@stefangrambart
EMERGENT NARRATIVE What We Can Learn From Dungeons & Dragons Presented by Stefan Grambart at AWE 2016
#AWE2016
(L to R) TSR, Canadian Improv Games@stefangrambart #AWE2016
@stefangrambart #AWE2016
@stefangrambart
Can we
REDEFINE THE AUTHOR/AUDIENCE
DYNAMIC and create a system for building truly emergent stories?
#AWE2016
(L to R, top to bottom) Game of Thrones, Camelot, Chronicles of Shannara, The Hobbit@stefangrambart #AWE2016
@stefangrambart
LINEAR NARRATIVE The narrative unfolds as intended by the author; the audience has no control over the outcome.
#AWE2016
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (2016)@stefangrambart
“[Uncharted 4] has a very specific ending that’s
definitive to the franchise.”- Neil Druckmann
Creative Director, Naughty Dog
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
BRANCHING NARRATIVE The audience chooses between multiple story branches, created in advance by the author.
#AWE2016
Aurora borealis above Lyngenfjorden, 2012 March - Simo Räsänen@stefangrambart
Complex branching narratives will experience
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
#AWE2016
Aurora borealis above Lyngenfjorden, 2012 March - Simo Räsänen@stefangrambart
Complex branching narratives will experience
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
TANGENTIAL NARRATIVE The audience can explore optional content, but the storyline remains linear.
#AWE2016
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)@stefangrambart
244 Story-based quests
8% Form the main plot
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
ELASTIC NARRATIVE Any story branch followed by the audience quickly folds back into the main plot.
#AWE2016
Game Of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014)@stefangrambart
“Choices should feel meaningful, permanent, and
tailored to your story.”- Joshua Rubin
Writer, Telltale Games
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
These models all rely on
PREDESTINED OUTCOMES
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
Is there a model wherein there exists
SPONTANEOUS, COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING?
#AWE2016
Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart #AWE2016
Zero Charisma (2013)@stefangrambart
Tabletop Role-Playing Games
#AWE2016
Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart
SETTINGRULES CHANCE#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
EMERGENT NARRATIVE The audience explores infinite options which fold into a single storyline as choices are made.
#AWE2016
Feng Zhu Design@stefangrambart
The rules, setting, and chance become
A FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING
STORY WORLDS
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
Collaborative storytelling allows for
DYNAMIC OUTCOMES
#AWE2016
Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart
Dungeon Master Tip #1
CONVERT PLAYER AGENCY
#AWE2016
Steve Wang@stefangrambart
Instead of relying on a predetermined setting, the players can helped create it.
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
PLAYER AGENCY Player interactions have a meaningful impact.
#AWE2016
Mathieu Latour-Duhaime@stefangrambart
What matters most to the players, must matter to the story.
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
DRAMATIC AGENCY Narrative outcomes elicit emotional responses.
#AWE2016
Fallout 4 (2015)@stefangrambart
Games often mistakenly try to force an
EMPATHIC CONNECTION
#AWE2016
Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart
Dungeon Master Tip #2
FLY-BY AND APPROACH
#AWE2016
Pathfinder@stefangrambart
ON FLY-BY Don’t establish too many details; only give the players what they need to understand the element on a superficial level.
#AWE2016
Feng Zhu Design@stefangrambart
ON APPROACH As the players focus on an element, bring it to life with detail and description. There’s no need to flesh-out elements the players don’t care to explore any further.
#AWE2016
Mela Muter@stefangrambart
THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS French writer Georges Polti grouped every possible dramatic situation in literature, and struggled to find more than thirty-six.
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
RIVALRY OF KIN
The Object Of Rivalry chooses the Preferred Kinsman
over the Rejected Kinsman.
#AWE2016
Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart
Dungeon Master Tip #3
USE A DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
#AWE2016
Karl Stauffer-Bern@stefangrambart
FIVE ACT STRUCTURE German playwright Gustav Freytag wrote the definitive study of this dramatic structure in 1863, and it’s still used today.
@stefangrambart #AWE2016
1. THE SETUP Introduce the character, their desire, and their world. Create the familiar.
2. SETTING OUT Send the character on a journey; create the unfamiliar.
3. SET PIECE Give the audience what was promised; the movie poster.
4. THE SETBACK Disaster! The character’s karma is all wrong.
5. SETTLING THE SCORE Karma is fixed and paid off.
@stefangrambart
We Are A Content Studio For Emerging Platforms
#AWE2016
Sleepy Hollow VR@stefangrambart #AWE2016
@stefangrambart
360 Storyboard
o
#AWE2016
James Milward, Robin Benty, Noam Dromi, Jay Williams, @stefangrambart
WE WON A PRIMETIME EMMY® The first ever for a virtual reality project, awarded for “Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - User Interface and Visual Design.”
#AWE2016
(L to R, top to bottom) Insidious VR, Ebola Outbreak, Blasters of the Universe, VAN Beethoven@stefangrambart #AWE2016
Oculus Rift@stefangrambart
VR BEGS FOR INTERACTION Being present in a virtual space leads the audience to question their identity and agency.
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
CORE CONCEITS OF VIRTUAL REALITY Presence is innate to the medium, but narrative and agency need to be defined, tested, and developed.
#AWE2016
VR
Pres
ence
Narrative
Agency
(L to R, top to bottom) Valkyrie, Land’s End, Lucky’s Tale, World War Toon@stefangrambart #AWE2016
(L to R) Avatar (2009), Up (2009)@stefangrambart
“there’s excitement
around something that, to me, is a yawn.”
“It’s good, but it’s not
storytelling…”
- James Cameron Filmmaker
- Ed Catmull President, Pixar
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart #AWE2016 Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)
@stefangrambart #AWE2016 Star Wars (1977)
(L to R) Colosse (2015), Spore (2008)@stefangrambart
“VR is a new medium, we need
new ideas.”
“We need to be discovering the building
blocks of interactivity…”
- Nick Pittom Director, Fire Panda Games
- Chris Hecker Game Engineer, Spore
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
“Challenge accepted.”- Me
and my big mouth
#AWE2016
@stefangrambart
THANKS! Any Questions?
#AWE2016
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