You can see the details here!

Full description:
“Are games a valid medium for telling stories? Are stories a valid basis for creating gameplay mechanics? Alec Holowka, creator of the IGF award-winning AQUARIA and the upcoming story-based game MARIAN, explores the essence of stories and games – journeying to the point where they intersect. By examining popular mainstream games, underground independent games and his own projects critically, Alec argues that its possible to create meaningful links between events in a story and gameplay mechanics – and it is a powerful technique for creating unique experiences that stimulate more than just our desire to play.”

Hope to see some of you there!

The ideal way for most indie developers to start a game project is to prototype different core gameplay concepts until a really original, fun idea pops out. Once the wild gameplay has been captured, its mined into a full game with appropriate visual and audial dressing and a narrative structured around the gameplay.

I can’t argue that this is probably the most efficient and proven way to discover and develop a new game concept, especially for a small team.

Unfortunately, I always start by imagining a character and the world in which they live. Then I build a basic narrative and gameplay mechanics around who that character is, and what I would be most interested in experiencing from inside that character.

The thing is, I have a hard time – as a player – connecting to game ideas that are purely gameplay motivated. I love games with good, deep, responsive gameplay, but the experience hits a whole other level of immersion when fused with a compelling atmosphere and narrative.

(read more)

The problem with a lot of mainstream games is that narrative and gameplay become two separate systems. Any time a game jumps to a cut scene, you feel like you’re being pulled out of the game so it can tell a story. Any time the game blocks you with a gameplay mechanic that defies the rules established by the narrative, you feel cheated.

I’m in love with games that create a whole new world for the player to experience. I also like it when the game takes the step of creating the outline of a persona for you to inhabit. I like the emotional connection that can arise in some games when you are more aware of who the character that you become responsible for controlling – actually is.

This is where games can become exceptionally powerful – they can unite gameplay with a story outline to provide the player with an emotional journey to explore from inside the main character. They now have the opportunity to immerse themselves not only in another world, but in this character. By linking gameplay and story effectively, the player will be encouraged to not only explore a physical game space and a game mechanical possibility space – but also an emotional space.

Linear stories are rejected by some game developers as being too much like movies, as if game developers are aping what the last giant medium did successfully because they have not fully explored the potential for games. This is true in a lot of cases, but that doesn’t negate the potential of stories linked with gameplay.

In Aquaria, I dipped my toe into the story/gameplay pool for the first (somewhat successful) time. The first concept for the game was the world and the character of “Naija”. Though she went through many iterations, she always had a certain quality about her that stuck all the way through to final release. There are moments in the game that are simple trigger-able events that the player can chose to experience – that serve no “hard” gameplay purpose. You receive no power-up or health bonus by doing them, but they allow the player to experience a little bit more what Naija’s life would be like in the world of Aquaria. Naija could sit on a mossy rock inside her home and stare out the window. The camera would pan out slowly, and everything would slow down for a moment. Naija has the ability to sing to launch into an attack mode, or solve puzzles – but the player can also choose to sing for fun, or interact peacefully with other creatures. To my taste, these small moments can add a lot to a game’s experience by making the world and character feel well-rounded.

I also found moments where my experience of playing the game influenced the narrative. I put some of my own thoughts into Naija’s narration, thinking they would provide an interesting framework for the player’s imagination. In one instance, the player is going through a fairly long and gross cathedral. The overwhelming atmosphere becomes dark, and the player is forced to use their attack mode more often than usual. As a player, I missed the freedom of the open areas and wondered if I was actually doing anything good by fighting for so long. As a developer, I decided to put this doubt into the character’s thoughts.

In some cases, players may feel as I did and find Naija’s dialog unexpectedly mirroring how they feel. in other cases, the players may be enjoying the combat and may feel gently reminded that the game didn’t start out that way – that their style of play and the character of Naija have changed from that simpler, more innocent time. Some players may simply ignore the dialog or find it unnecessary – but I don’t think this negates the impact that it can have on the players who have become attached to the character.

Another interesting moment comes when the player breaks through the surface of the water for the first time – after much exploring and combat. Everything slows down gradually and Naija narrates briefly… then the music is changed and the speed of time is returned to normal – Naija falls back into the water. Players of Aquaria have repeatedly mentioned this moment as touching them emotionally in some way. Because it directly reflects the player’s journey and is presented succinctly, players are more willing to accept it and are open to feeling something.

There are moments in Aquaria that I feel didn’t work this well, and could have if I’d thought to do them differently. At the time, I don’t think I was as consciously aware of the potential links between story and gameplay as I am now.

Effective characters and stories in games are difficult to pull off properly – but I believe they can be very powerful. They make development difficult, because the focus becomes not only finding a fun gameplay concept, but discovering a story and gameplay that compliment each other. Its not a question of creating one before the other, but of being aware of how they effect each other and being open to cross-pollination of the two.

This is something I intend to explore more thoroughly in the future.