I enjoyed this article. Destiny is mentioned (and the header image made me laugh), but it's really geared toward indie developers. I still hope someone at Bungie reads it.

http://indiemegabooth.com/writing-compelling-game-narrative/

I enjoyed this article. Destiny is mentioned (and the header image made me laugh), but it's really geared toward indie developers. I still hope someone at Bungie reads it.

http://indiemegabooth.com/writing-compelling-game-narrative/

I was actually working on re-working the Destiny narrative (much like Battuta did for Reach), and I was actually annoyed at how easy it felt... but of course, it quickly became another project that I put off to the side to start five other projects that have since been delayed... I want to at least finish the first part Soon™...

One of the first things I did when I got to Bungie was ask all my burning questions about the Reach story. It was a cool talk. I like talking about story in games a lot.

One of the first things I did when I got to Bungie was ask all my burning questions about the Reach story. It was a cool talk. I like talking about story in games a lot.

I'd love to hear their answers. I always liked the Reach story more than you did, but it definitely could've been better.

Maybe in a couple decades!

I was actually working on re-working the Destiny narrative (much like Battuta did for Reach), and I was actually annoyed at how easy it felt... but of course, it quickly became another project that I put off to the side to start five other projects that have since been delayed... I want to at least finish the first part Soon™...

I currently have 16 projects shelved at the moment, working on three, a deadline in a week, and have five on the horizon. (Well, more than 16, technically, but only 16 that I actively want to work on.)

Some day, we will finish all our projects. Some day.

I was just about to write something about how mystery is the WORST way to get people into your story, and it's something Bungie tries a lot. Interesting that's the first piece of advice. Coming soon.

The big thing you have to remember, and why the writer is so confused that people don't finish games but usually always finish films, is that the point of playing the game is to be inside the world doing things. As such, a game story exists only to make this immersion more powerful and meaningful.

When seen in this context, not finishing a game's story does not seem strange at all.

One of the first things I did when I got to Bungie was ask all my burning questions about the Reach story. It was a cool talk. I like talking about story in games a lot.

Did Bungie uh, happen to mention HRINC? :-p

One of the first things I did when I got to Bungie was ask all my burning questions about the Reach story. It was a cool talk. I like talking about story in games a lot.

Did Bungie uh, happen to mention HRINC? :-p

Don't tell him! His neck cannot support a head that big!

;)

When seen in this context, not finishing a game's story does not seem strange at all.

Maybe this is what you are trying to say, but the reason I don't finish games versus watching movies all the way through is because there's a whole lot more effort involved in finishing a game. You have to be pushing all sorts of buttons and stuff, and if that part isn't fun, it's going to take a truly amazing story to keep me going. I sure wouldn't finish (or even start) many movies if I had to press the play button every 10 seconds to continue. Plus, games are often even longer than movies.

I was just about to write something about how mystery is the WORST way to get people into your story, and it's something Bungie tries a lot. Interesting that's the first piece of advice. Coming soon.

I dunno man. A good mystery almost always works as a hook for me. For instance, Halo:CE was great because we were trying to figure out what the ring was and why it was built most of the game. Then, even when we figure out the main plot, there are a ton of unanswered questions still looming in the background. That is a good thing. It builds communities that speculate and invest in the game. Now look at 343 and the way they have taken all the mystery away. Much less compelling.

Marathon does this well as well. Who is the main character? How do all these pieces fit together? I think mystery has been working for Bungie pretty well.

It worked to draw me into destiny too. Bungie just erred in the direction of not explaining enough, or anything really. The mystery is good, just poorly executed.

I was just about to write something about how mystery is the WORST way to get people into your story, and it's something Bungie tries a lot. Interesting that's the first piece of advice. Coming soon.

I dunno man. A good mystery almost always works as a hook for me. For instance, Halo:CE was great because we were trying to figure out what the ring was and why it was built most of the game. Then, even when we figure out the main plot, there are a ton of unanswered questions still looming in the background. That is a good thing. It builds communities that speculate and invest in the game. Now look at 343 and the way they have taken all the mystery away. Much less compelling.

Marathon does this well as well. Who is the main character? How do all these pieces fit together? I think mystery has been working for Bungie pretty well.

It worked to draw me into destiny too. Bungie just erred in the direction of not explaining enough, or anything really. The mystery is good, just poorly executed.

Right. The core mysteries of what happened to our Golden Age and to The Traveler are interesting. Then you have all the smaller mysteries. What's the whole story behind The Fallen, Cabal, Hive, and Vex? Who are The Nine? How did The Awoken come to be and which side, if any, are they really on? Who created the Exos and why? Who is the Exo Stranger and what is her goal? And, of course, I still want the full story behind The Last Word and Thorn. I can't wait for "Yours, not mine." to be spoken again!

All of those pieces have potential to be interesting... If Bungie expands on them...

I agree it is good to have mysteries, and Destiny has plenty, what it needs is a tighter here and now story to hang it's mysteries off of. Halo had the discovery of the ring, the rescue of Captain Keyes, the release of the Flood, the Two Betrayals, and the destruction of the ring...All very well done. Destiny, too, has a story, but it has very little weight because it is mostly told in fifteen second clips of narration, sometimes by characters we never even see, with only a couple cutscenes providing any solid structure.

Unfortunately, all we can really do right now is sing Hope for the Future along with Sir. Paul... :p

Unfortunately, all we can really do right now is sing Hope for the Future along with Sir. Paul... :p

Mysteries are ok, the problem is that writers usually don't allow you to explore those mysteries. They save them for the big reveal, only for them to be guessed ahead of time if the writers properly foreshadow them, or come off as totally random and out of character if not.

Thus the key to mystery is to not hang on to any one too long. Marathon had lots of stuff going on but there were hints and small resolutions left and right for the bigger questions. Halo does explain most of the mysteries, and only screws things up in Halo 4 by having the answers be totally out of character ( I.e. the forrunners are all jerks now.)

Destiny as it sits now really doesn't allow you to explore the story. You have 2 semi-information filled cutscenes, and no real interaction with the NPCs. DB added a small story line you get via interacting with one character. Imagine if every character had a story to tell? If SGA talked about Praydeth during long walks on Mars.

Destiny doesn't allow us to explore the story much at all, and that is one of it's biggest failings. We can have the blank protagonist, just like in Halo, but you need the NPCs to fill in the gap.

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I have finished every game that I've ever played that had a compelling story.

While we may disagree on what's compelling and what's not, those games are really the ones that stand out the most in my mind. Most recently for me was the Tomb Raider reboot. Loved that game, start to finish. What an adrenaline rush! Before that, some indie games like Save the Date or The Swapper were really compelling and very, very powerful. And, reaching waaaaay back, the Marathon games were excellent. The evolution of the story from simply doing what it takes to survive to figuring out what is attacking you and why to fighting back is a standard video game arc, but it also really, really worked in those games. Plus the cast of characters was actually fascinating and intriguing, most notably, Durandal. I want more Durandal in my life.

I'll also mention that the games with great story are also the games I encourage my friends to play. I'm rarely touting "Oh man, you've got to play Tribes 2 - it's got the most compelling spawn points!" But I'm often telling people about how great Papers, Please is (so glad it got a mention in the article), or how Final Fantasy 7 was a traumatic experience for me as a kid. That game is a must-play.

Contrari-wise, I'm really waiting for someone to take the Destiny engine and make a game with a compelling narrative out of it. The play control and movement are great, but holy cow do I ache for reasons to do... anything... in the game beyond "because that's how you get loot." I sure hope that someone is Bungie.