Basics of Game Design

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CHAPTER 10

STORYTELLING

IN GAMES

Until recently, the dierence between movies and games was pretty

dramatic. Games were about players performing a few limited ac-

tions to achieve a goal or series of goals while movies told stories of

characters involved in some conict that was resolved by the end.

Early arcade and video games had little room for the elements of sto-

ries—interesting characters, well-developed conict between them,

dramatic tension leading up to a big climax, and then the denoue-

ment as the story wound down and the characters went about their

lives. Movies also featured lots of dialogue, lots of action, and lots of

music, all ...