In the world of modern gaming, narrative has become an integral part of the gaming experience, helping to create unique and captivating stories. From epic adventures to deep personal narratives, storytelling in games is not just a wrapper for the gameplay but a well-thought-out puzzle that captures the attention of thousands of fans.
We continue the topic of interviews with our specialists! Last time, we talked to our artist Anastasia Mironova. In this interview article, we will chat with Ruslan Azykov, the Lead Narrative Designer at 4Tale Studio. He will unveil the curtain on the world of narrative and tell us about the processes involved in its creation.
What comes first: gameplay or lore?
In most cases, lore comes first, or more precisely, the idea of the game, its message, or its concept.
Is narrative necessary in games?
To answer this question, we first need to understand "what is narrative in games?" Many believe that narrative is tons of text and dialogues. However, the narrative is more about conveying the idea and meaning of the game. Text and dialogues are just one of the tools through which developers try to convey the game's meaning and create a quality gaming experience. Therefore, no game can do without a narrative. But since we're talking about texts and dialogues, there are undoubtedly very interesting and worthy games on the market where such an approach is absent— Inside and Limbo, for example.
What are some other tools of narrative?
There are quite a few, but they can be grouped into some categories:
For a narrative designer, it is crucial to turn gameplay mechanics into tools for the storytelling of a plot, lore, or a specific meaning. The first thing that comes to mind is the Death mechanic in the game Hades. When the main character dies, they learn more about the world's structure and the coherence of the plot. To fully immerse in the story of Hades, it's not enough to just play through the game; one needs to die many times to discover new dialogues, and puzzles, and collect pieces of the story, which gradually forms an interesting picture.
Environment and levels, known as environmental storytelling, in my opinion, are essential elements of narration. The ability of level designers, together with narrative designers, to create an entire world that can tell a story without a single word, enticing and holding the player's attention, is a challenging but achievable task. A great example is the magnificent game Journey.
This game inspires me and convinces me once again that narrative is not just about text but about emotions, meanings, and symbolism – about how the game communicates with the player through the world, locations, and sounds.
In Journey, there is truly not a single word, not even the familiar game interface, compass, or task journal. There is nothing but the silent mountain on the horizon toward which we move. It seems like the only landmark that we invariably see on the horizon, but in moments of danger or difficulties, the mountain disappears from view—players find themselves in a snowstorm or a sandstorm. Naturally, we lose this landmark and feel like we are wandering aimlessly, that we are lost.
This game and its levels and world are built on powerful symbolism. As the name suggests, Journey is a game about the journey, not just the journey of a small fictional character but our journey in life, and the game understands this perfectly, evoking in the subconscious all the emotions we have experienced or are currently experiencing. And once again, without a single word or dialogue...
Is it difficult to develop the lore of a world?
No, it is one of the most fascinating processes for a narrative designer, along with character creation. Some people enjoy solving crosswords and puzzles; I like creating lore and gradually connecting it into a unified world that lives by its own rules, where everything is organic and meaningful. Those who enjoy the former can study, untangle, and immerse themselves in it along with the gaming process.
How deeply is the world of Everwayne developed? How much influence did you have on it through the narrative?
Since our project is still in development, storytelling, secret quests, plot chains, and visual narrative are still being worked on and linked into a cohesive narrative. I do everything possible to make the world of Everwayne explorable for long hours, discovering something new with each subsequent run.
But I can say one thing - I use various narrative tools to create a more complex narrative. However, in the latest iterations, I try to use less text and create more interactive events. Since I started working on this project, the world of Everwayne has become more interactive, and more alive, and I believe this is just the beginning.
Do you prefer delivering the plot through dialogues, background objects, or some other way?
I like to combine several tools and types of narrative. For example, emergent narrative with environmental storytelling—when the player creates the narrative within the game and the given game mechanics.
For instance, in Everwayne, players can find hidden interactive items on the level that will grant access to unique locations or events, and for different players, these will be different events and different decisions within the same event.
Such storytelling can be found even in shooters, where there is conventionally no plot. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with its DMZ mode stands out in my memory. In this mode, there is no plot or plot missions. The game mechanics imply that players can complete faction missions or simply search for equipment, weapons, and other rewards to evacuate with. But in this mode, players face both AI and other players who decide for themselves what role they will play—whether they will be hostile to other players, team up with others to hunt dangerous hostile players, or help with missions—it is up to the players to decide what narrative they will choose for themselves.
There are several other types of narrative, but I will talk about them next time.
Is a neural network for crafting dialogues a good or bad idea?
A neural network for crafting dialogues or narratives is currently quite weak. Aspiring narrative designers can breathe a sigh of relief—neural networks can currently only suggest ideas, serving as a good and fast source for brainstorming, and that's about it.
AI can not replace creativity, emotions, or lively dialogues, and can not convey the style or atmosphere of a particular piece of lore that you want to create. However, a neural network can be a good assistant when a narrative designer needs to clear their head and get many ideas at once, which they can look through, discard, and develop the ones they need to the quality they desire.
Which games do you consider benchmarks for lore presentation?
For me, games with benchmark narrative presentations are Detroit: Become Human, The Last of Us 1 and 2.
In these games, I love absolutely everything — from the narrative delivery to the tools they used for it — cutscenes, music, voice acting, gameplay mechanics smoothly transitioning into cutscenes or vice versa, different choices. The atmosphere of the levels and environmental storytelling are simply top-notch.
How to become a narrative designer? How should someone interested in this field start?
Hmm, a good background for this role and field would be experienced in games, as well as literacy and an understanding of how storytelling works. Experience as a writer would also be a plus.
Before becoming a narrative designer, I worked for about 6 years as a writer (ghostwriter) in the fantasy and science fiction genres. Certainly, narrative tools in writing and game development differ, but the narrative structure is quite similar if we are talking about some single-player story-driven games.
