zix  must  kill  Rengar  first  to  become  the  ulQmate  predator  (assists  count).  “I  have  grown  and  adapted  since  I  took  his  eye.  Now  I  will  have  feast  on  him.”  –  Kha’zix  

The  Hunt  Is  On!  Rengar  must  kill  Kha’zix  to  become  the  ulQmate  hunter  (assists  count).  “He  is  my  greatest  prize.  The  one  beast  who  escaped  me.  I  must  have  his  head.”  -­‐  Rengar  

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THEMATIC REWARD

FULL EVOLUTION

APPROACH

ULTIMATE TROPHY

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CASE STUDY: THE HUNT IS ON

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Goals  can  feel  repeQQve      ‣  Team  goals  can  feel  impersonal      ‣  Individual  goals  can  disrupt  teamplay      

KEY TAKEAWAYS

APPROACH

Rare  (probably  too  rare)  

Specific  to  Kha’zix  and  Rengar  

Trigger  during  team  fight  phase  of  game  

Rewards  must  impact  gameplay  Theme  increases  value  of  gameplay  rewards  

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FEW PLAYERS WILL EXPERIENCE THIS RESULTS

BUT SOCIAL MEDIA INCREASES REACH

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4 TECHNIQUES

•  Ambient NPC Voice-over

•  PC Voice-over

•  Story Objectives

•  Story Events

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TECHNIQUE: STORY EVENT

GOOD FOR ‣  Player  parQcipaQon  in  narraQve  progress  

 

OVERVIEW

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TECHNIQUE: STORY EVENT

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Goal  changes  can  disrupt  compeQQve  play  

‣  Not  all  team  members  may  want  to  parQcipate  

CHALLENGES

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GOALS ‣  Establish  Freljord  region  ‣  High  player  parQcipaQon  ‣  Increase  understanding  of  facQonal  affiliaQon  ‣  Measure  results  

CHOOSE YOUR TRIBE EXAMPLE

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TRANSMEDIA APPROACH

PROSE AND ILLUSTRATION

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TRANSMEDIA APPROACH

WEBSITE

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TRANSMEDIA APPROACH

NARRATIVE VIDEO

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EARN ONE ICON BY WINNING TEN GAMES

CHALLENGE ALIGNED WITH FRELJORD THEMES

PROVISIONAL ICON PERMANENT ICON

EVENT THEMATIC ALIGNMENT ‣  Players  pick  tribes  ‣  MulQple  victories  required  ‣  Failure  is  possible  

FRELJORD THEMES ‣  Champions  picking  tribes  ‣  War  spans  many  bafles  ‣  Harsh,  brutal,  environment  

APPROACH

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CASE STUDY: CHOOSE YOUR TRIBE

MULTIPLAYER CHALLENGES ‣  Goal  changes  can  disrupt  compeQQve  play      ‣  Not  all  team  members  may  want  to  parQcipate            

KEY TAKEAWAY

 

APPROACH

Layer  meta-­‐progression  on  exis8ng  goals  

Par8cipa8on  is  op8onal  and  gameplay  is  unchanged  

Preserved  compe88ve  play  but  event  didn’t  feel  truly  in-­‐game.  Opportunity  to  improve  through  in-­‐game  ceremony.  

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PLAYER PARTICIPATION

HIGH LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION

PARTICIPATION METRIC ‣  Measured  all  players  who  

won  ten  games  during  the  event  

 

RESULTS

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PLAYER COMPREHENSION

COMPREHENSION INCREASED AND WAS RETAINED

COMPREHENSION METRIC ‣  Survey  of  random  players  to  measure  knowledge  of  champion  facQonal  affiliaQon  ‣  Measured  before  event,  ager  event,  and  six  months  ager  even  ‣  Comprehension  increased  and  was  retained  

RESULTS

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AGENDA

WHY HOW NEXT

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1. NEVER IRRITATING

2. NO PAUSING

3. NO DISTRACTIONS

4. NO CONFLICTING GOALS

WE’VE TALKED ABOUT GROUND RULES

FOR COMPETITIVE STORYTELLING

MULTIPLAYER FIRST    

 

DISTRACTIONS KILL    

 

SUPPORT TEAMPLAY  

 

 

PLAYERS OPT IN  

 

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WE’VE EXPLORED TECHNIQUES

AMBIENT VOICE-OVER PLAYER VOICE-OVER

STORY OBJECTIVES STORY EVENTS AND BEST PRACTICES

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NEXT STEPS ARE A CHALLENGE

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TELL STORIES IN GAME

YOU KNOW PLAYERS WILL LOVE

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“MY FAVORITE CHARACTER HAS A SISTER? I HAVE TO PLAY HER!”

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LET PLAYERS PROGRESS NARRATIVE

THROUGH GAMEPLAY

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“I KILLED RENGAR AND GOT MY 4th EVOLUTION POINT!”

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LET PLAYERS EXPRESS THEMSELVES

THROUGH STORY

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“I’VE ALWAYS HAD A SOFT SPOT FOR VILLAINS. FROSTGUARD ALL THE WAY.”

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BRING NEW TECHNIQUES

???

???

??? ??? ???

TO COMPETITIVE PLAY

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WHAT STORIES WILL YOUR GAMEPLAY INSPIRE?

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COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER

PRESENTED BY CHRISTINA NORMAN Twitter: @truffle League of Legends: kitae

STORYTELLING

hfp://www.riotgames.com/careers  Help us tell stories:

Full Slides: hfp://bit.ly/CompeQQveStorytelling