Vision
We live in exiting times!
Designers are exploring the chemistry between Game and Story. The differences, the strengths, the weaknesses. How can those two be brought together? Should they be brought together? The emerging field of the Narrative Designer is vibrant and energetic.
I wrote my master thesis on the differences between mechanic-driven games and narrative-driven games. I love stories. I love games. I love stories in games. And for some games, the story is more important that for others. Some games are more mechanic-driven, others are more narrative-driven. And that’s perfectly fine.
I’ve always been interested in dualism. Perhaps its because my astrological sign is Libra, or because of my mixed origins, or because of my interest in concepts like the Buddhist Middle Way or the Mars/Venus thingy between men and women, but either way this polarizing debate about mechanic-driven and narrative-driven games interested me. I wanted to take a few steps back and study it as a whole, rather than being always confined to one preferred side. And as a pragmatist, I was not so much interested in theoretical definitions but more so in finding ways how this can be used to enhance and enlighten the actual design process.
And I must say it sure has enlightened me. On a personal level I now have a more holistic view which helped me greatly as a designer, being able to work in, and look from, different directions. On a group level, I love how it helped communications a great deal. Many arguments arise and are not adequately resolved because of misunderstanding, because people don’t trace back their arguments to unspoken higher levels. It is on these levels people often have different values, but because they are unspoken, people fill in those gaps for others, which leads to misunderstanding. My thesis is all about giving words to the unspoken.
So rather than a vision about what I want to achieve, I have been able to let go and create a vision of how to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. A vision of a journey, not a destination. So sayeth the explorer.
My thesis can be found on the HKU thesis database, or simply downloaded directly here: Mechanics are from Mars, Narratives are from Venus
In it, I examine3 different aspects: the player, the game and the design process.
- For the player I’ve been greatly influenced by the Melvin & Vorthos model by Magic the Gathering’s lead designer Mark Rosewater.
- For the design process I’ve been greatly influenced by the Top-Down & Bottom-Up model by Gilliard Lopes and Rafael Kuhnen.
- For the game I’ve constructed my own model, Temple & Castle, based on the previous models.