417.9 - Question everything.

How can I experiment with the narrative conventions of Gaming?

(Gaming is defined as both Tabletop Roleplaying, and Video Games)

There are lots of traditional conventions here, but there are some that I don't want to mess with, for without them, it wouldnt have the feel of an RPG.

Some Common Narrative Conventions in TTRPGs

Game Master/Mistress (GM) as Storyteller (ST): The GM prepares scenarios, tells the story and manages NPCs.

Experiment: I'd like less work for the GM. It's a pain point, and could be why there are a lack of GMs. Preparation is a big one. I have spent months preparing campaigns. - Ideas:

• Giving GMs premade campaign packs.

• Removing the need for a GM (though this removes the RPG feel of being able to "do anything")

• Shared GM role - the role of ST is rotated around the players through game mechanics. The infilatration scenario has failed because the spy has been unmasked, so has now become a shootout, The "control point" (or whatever it will be called) is passed from the spy, to the heavy gunner, who now narrates what happens in the scene.

• AI Assisted GM

Player Characters (PCs) as Protagonists: Players control key characters influencing the narrative.

Experiment ideas:

• Players control a pool of PCs. This could bring more of a skirmish wargame (ie necromunda) feel to the game, and is reminiscent of games like Syndicate wars.

• Transhuman PCs could be in control of entire facilities, so a Dungeon Keeper playmode could be introduced. This would flip the script. Would need to be careful not to just be a tower defence game though.

• Rather than direct influence to the narrative on a small scale, actions in game could be used to influence a higher level factional narrative. This would also bring a MMO feeling to the game, without needing players from different parties to be able to directly interact with each other.

• Secret Objectives - Integrating some aspects of "werewolf" each character can be given secret personal goals that conflict with the groups overall mission. This could lead to interesting interpersonal dynamics and more tension.
  

Linear and Branching Storylines: Stories can follow fixed paths or diverge based on player choices.

While I had always envisioned this game to have branching paths, as an open world linear storylines within each branch are hard to avoid, and scripting triggers is so endemic to games design that this is also something hard to avoid. I would love to bring the freedom that a traditional tabletop game has, to a video game. ie the player makes a decision to do something, tests against their ability to do it, and the GM tells the story of how that happens. This is part of game mechanics development, so not something that I want to explore right now.

Experimental ideas:

• Rather than a simple succeed or fail, the "dice rolls" tell the story across different lenses with actions and outcomes. This will lead to interesting story telling.

• yes, and.. technique (Also yes, but... | no, and... | no, but...) using this technique of story telling avoides the discouragement of an outright failure. This is adapted from improv theatre.

• Flashbacks - great for espionage missions if you dont want to spend the entire session planning for the mission, only to realise the codebreaking machine wont do the job, so the plan has to be scrapped. Instead, have a flashback where the team aquires the codebreaking machine from the back alley cold trader. This will give an interesting take on non linear storylines, where you break out of the main plot and tell a different story. But may be confusing for new players, and might not work for all situations. It also can tend to give a spotlight on one player for a long time.
  

Dice and Randomization: Outcomes are often determined by dice rolls.

Experimental ideas:

• Removing Dice rolling completely could remove the need for any complicated maths getting in the way of story telling. This can all be done within the companion app, and the player just needs to press a button. This may also increase immersion, because a player simply chooses what their character would do, rather than finding the best combinations of talents and abilities for the situation.

• System agnostic - The GM can adapt this to any rules that they like.

Meta-Narrative Elements: Players balance in-game actions with out-of-character knowledge.

Experimental ideas:

• There is no meta narrative. The character knows what the player knows - This could be done with a "amnesia" beginning - the character might remember certain things (and then these choices will affect their character creation) and this will reward the players for additional playthroughs. This could lead to less character experimentation however, so perhaps only half the character creation reward.

• Each playthrough locks off options from the previous playthrough, meaning that players must explore a different part of the world.

Moral and Ethical Dilemmas: Players make decisions with moral implications.

Experimental ideas:

• Ambiguitiy - Moral choices are not clear cut, forcing players into situations with no right or wrong answers.

• Factional future consequences - Implement a system where choices have long-term consequences that are not immediately apparent that affect not only the immediate situation but also future events, factional attitudes, and world conditions, highlighting the complexity of moral decision-making.

• Alignment affecting other story avenues. Possibly locking off, or opening up, but without enforcing these hard limits, it could have consequences. For example, a Morally "lawful good" character wouldnt kill the baddy. But the player should be allowed to make this choice regardless. This should have consequences, a simple example is now they have PTSD from it, or their reputation is tarnished.

• This can be incorporated with Secret Objectives. For example a player finds out that their team mates objective is against their home faction, so is forced to come to terms with this or betray the team.

• Player Alignment - Rather than the "humanity" linear alignment of Cyberpunk and Vampire the Masquerade (where 0 is psychotic and 10 is Deanna Troi level empathic) or the matrix style alignment of chaotic/lawful vs good/evil of DnD. I could experiment with different alignment strategies that emphasise different objectives.

  • Political alignment Left/Right vs Authoritarian/Libertarian (Except make it relevant for the politcs of the 2300's ie )

    • Ideology meters
      

      • Anarchism

      • Environmentalism

      • Communitarianism

      • Progressivism

      • Transhumanism

      • Utopianism

      • Luddism

      • Meritocracy

Some Common Narrative Conventions in Video Games

Character Development: Characters grow and evolve throughout the game.

Experimental ideas:

• Rather than the regular "gain xp, level up" each action in the game will increase the skills that the players use. No need for GM to track XP (experience points), and the PCs cant suddenly get better at something they have not been good at before. All abilities can be done at any point, but it may not be as effective.

Pacing and Structure: Stories are divided into levels or chapters.

Experimental ideas:

• "Areas" might be useful, and a have a web like structure from one area to another.

• Spiral structures - players need to revisit old areas.

• Episodic/serialised structure -

  • Self contained sessions where, between major archs, it remains the same, allowing players to jump in and out. This would work well for "missions" and can be combined well with player pools.

  • Cliffhangers to maintain player engagement.

• Micro sessions - rarely do players get 3-4 hours to play, so a way to have a simple engagement for specific narrative beats.

  • Micro parties - if you cant get the whole group together, then just 2 or 3 can have a flashback episode.

• Parallel plots - a GM (or a group of GMs) can run multiple groups with different plots. This could lead to a meta game for GMs, and the groups could mix between each other where it makes sense.

• Multithreaded narrative - This can be run as larger games, with multiple GMs (such as a social larp format). The entire group of groups combine to tackle a huge threat, with each smaller group focussing on one aspect of it, for the next few sessions where they play with their own GM. Each groups actions will have influence on the other groups. For example, in large scale conflict, there are 3 groups, The sappers, The Infiltrators, and the Air Infantry, and they are tasked with destroying the enemy compound and extracting with the VIPs

  • Infiltrators

    • Get codes

    • Disarm sentinal system

    • Activate door from the inside

  • Sappers

    • Find and dispose of mines

    • Bore a tunnel underneath the bunker

    • Construct an airstrip

  • Air Infantry

    • Provide air support

    • Drop into compound to provide defensive fire

    • Extract all teams from airstrip

The success or failure of each session will mean

Interactive Dialogue: Players choose responses in conversations.

Experimental ideas:

• AI voice overs of each dialogue - this is already being done in mods for games like skyrim, and provides excellent immersion, but also this is very important for the target audience, who dont want to read a lot for their entertainment.

  • Voice recognition

  • Voice changer

• Emotional state monitor - The character will have an emotional state meter, and be assigned a value for each interaction. Different emotional states will give different options

• Bring it into the real world, and use external monitoring devices to influence dialoge options. For example linking into the players smartwatch to read their pulse. A low pulse means the player can have the "Calmly walk away" option, where a high pulse can give the "Perform a one hit take down" option.

• Group dialogue - choices are made by the group, maybe with a voting option. This could be influenced by players who have a higher stat related to the conversation.

• AI generated conversations. A LLM could be built for each character, just like an AI avatar is done in the commercial space currently.

Authorative sources:

Sicart, M. (2009). The Ethics of Computer Games. MIT Press.

Bowman, S. L. (2010). The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems and Explore Identity. McFarland.

Zagal, J. P., & Deterding, S. (Eds.). (2018). Role-Playing Game Studies: A Transmedia Approach. Routledge.

Further reading (not necessarily referenced)

Fine, G. A. (2002). Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds. University of Chicago Press.

Hitchens, M., & Drachen, A. (2009). The many faces of role-playing games. International Journal of Role-Playing, 1(1), 3-21.

Juul, J. (2005). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press.

Mackay, D. (2001). The Fantasy Role-Playing Game: A New Performing Art. McFarland.

Montola, M. (2012). On the Edge of the Magic Circle: Understanding Role-Playing and Pervasive Games. Tampere University Press.

Murray, J. H. (1997). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press.

Ryan, M. L. (2001). Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Stenros, J., & Montola, M. (Eds.). (2010). Nordic Larp. Fëa Livia.

Tresca, M. J. (2011). The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games. McFarland.