Interactive Storytelling for
Video Games
Chapter 7: Fully Traditional
and Interactive Traditional
Stories
Josiah Lebowitz
Chris Klug
Fully Traditional Stories and
Video Games
 Fully traditional stories are the classic form of storytelling
used in books and film. They can’t be changed in any way.
 Video games are, by definition, interactive. Fully traditional
stories are not.
 There have been a few “games” which use fully traditional
stories, but their lack of interactivity makes them closer to
movies or digital novels than true games.
Higurashi When They Cry
 Released by 07th Expansion
in 2002 (PC).
 A Japanese visual novel with
a dark suspense filled story.
 Essentially a first person
novel with images, music,
and sound effects.
 No interactivity other than
advancing the text.
 The graphics and sound add
a lot to the story but the lack
of interactivity means it’s not
a true game.
What is an interactive
traditional story?
 Interactive traditional stories combine the tightly controlled
narrative of fully traditional stories with a degree of
interactivity.
 They’re used in a wide variety of video games.
 While the player can’t change the main story in any
significant way, he can still interact with the world and
characters.
FINAL FANTASY X
 Released by Square in
2001 (PS2).
 Features an deep and
emotional interactive
traditional story.
 The player can’t change the
main plot in any way.
 Outside of story scenes, the
player is free to explore the
world and take on
numerous optional quests.
Creating Interactive Traditional
Stories
 In many ways, the easiest type of game story to create.
 Because the main plot can’t be changed, it’s much like
writing a movie script or novel.
 Depending on who you’re working for, you may be given a
basic plot to expand or create everything yourself.
 You need to ensure that the story allows for a large amount
of gameplay (fighting, exploration, puzzle solving, etc).
 Think about which scenes should and shouldn’t be
interactive.
 Think about how the player will interact with the world and
characters outside of key story scenes.
Branching Dialogue and
Interactive Traditional Stories
 In interactive traditional storytelling, branching dialogue can’t
change the story so all the branches eventually come
together.
 Despite that, the NPC should still react to the player’s choice
and change the dialogue accordingly.
 NEVER loop a conversation until the player chooses the
option you want. Have the NPC argue or reason with the
hero to change his mind.
 NEVER give the player a choice between two essentially
identical dialogue choices, it’s completely pointless.
The Strengths of Interactive
Traditional Stories
 The writer can fine tune every scene to ensure proper pacing
and convey the right emotions to the player.
 Because the story can’t be changed, highly emotional scenes
have far more impact than in player-driven stories.
 There’s no need to worry about the player screwing things
up, losing track of the main plot, or missing vital pieces of
information.
 It’s much easier to keep the story and characters believable
and consistent than in player-driven stories.
 They provide the player with a strong illusion of control, while
still presenting a well crafted narrative.
FINAL FANTASY VII
 Released by Square in
1997 (PS).
 Heavily influenced the
game industry.
 Features a deep twisting
narrative full of memorable
characters.
 Contains a death scene
considered by many to be
one of the most emotional
moments in gaming history.
The Weaknesses of Interactive
Traditional Stories
 Because the player can’t change the main plot, the burden of
creating an interesting, engaging, and ultimately satisfying
story falls solely on the writer.
 If the writer isn’t up to the challenge, there’s nothing the
player can do to improve the story.
 Poor pacing or uninteresting characters can ruin an
otherwise good story.
 An unsatisfying ending can leave players feeling as if they
wasted all the hours spent playing the game.
Things to Consider
 Do you consider “games” using fully traditional stories, such as
Higurashi, to be true games? Why or why
 List ten games you’ve played which use interactive traditional
stories.
 Pick three of the games from your list. In what ways did they
allow you to interact with their world and characters?
 When playing those three games, were there any times in which
you really wanted to take control and change the story? Explain
why and how you wanted to do so.
 Do you think the changes you proposed would have made the
rest of the stories significantly better or worse? Why or why not?
Do you think most other players would agree with you?