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Chapter 3 Story Composition
After the decision has been made that a story is needed for the game, you
must come up with a good story. Creative writing is developing a work of
fiction that tells a story with characters, places, and events. If you decide to
become a game writer, you will have to develop skills to quickly expand stories
and write dialogue to fit the story’s central premise.
A good story has rising action, a climax, and falling action. These three things
form the basic dramatic arc of the story, as shown in Figure 3-4.
Rising action
is the
events that create the basic internal conflict of the story. The
climax
is the turning
point of the story, which is the most dramatic part of the story.
Falling action
is the
events that lead to the resolution of the basic conflict of the story.
While there are many different schools of thought on how to write a
creative story, this textbook focuses on a simple outline to get the process
started. The basics procedure for creative writing is:
• brainstorm ideas;
• determine the central premise;
• define the characters;
• create a primary conflict;
• structure the story; and
• develop an ending point.
The questions shown in Figure 3-5 can be used to guide the writing process. In
the end, you will need to develop a technique that works best for you. The final
product is the important part, not the process used to achieve it.
Brainstorm Ideas
You will have to use your imagination to create new story ideas, characters,
and plot points.
Brainstorming
is recording as many ideas as possible without
sorting, editing, or eliminating any of the ideas. To begin brainstorming, write
down things as you think of them. Do not try to sort the ideas as good, bad, or just
plain silly. You can sort them out later. Write down the ideas on paper, key them
into a word processing document, or even record them on your smartphone.
When brainstorming, think about game interactions or characters that are already
defined. If the main character is a fish, start thinking about aquatic-themed ideas.
Even if you come up with a silly idea about a fish living in the desert, write it down.
Creative Writing
Figure 3-4.
A good story has
rising action, a
climax, and falling
action.
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Exposition
(introduction)
Resolution
Climax
Rising
Action
Falling
Action