An Evaluation of Software Tools for Interactive Storytelling Richard Rabil, Jr. 1/5/2012
Interactive storytelling: “Interactive storytelling” is a broad and generic term used in this report to cover a field of theory and practice that spans multiple mediums, including video games. The terms “interactive storytelling” and “non-linear storytelling” are used synonymously. As McIntosh et al. explain, “Linear stories are written in such a way that the player progresses by reaching predetermined sequential plot points,” whereas non-linear storytelling “includes games that dynamically generate plot elements and alter potential endings based not only on the choices a player makes, but also on other factors such as their performance, timing, or other circumstances tied to the narrative.” Games such as Mass Effect, Heavy Rain, Fallout 3, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution are considered games with nonlinear stories. As will be discussed at length in Section 3.2, games with non-linear stories pose unique challenges to game writers, and have important implications for the way software tools are evaluated. Dialogue tree. “Dialogue tree” is a metaphor used in this report to describe the underlying structure or mechanism of branching dialogue. Although the term has been questioned 1 and outright rejected 2, it is commonly used in game design parlance, and several relevant terms and concepts are associated with the metaphor, which I have summarized below. o Conversation editor: A software interface specifically designed to support the structuring, authoring, and editing of text for interactive conversations. A conversation editor is usually a part of a toolset or game engine and has special features for video game writing, such as the ability to add conditions and update variables in the game. o Node: A basic unit of dialogue that either the PC or non-player (NPC) speaks in a game. o Branch: As game writer Mat Jobe explains, in the context of a dialogue tree a branch is a “A node and all its subordinate (lower) nodes.” o Link: A link in the context of a dialogue tree is a hyperlink between units of dialogue. “Rather than have their own subordinates, some nodes may link to existing nodes” (Jobe). Game writing. In this report, “game writing” is used to mean the process and practice of composing the script of the game, as well as developing a game’s plotline, quests, characters, back story, and lore. Not all game writers perform these activities for every video game project, but books such as Dille and Platten’s The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing (2007) suggest that game writing as a discipline does encompass these activities. Game writer. The term “game writer” is used in this report to mean a professional whose primary responsibility is to compose the text for a variety of narrative components of a video game. Experienced game writer Angel Leigh McCoy (2011) has classified these types of writing in several ways: scenes between NPCs, talk lines, conversations, cinematics, UI text for menus, reward text, tool tips, and instructional text. I try to use the term “game writer” consistently in this report, but do not intend it to be too restrictive. For example, “game writer” may apply to a student who is studying game writing but is not yet employed; a hobbyist who does a lot of game writing for her user-generated game content; or a game designer who spends half of her time writing dialogue and designing quests. The term has significant overlap with a “narrative designer.”
1
For instance, game writer Chris Bateman (2007) had said, “Despite the name, dialogue trees are seldom trees but rather converging and diverging chains of conversation” (277). Game writer Mat Jobe prefers the metaphor of a stream rather over a tree.
2
See, for instance, game writer and designer Steve Ince’s “The Conversation” (2010) at http://www.developonline.net/features/905/The-Conversation. Also, it is worth noting that two of the survey participants in this study wanted the ability to ignore a dialogue tree structure and use a flatter structure for dialogue, and to toggle back to a branching structure if required.
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