Storytelling in adventure games

Introduction

What are adventure games A tiny bit of history

Storytelling

Decisions Interactivity and its influence on story development Non-linearity Interesting developments: Experience 112 and Chivalry is not Dead

Conclusions and Outlook

R.W. Tjerkstra 2008
Introduction: what is an adventure game?
No general definition of what is an adventure game
Characteristics of an adventure game:
Story Puzzles Exploring No action elements No role-playing and points management like in RPGs
Introduction: a bit of history
1977: First adventure game Adventure, a.k.a. Colossal Cave Written by William Crowther Based on a real colossal cave in Kentucky Ran on PDP-10
1980s: Pictures plus text
The Pawn, Rainbird, 1986, C64 et al.
Map of the surroundings in Sourcerers Get all the Girls, Legend Entertainment, 1990

1987: Point and click

Maniac Mansion, Lucasarts, 1987, originally on C64, later on PC et al.
1994: First immersive 3D adventure game
Under a Killing Moon, Access, 1994
Increasing hardware capabilities give more ways to tell a story.
Uru: Ages beyond Myst, Ubisoft, 2003 R.W. Tjerkstra 2008
How to tell the story: decisions
Start with plot, settings, characters etc. Will it be in first or third person?

First person

Myst III: Exile, Ubisoft, 2001

Third person

Syberia, Microds, 2002
How to tell the story: interactivity
Interactivity allows for: conversations with non-playing characters funny elements multiple paths in the plot multiple endings
Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, Sierra, 1999
How to tell the story: non-linearity

Linear storyline

+ Easy to make - Player can easily feel led by the story - No way of doing things differently
Runaway: a Road Adventure, Pendulo Studios, 2003

Multiple endings

+ Replayability - Lots of extra work - No way of doing things differently
Journey to the Center of the Earth, Frogwares, 2003

Parallel paths

+ Replayability + Player has more control over the plot - Lots of extra work
Journey to the Moon (aka Voyage), The Adventure Company, 2005
Threaded plot development
+ Replayability + Player has ultimate control over the plot + Plot development very life-like - Very hard to program right
Gabriel Knight: Blood of the sacred, Blood of the Damned, Sierra, 1999

Interesting developments

Experience 112, The Adventure Company, 2007
Chivalry is not Dead, Deirdra Kiai Productions, 2007

Conclusions

Adventure games have come a long way since 1977 More interactivity makes for a more rewarding gaming experience More interactivity is expensive for the developer Current focus on stunning graphics and special effects often makes for a less enjoyable story Adventure gamers would like to see more games based on experiments like Experience 112 and Chivalry is not Dead