Watch the video (with slides) from SGC 2015 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuoR3xmSQ2w
In this talk right from the trenches, we cover several stages of adventure game development, including conceptualization, story, game and puzzle design, programming, voiceovers, music and production. Elroy and the Aliens has been in development for about two years, which has produced a lot of useful tips, tricks and lessons. Many of the areas covered will be generally applicable to all (especially narrative-based) games.
This talk was first given at the Slovenian Games Conference in 2015.
6. Adventure Games
Puzzle solving within a narrative framework
Similar to watching a movie or reading a book
Narrative, Puzzles, Exploration
7. Day Of The Tentacle (1993)
Monkey Island (1990)
Full Throttle (1995)
Grim Fandango (1998)
The Book of Unwritten Tales (2009)
The Inner World (2013)
Machinarium (2009)
Blackwell Series (2006-2014)
Technobabylon (2015)
The Journey Down (2010)
The Silent Age (2012)
Sword and Sorcery (2011)
Deponia (2012)
Broken Age (2014)
17. STORY / NARRATIVE CONCEPT ART
PUZZLE
DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT ART ANIMATION
SFX
TESTING / QA
MUSIC
MUSICAL THEME
18. STORY / NARRATIVE CONCEPT ART
PUZZLE
DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT ART ANIMATION
SFX
TESTING / QA
MUSIC
MUSICAL THEME
Trello / ticketing systems
Project management SW (e.g. Basecamp)
Here be dragons
19. “A delayed game is eventually good,
but a rushed game is forever bad.”
Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo
21. Story
Sequence of events
Mary wakes up, gets dressed, drives to work, works, goes to lunch, flirts
with David, does more work, goes home.
Plot
Events as they relate to each other
Mary’s day begins when she wakes up and drives to work. The most
interesting part of her day is lunch, when she flirts with David. The plot ends
when she goes home.
Narrative
“design” of the story (events may be in diff. order)
Mary wakes up, skipping breakfast so she can go straight to work. Though
most of her day is boring, she likes lunch because David is there and they
flirt a little. After work, she drives straight home to get some sleep.
Source:
25. I. Departure
Call to Adventure
Refusal of Call
Supernatural Air
First Threshold
Belly of the Whale
Princess Leia’s Message
Must Help With Harvest
Obi-wan rescues Luke
Escape from Tatooine
Trash Compactor
26. I. Departure
Call to Adventure
Refusal of Call
Supernatural Air
First Threshold
Belly of the Whale
Princess Leia’s Message
Must Help With Harvest
Obi-wan rescues Luke
Escape from Tatooine
Trash Compactor
II. Initiation
Road of Trials
Meeting Goddess
Temptation Off Path
Atonement With Father
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon
Practice With Light Saber
Princess Leia
Temptation of Dark Side
Darth and Luke Reconcile
Luke becomes Jedi
Death Star destroyed
27. I. Departure
Call to Adventure
Refusal of Call
Supernatural Air
First Threshold
Belly of the Whale
Princess Leia’s Message
Must Help With Harvest
Obi-wan rescues Luke
Escape from Tatooine
Trash Compactor
II. Initiation
Road of Trials
Meeting Goddess
Temptation Off Path
Atonement With Father
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon
Practice With Light Saber
Princess Leia
Temptation of Dark Side
Darth and Luke Reconcile
Luke becomes Jedi
Death Star destroyed
III. Return
Refusal to Return
The Magic Flight
Rescue from Without
Return Threshold
Master of two worlds
Freedom to live
Luke wants to stay
Millenium Falcon
Han Saves Luke
Destruction of TIE fighters
Victory Ceremony
Success over empire
29. Emotional Alignment
Character motivation vs. player’s pre-existing motivation
Motivation: What does the protagonist want?
Enough to continue through obstacles
How does the character and his motivation change?
Marry Sue / Gary Stu =
bad writing in non-interactive, OK for games
(but also for adventure games?)
What does the villain want? Why?
30. TV Tropes
Final Temptation for a Normal Life
He Knows Too Much
Lottery of Doom
Monster Protection Racket
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
Trouble Follows You Home
The Collector
46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
a b c d e f g h i
j k l m n o p q r
s t u v w x y z
+ - / ? !
Alien Sans
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
a b c d e f g h i
j k l m n o p q r
s t u v w x y z
54. Puzzle Dependency Chart
FIX ENGINE
FLY AWAY IN
SPACESHIP
GET NAVIGATION
CHARTS
GET WRENCH
PICK UP
SCREWDRIVER
GET ELEPHANT
TO MOVE
CATCH MOUSE
GET ROCKET
FUEL
55. Puzzle Dependency Chart
FIX ENGINE
FLY AWAY IN
SPACESHIP
GET NAVIGATION
CHARTS
GET WRENCH
PICK UP
SCREWDRIVER
GIVE BASEBALL CARD
TO NAVIGATOR TINA
GET ROCKET
FUEL
GET ELEPHANT
TO MOVE
CATCH MOUSE
GET BASEBALL CARD
IN EXCHANGE
FIND WEDDING RING
USE METAL DETECTOR
WITH GARDEN
RETURN WEDDING
RING TO BOB
89. Preston-Blair Phoneme Set
AI – A or I, as in apple, day, hat, happy, rat, act, plait, dive, aisle
E – as in egg, free, peach, dream, tree
FV – forest, daft, life, fear, very, endeavour
L – as in election, alone, elicit, elm, leg, pull
MBP – as in embark, bear, best, put, plan, imagine, mad, mine
O – as in honk, hot, off, odd, fetlock, exotic, goat
U – as in fund, universe, you, runner, jump, fudge, treasure
WQ – as in cower, quick, wish, skewer, how
etc (C D G J K N R S Y Z) – as in grouch, rod, zoo, kill, car,
sheep, pun, dug, jaw, void, roach, lodge
rest – used during pauses