Narrative design
- Class 30
- Practice 30
- Independent work 90
Course title
Narrative design
Lecture type
Obligatory
Course code
23-11-527
Semester
5
ECTS
5
Lecturers and associates
Course overview
The aim of the module is to familiarize students with the entire narrative part of storytelling by combining design thinking and storytelling, with the aim of creating an appropriate setting of the game and the location of the story it tells.
The module provides students with the knowledge and skills needed for jobs as game designers, technical designers, project managers, art directors, narrative designers, content creators, content designers, level designers, experience designers, etc. The skills learned in this module will significantly contribute to the student's development as professional in the respective fields.
The module will be evaluated through individual student projects and homework.
Content
Students will learn:
• differences between storytelling in various media (film, TV series, books and computer games)
• transform the narrative from one medium to another, while maintaining quality
• assess the quality of the narrative and how to structure it into a balanced game experience
• using mechanics to create a narrative
• create a narrative using mechanics and all other building blocks of a computer game
• the role of story in various genres of computer games
• building elements of the narrative and how to use them
• differences between narrative and action.
Literature
1. Dille, F., Zurr, J. (2008) The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design. Santa Monica: Lone Eagle.
Additional reading
1. Skolnick, E. (2014) Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques. Danvers: Watson-Guptill.
Professional title obtained: Bachelor in Game Development
Minimal learning outcomes
- Recommend procedures for adapting a non-interactive narrative into an interactive narrative.
- Evaluate the functionality, balance and playability of a computer game in the context of its narrative.
- Construct the structure of the world of computer games and its influence on the definition of visual identity and technical aspects of computer games.
- Evaluate the role and breadth of the definition of the story and the structure of their reproduction in the context of the technical possibilities and needs of the computer game.
- Compare the differences in narrative structure in different genres of computer games.
- Construct the narrative of a computer game from a specific genre using standard structuring techniques.
Preferred learning outcomes
- Recommend procedures for adapting a more complex non-interactive narrative into an interactive narrative.
- Evaluate the functionality, balance and playability of a computer game in the context of its narrative and propose necessary changes.
- Construct the structure and complete world structure of the world of computer games and its influence on the definition of visual identity and technical aspects of computer games.
- Evaluate the role and breadth of the definition of story and world-building assets and the structure of their reproduction in the context of the technical possibilities and needs of a computer game.
- Compare structural differences in narrative structure in different genres of computer games based on differences in genre mechanics.
- Construct a complex narrative of a computer game from a specific genre using standard structuring techniques.