July 2009 – Game Design
Dan Norton
Narrative, Ludology, Designers and Players: A look at frameworks and perspectives in stories and game design
July 22, 12-1 pm, Dan Norton, founding partner and lead designer with Madison’s Filament Games will lead a discussion about the use of story in games and game design. We meet in Room 220, Teacher Education, 225 N. Mills Street.
Dan notes, “In this discussion, I’ll be presenting a simple cross-section of perspective and framework, where I’ll describe how the perspectives of designers and players are informed by the frameworks of ludology and narrative. I’ll introduce the audience to some of the tensions between narrative and gameplay, and frame a reconciliatory approach to design that integrates both frameworks.”
For prep, you are encouraged to review the following web documents:
Learning Through Story 
catstephens said
Notes captured by Meagan Rothschild (thanks, Meagan!):
The cross section of ludology and narratology:
How games are understood as stories, and how games are understood as games.
Games: simulations with reward and identity structures. A dynamic system of rules that interact with each other.
Players: participants in consumption of a game – they interact with the game’s simulation, identity and reward structures. It’s fair to consider them a bit of a part of the design process.
Designers: the people who construct the rules of the game system, making the simulation and game rules intertwine.
Two ill-shaped rough bins –
Narrativism: “the story”, the things that happen in a sequence or a row.
Ludology: the one part of games that make it a game – rules, reward, and identity structures
It’s assumed that players consume games narratively.
It’s assumed that designers design based on ludology – based on the system structures.
Neat-o thoughts: how do designers use narrativism, how do players have a role in the systems or structures.
Players & Narrativism:
The Bastardization of the Knights of the Old Republic Article – player experience, played as a big old jerk (contrary to his normal play style). This was a perfect example of the player constructing the narrative.
Often there is a preferred trajectory.
Designers and Ludology – designers think about states and rewards and the shifting of them. The game has to offer just the right amount of hard to keep the player engaged, and not so much to make the player want to chuck the controls. Need a window into the system to keep them in it.
Players and ludology – your players are also ludologists. Players often naturally want to know the system and rule set, they play to understand these. Can we teach someone a dynamic system as a learning objective? Tales of Versperia Cooking Guide – community contributed guides to various ways of succeeding game. Created by players for players. They’ve deconstructed the system, and then created materials.
Designers and Narrativism?
Why not just read a comic book? Designers aren’t the only people who contribute to making a game good. There are other creative roles – the design is one part of the picture. Writing has often had an uneasy relationship with game design. The history of games (adventure games, etc.) started as narrative, continued through the mid 80’s.
Narrative can be a part of the reward structure. Good writing is a value to add to players. If your game is only a narrative, you’ve failed as a designer. BUT narrative has a strong role to play in the play experience.
At what point do you bring in a writer? – Most likely in the production phase.
Conversation time:
Player = learner, in good playing, there isn’t really a difference between the two. Filament’s interesting challenge – they get the learning objectives that need to be turned into gameplay.
What have you learned about translating the fiero experience in market games into learning games? The answers often rely on the content shape. Verb goals are easier translated into the market game format. Flatter, rote pieces of information can be more challenging. “The Zelda Way” is a good rule of thumb – one unsolved puzzle at a time, keep them before the players at all times.
Are there any story structures that don’t lend themselves to ludology? Dan’s take: I’ll bet Metamorphosis would make a terrible game. Usually games introduce things – a story that takes things away, at first glance would stink. Although games like Half-Life and Metroid have found ways to do this….
You never want to structure the game in such a way that the player thinks they can do something only to discover that they can’t. Upcoming DS game – text based, claim that they’ve preanticipated everything. Should be interesting.
New and upcoming technologies – if we’re looking at designing for classrooms, we’re probably in a 5 year lag. The big frontier in ed games is actually in the design, not as much in the technology.
Meagan K. Rothschild
DoIT LTDE Project Assistant
University of Wisconsin – Madison