Jump to content

Emergent Storytelling


Jatta Pake

Recommended Posts

I debated on where to put this topic but I remember reading somewhere that the developer's ultimate goal with PZ was to have emergent storytelling be at the game's design core. If so, the purpose of this topic is simply to discuss and possibly (and humbly) suggest what I think this would look like in PZ. If this is no longer a goal, I'd like to see it manifest as a Mod.

 

What is emergent storytelling? This article provides a fantastic overview and argument for what defines emergent storytelling in video games: Popmatters

 

The author argues that emergent storytelling in videogames has one or both of two key components:

  1. Characters that change during play in meaningful ways that represent a true character arc,
  2. Gameplay forces players to give context and meaning to a scenario that results in a dramatic arc.

Without these components, the narrative is not emergent. For example, a pre-defined series of events within a game may include story and character arcs, but they are not emergent. They are narratives designed by the game maker. Emergent storytelling happens through the interaction between the player and the system.

 

I think PZ has the opportunity to push the envelope with emergent storytelling and I suspect that is the intent with NPCs. But I think more can be done with player characters. What would extreme isolation and constant war-like trauma do to a character? For characters that are put together in multiplayer, what would be the effects over time on characters having two conflicting personality types being forced together?

 

I could see a new navigation pane, similar to the one that shows the health of the body, except one for the mind. While moodles might be outward expressions of character behaviors, the character's mind would be internal. Let's say two players are playing survivors, one plays Joe and one Sara. Shortly after meeting for the first time, Joe registers annoyance towards Sara within his mind. Sara may be able to see that Joe is mildly annoyed, but she would not know from what. After a certain threshold, highly annoyed characters might suffer skill penalties.

 

If the two players are both friends in real life and plan to play together, Joe's player might chose to spend points (e.g. resources) on reducing Joe's internal annoyance towards Sara. Joe gets over his issues. Alternatively, Joe's player may need to spend mental points on fighting off his growing addiction to smoking cigarettes. He allows Joe's annoyance towards Sara to grow to the point that he now suffers a skill penalty fighting zombies. What happens next? Perhaps Joe accepts the penalty and risks his life and stays with Sara. Or maybe he finally snaps. During the next harrowing zombie encounter, Joe's player withholds critical assistance from Sara and allows her to be torn apart by a horde. "It was either her or me".

 

To me, this is emergent storytelling. Letting Sara die isn't a meaningless event. Joe had a reason for doing what he did. He needed to rid himself of his concentration breaking annoyance or he risked himself dying to the horde.

 

On the flipside, players could assign mental points to make their characters like each other more. Let's say Amy and Josh receive a skill bonus when they are together. They make a great team. But one day, Josh drops his guard and gets bit. The infection manifests quickly and Josh dies. Amy now suffers a deep depression which tank her skills. Does she persevere and eventually recover? Does her sorrow prevent her from successfully fighting off the next zombie? Does she drink the bleach?

 

These are stories. They are more than just a series of events with importance only to the player. The narrative isn't dictated by the game maker. Instead, the narrative emerges from the interaction between the player and the system. What does it say about the human condition that Joe, when faced with risking his survival, let Sara die?

 

To me, this is why PZ has permadeath and no final winning state. This is how you died. The game is about the journey, not the destination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems like too much.

 

Sort of like how the devs are avoiding hygiene- too Simsey.

1. Your profile pic is whoopy not oprah.

 

2. Jatta is right, we need this sort of thing. If NPCs are ever to become a things, I think this sort of thing is going to be necessary. My only quarrel with the idea is the mind point thing. Honestly, more point/level things would get annoying, although I do like your idea on it, it just needs some work. If anything, the player shouldn't have it and only the NPCs should as a sort of behind-the-scenes code thing, as this could create a very balanced system based on triggers and events (kind of, as with the "emergent" part).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Seems like too much.

 

Sort of like how the devs are avoiding hygiene- too Simsey.

1. Your profile pic is whoopy not oprah.

 

2. Jatta is right, we need this sort of thing. If NPCs are ever to become a things, I think this sort of thing is going to be necessary. My only quarrel with the idea is the mind point thing. Honestly, more point/level things would get annoying, although I do like your idea on it, it just needs some work. If anything, the player shouldn't have it and only the NPCs should as a sort of behind-the-scenes code thing, as this could create a very balanced system based on triggers and events (kind of, as with the "emergent" part).

 

 

We shouldn't really be able to directly control our characters mind (ie mind points). The actions that we take are what drive the story and our relationships with NPCs and players, not how we assign mind points.

 

An easier and more natural way to accomplish the "battling personalities" he outlines would be to have an initial bad mood debuff when you are with that person, but for it to be lessened over time through interaction and getting to know them. Could also be potentially made worse. Kind of like how the fitness and strength skills work behind the scenes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we should be able to control mind points. We do already. They are called Skills.

My idea doesn't require micromanagement but I understand the concern. Here is how I see it working:

You select a starting trait of Annoying Voice. By default, other characters around you suffer some type of penalty. Perhaps they do not "learn" skills from your character as quickly cuz your character is annoying. Minor penalty. Most players might ignore. However, this could influence NPC behavior.

Later you may decide to spend a point to eliminate this trait. You practiced interpersonal speaking or something. Your character changed.

The problem is that you can't really model these types of actions in game. Most comparitive actions could go both ways. Do characters "get used to the Annoying Voiced character over time"? Or does the continual agitation grind away at their patience? These are Indeterminate Actions. Actions that could be good or bad in terms of character development. Skill actions are not. Do a skill, get better over time. Simple. An Indeterminate Action could result in either improvement or decline. Those are hard to program without getting "gamey".

The solution is to turn it over to player choice. Allow players to guide the development of the character.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...