“Story for Video Games” – A New Online Course for Game Writers

<p><em>Only 20&percnt; of players complete games&&num;8211&semi;that&&num;8217&semi;s very low&comma; but the completion rate of narrative games is 60-70&percnt;&&num;8211&semi;three times higher&period; Story&&num;8211&semi;above anything else&comma; the need to know what happens next&&num;8211&semi;is a great incentive to keep playing<&sol;em> &&num;8211&semi; <strong>Caroline Marchal <&sol;strong>&lpar;Lead Game Designer&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;heavy-rain-and-beyond-two-souls-are-coming-to-ps4&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Heavy Rain<&sol;a>&comma; and Beyond&colon; Two Souls&rpar;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Caroline Marchal and John Yorke have teamed up to form a<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;johnyorkestory&period;com&sol;courses&sol;story-for-video-games&sol;"> seven-week online course<&sol;a> discussing the ins and outs of interactive storytelling&period; Yorke is a prolific UK television storyteller whose authorship includes <em>Into the Woods&colon; How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them<&sol;em>&period; In addition to her work with Quantic Dream&comma; Marchal founded Interior Night&comma; an independent studio prioritizing characters&comma; narrative&comma; and player choice&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;135688" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-135688" style&equals;"width&colon; 500px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img class&equals;"wp-image-135688" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;02&sol;heavy-rain-and-beyond-collection-04-300x300&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"500" height&equals;"624" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-135688" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Heavy Rain &amp&semi; Beyond&colon; Two Souls Collection&comma; Quantic Dream<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>In a span of four to five hours per week&comma; students will attend a 24-hour online course headed by the aforementioned duo&period; Taught in small groups of fifteen or under&comma; it balances practice and theory with peer evaluation at several stages as students work through exercises inspired by acclaimed video games&period; According to Marchal&colon; <em>&&num;8220&semi;the vast majority of games&comma; regardless of their genre&comma; are based on some kind of story&period; They all need meaning and context&period; As a writer&comma; you need to not only master the fundamental principles of great narrative&comma; but also the specific techniques that <&sol;em>adapt<em> that knowledge to games&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The coursework consists of six major sections&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>The protagonist and the player<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Key elements of story<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Understanding story structure<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Merging story and gameplay<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>12 storytelling tips for games<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Writing in a development team<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>While most of the material is relayed through indirect means such as podcasts&comma; written notes&comma; and short videos from John and Caroline&comma; students will also have the opportunity to ask them questions&period; The website notes that while the course is technically accessible from smartphones and tablets&comma; they strongly advise computers or laptops&period; &&num;8220&semi;Story for Video Games&&num;8221&semi; costs <span class&equals;"woocommerce-Price-amount amount"><span class&equals;"woocommerce-Price-currencySymbol">£<&sol;span>1&comma;250&period;00&lpar;&dollar;1&comma;749&period;50&rpar; and begins April 18th&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;