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Chapter 3 Story Composition
Keep Player Attention
For games that take tens of
hours to complete, the player needs
to feel motivated to continue to
play. If the player is not motivated
to play to the end, he or she will
not like the game or feel it was
worth the purchase price. Simple
online games that seek only a high
score as a reward do not need to
keep the player’s attention for very
long. A strong story is not needed.
However, a game like Call of Duty
takes many days to complete. In
Call of Duty, the gameplay at the
beginning of the game is very
similar to that in the middle and
end of the game. The gameplay
would get boring very quickly if not
for the story. The game is broken
down into missions to motivate the
player to complete a segment of
the story and eventually reach the
end. Additionally, the player may
encounter new players throughout
the game. The story keeps the
player’s attention throughout the
long gameplay.
Differentiate the Game
With several games using the
same or similar gameplay, a strong
character and story will help buyers decide which game is best for them.
There are several car-racing games that have almost the same gameplay. They
all involve maneuvering the vehicle through a course, avoiding crashing, and
getting to the finish line first. A story will help the player connect to one racing
game over another.
It is also important for games in a series to have different stories, as
shown in Figure 3-2. For example, the basic story in the Halo series of games
is that of the alien alliance, Covenant, fighting a holy war against humans,
whose primary defenders are super soldiers, known as Spartans. However,
each game in the series tells a new part of the larger story. Each game in
the series can be thought of as a chapter in a book that tells the story of the
Covenant versus the Spartans. Without the story differentiating each game
in the series, there would be little reason for a player to continue purchasing
new Halo games.
Figure 3-1.
The story of Altair
is an important part
of the gameplay in
the first two of the
Assassin’s Creed
series of games.
The story drives the
gameplay.
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