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Chapter 3 Story Composition
Create a Primary Conflict
To have a story, there needs to be a conflict. This conflict can be between
the protagonist and antagonist, protagonist and the world, or even internally
within the protagonist. The primary conflict is what makes a story a story. It
makes the story interesting as the player wants to see how the conflict can be
resolved. Other conflicts help move the story forward, but it is the primary
conflict that connects players to the game and keeps them playing.
To create a primary conflict, put the character in a situation that has risk.
Suppose the character must retrieve a golden crown from a cave. If the knight
could just walk into the cave and get the crown, that would not be very interesting.
There is no risk. But, what if there was a fire-breathing dragon in the cave curled
up around the crown? Then there would be a risk for the knight in getting the
crown. Now, what if the road to the cave is through a forest in which evil creatures
live? There is greater risk to the knight. And, before traveling through the forest,
the knight has to go to a seedy part of town to barter for tools and weapons. The
greater the reward, the greater risk the character should experience.
The primary conflict must be great enough to propel the game story. It
is the opposing objectives of the protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist
wants to save the world, while the antagonist wants to destroy it.
Structure the Story
Once the story has a conflict, it needs to have dramatic tension, climax, and
resolution built into it.
Dramatic tension
is a feeling of anxiety or anticipation
related to the story being told, as shown in Figure 3-4. From the exposition, or
introduction of the primary conflict, the dramatic tension builds to the climax.
This is the rising action of the story. The highest point of dramatic interest
occurs at the climax. At the climax, the action turns. After the climax, the level
of dramatic tension begins to decrease as the conflicts are sorted out. This is
the falling action. When the conflict is over, the story has reached a resolution.
A simple story will have a single conflict, climax, and resolution. More
complex stories have many conflicts, many climaxes, and many resolutions. The
story can be expanded with missions or episodes within the story. Each mission
should have its own conflict, climax, and resolution. But, each mission should
also move the main story forward to its climax and resolution, as shown in
Figure 3-8. Mission-based episodes are a common way to build in more action
within the game and allow for mini conclusion points throughout the game.
Green Gamer
As the need arises to purchase a new gaming computer,
look for one made of environmentally-friendly materials.
Manufacturers of technology equipment are doing their part
to make better equipment with more ecofriendly materials.
You can now find mercury-free computers and electronic
devices built with components with reduced amounts of
brominated fire retardants (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).