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IV. Magic
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IV. Magic
by David Freeman
Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering™
Copyright
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Tell Us What You Think
Foreword
Gallery
I. Introduction
1.1. Communicate… Explore… Help… Words… Edge…
Communicate
Explore
Help
Words
Edge
1.2. An Introduction to Emotioneering
1.3. Why Put Emotion into Games?
Reason #1: Expanded Demographics
Reason #2: Better Buzz
Reason #3: Better Press
Reason #4: So Games Don't Seem Amateurish
Reason #5: An Inspired and Dedicated Creative Team
Reason #6: Consumer Loyalty to the Brand, Which Is Worth a Fortune
Reason #7: So You Don't Burn Millions of Dollars of Potential Profit
Reason #8: Competitive Advantage
Reason #9: So You Don't Come in Last
Summary
1.4. 17 Things Screenwriters Don't Know About Games
What Screenwriters Need to Learn About Games
The Shortest Distance May Be a Straight Line—But Who Wants a Straight Line?
Creating Playable Roles
Dialogue in Films Versus Games
Well, at Least They Can Write the Cinematics
A Different Kind of Process
Hello, Hollywood
And It Doesn't End There
Putting It in Focus
Facing the Challenge: A Guide to Hiring a Screenwriter
Final Thoughts
1.5. Why Game Designers Often Find Writing to Be So Challenging
The Same Problem Often Besets Game Designers
Yes, But Games Aren't Movies, so That Isn't Relevant
Final Thoughts
1.6. Why “Writing” Is a Bad Word and “Emotioneering” Is a Better One
1.7. How to Hopefully Be Unappreciated
1.8. Where Screenwriting Leaves Off and Emotioneering Begins
Deep Isn't Necessarily Interesting
From Screenwriting to Emotioneering
II. The 32 Categories of Emotioneering Techniques
2.1. Emotioneering Techniques Category #1: NPC Interesting Techniques
Major NPCs (NPCs Who Recur Throughout the Game)
More About Traits
The Hypothetical Game
The Hypothetical Game
Clearing Up Some Possible Misunderstandings
Artful or Arbitrary?
“Traits” Versus “Quirks”
Minor NPCs
“But Game Players Like Cliché Characters.”
Final Thoughts
2.2. Emotioneering Techniques Category #2: NPC Deepening Techniques
Emotional Pain
An Example of Technique Stacking
Regret—and Hiding a Secret
Appreciation—and Wisdom
Cover a Real Emotion with a False Emotion
Combining NPC Deepening Techniques
Having Emotion Relate to Player Actions and Decisions
Final Thoughts
2.3. Emotioneering Techniques Category #3: Dialogue Interesting Techniques
NPC Dialogue to Add Color
An Example of Weak Dialogue
Better Dialogue
NPC Dialogue to Prompt Action
An Example of Weak Dialogue
Better Dialogue
Splitting Up the Information
Some Common Fallacies and Problems
Final Thoughts
2.4. Emotioneering Techniques Category #4: Deepening Deepening Techniques
Give Your NPC Some Depth
Worries
Deep Doubts
Regret
Self-Sacrifice
Wisdom or Insight
The Hypothetical Game
Combining Emotioneering Techniques
An Example of Technique Stacking
Worries
An Example of Technique Stacking
The NPC Has Emotions Beneath the Surface
The Hypothetical Game
Deconstructing the Dialogue
Ambivalence
Final Thoughts
2.5. Emotioneering Techniques Category #5: Group Interesting Techniques
The Basic Idea of Klingons
Relevance for Games
Two Important Considerations
Traits Versus Quirks—Carrying the Analogy into Groups
Hypothetical Game Case Study
Tribe 3: The Blades
Tribe 4: The Tabrene
Tribe 5: The Korimutay
So, All Groups Need a Diamond?
The Diamond of the Group and the Diamond of the Individual
Final Thoughts
2.6. Emotioneering Techniques Category #6: Group Deepening Techniques
Giving Depth to Groups
The Hypothetical Game
Wisdom
Aesthetics
Nobility
A Deeper Group
Final Thoughts
2.7. Emotioneering Techniques Category #7: NPC Toward NPC Chemistry Techniques
The Characters Think in the Same Way
Fighting
Person #1 Talks Warmly About Person #2 in Person #2's Absence
Another Example of Technique Stacking
Underkill Is Sometimes Better than Overkill
Person #1 Can Read Person #2's Hidden Feelings
They Have Shared Bits
Final Thoughts
2.8. Emotioneering Techniques Category #8: NPC Toward NPC Relationship Deepening Techniques
An Analogy to the Character Diamond
More Than One Layer Can Be Present in One Line
There Doesn't Need to Be a Relationship Between the Two Characters' Layer Cakes Toward Each Other—But There Can Be
Some Dangers in the Familiar
Final Thoughts
2.9. Emotioneering Techniques Category #9: NPC Character Arc Techniques
A Character Arc Doesn't Come Easily to a Character
Relevance for Games
Ins and Outs
One Arc
Rocky Growth
Happy Events Cause Growth Too
Growth in Increments
Darkness Before Growth
A Mask to Hide Limitations
Imply Success, Don't State It
Failed Character Arcs
The Consistency of Villains
Exceptions
Final Thoughts
2.10. Emotioneering Techniques Category #10: NPC Rooting Interest Techniques
The Sorcerer Among Us Is You
Relationship to the Character Diamond
Put the NPC in Danger
Self-Sacrifice
Undeserved Misfortune
Learn About a Painful Part of Their Past
Bravery
Some Techniques Fall into Two Different Categories
Characters You Invest with Life
Characters for Whom You're Responsible
A Note About Multi-Function Techniques
Using Rooting Interest Techniques and Their Opposites to “Dial Up” or “Dial Down” an NPC's Likability and the Degree to Which We Identify with Him or Her
Final Thoughts
2.11. Emotioneering Techniques Category #11: Player Toward NPC Chemistry Techniques
The NPC Admires You
The NPC Reads Your Mind
The NPC Has Things in Common with You
The NPC Anticipates Your Needs and Desires
An NPC Makes You Grow to Become a Better Person
Summary of This Example
Final Thoughts
2.12. Emotioneering Techniques Category #12: NPC Toward Player Relationship Deepening Techniques
Layers of Feeling
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Post-Apocalyptic America Game
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Detectives
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Another Hypothetical Game Example
An Example of Technique Stacking
Final Thoughts
2.13. Emotioneering Techniques Category #13: Player Toward NPC Relationship Deepening Techniques
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Our Post-Apocalyptic Gunslinger
A Hypothetical Game: Mixed Emotions in WWII
Final Thoughts
2.14. Emotioneering Techniques Category #14: Group Bonding Techniques
Elements of Shared Appearance
Shared Goals
Shared Rituals
Going Through Shared Ordeals and Adventures
Taking Heroic Actions to Protect Each Other
Complementary Skills
Say Good Things Behind Each Others' Back—Even if They Don't to Their Faces
Bam-Bam Dialogue in Cinematics
Shared References
An Example from a Hypothetical Game
Group Bonding Challenges in Squad-Based First-Person Shooters
Final Thoughts
2.15. Emotioneering Techniques Category #15: Emotionally Complex Moments and Situations Techniques
You Are Forced to Do Potential Evil
You Are Forced to See Through the Eyes of Someone You Don't Like or Are Ambivalent About
Ambivalence Toward a “Friend”
Ambivalence Toward an “Enemy”
Another Way You Could Employ This Technique
Ambivalence Toward a Situation
You Discover You've Been Tricked
Further Thoughts
Helpless to Aid Someone You Love
What's Good and What's Evil Is Not Black and White
Other Techniques at Work in This Scenario (An Example of Technique Stacking)
Forced to Violate Your Own Integrity
Creating Emotionally Complex Moments and Situations Through Incongruence
Final Thoughts
2.16. Emotioneering Techniques Category #16: Plot Interesting Techniques
You Call This a Story?
Breaking These Different Structures into Elements
Creative Toolbox or Wellspring of Psychosis?
Structure Twists
Hypothetical Game Case Study
A Revelation Changes Everything
Innocent People Are in the Way
A Key Piece of Equipment Breaks Down
A Character Changes Sides
You Fall into a Trap
A Hostage Is Taken
Forced to Carry Out Another's Agenda
Mini-Goals
Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire
A Problem with No Obvious Solution
Pancaking Scripted Sequences
Meaningful Nonlinear Re-Sequencing (MNR)
The Problem with Past Efforts
A Fatalistic Argument
Applying Meaningful Nonlinear Re-Sequencing to Games
Summary
Final ThoughtsMan Cannot Live by Twists Alone
2.17. Emotioneering Techniques Category #17: Plot Deepening Techniques
Two Key Characters Trade Places
The Story Makes a Spiritual Power Palpable
A Symbol Takes on More and More Emotional Associations
A Character We Like Dies
A Bittersweet Ending
An Ending That's a Little Uncertain
Greetings from a Land Outside Your Awareness
Relevance of Crouching Tiger for Games
A Downside to Victory
Emotion Mapping
Idea Mapping
Idea Mapping Is Often Synonymous with “Theme,” But Doesn't Have to Be
An Important Note: Ideas Are Not Enough
Better Late Than Never, But Better Early Than Late
Final Thoughts
2.18. Emotioneering Techniques Category #18: World Induction Techniques
Creating a Rich World
What Can You Be?
Choice of Actions
Choice of Possessions
Adding History
Level of Detail
Unique Cultural Art Forms
Creating a Rich World Through Visual Incongruence Using Emotionally Resonant Items
Having the Visual Incongruence Relate to Gameplay
A World That Takes A While to Figure Out
Friendship or Responsibility Toward NPCs You Care About
Revenge
Don't Hold Back on Cool Weapons or Cool Things to Do
Don't Change All the Rules at the End
World Induction Techniques Commonly Used in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs—Sometimes Called MMOs)
Final Thoughts
2.19. Emotioneering Techniques Category #19: Role Induction Techniques
Skill Sets
Rewards for Playing the Role
Against All Odds
Accomplishment
Leadership Attitudes and Abilities
A Valuable and Appreciated Role
A Story About Bread
License to Break the Rules
Beguiling New Identities
Abilities Beyond the Norm
Character Diamonds
The Character Has Emotional Responses We Recognize and Can Identify With
Self Auto-Talk and Self Auto-Thought
Fewer Words Usually Invites the Player to Identify with the Character
Character Silence (No Self Auto-Talk and No Self-Auto Talk)
Generalizing a Problem
Tradeoffs When Using Role Induction Techniques
A Case Study in Role Induction: Thief
Final Thoughts
2.20. Emotioneering Techniques Category #20: First-Person Character Arc Techniques
Defining the Problem
Past Attempts to Create a First-Person Character Arc
Problems with Past Efforts
Emulating Life Itself
Applying This to a Hypothetical Game Case Study
Another Hypothetical Game Case Study
The Role of Punishments
Would This Character Arc Be Real?
Should Going Through a First-Person Character Arc Be Essential to Winning a Game?
Various Types of Rewards and Punishments
Rewards Type 1
Rewards Type 2
Where a First-Person Character Arc Begins
Alternative Character Arcs
To Become a Leader
To Learn You Are Worthy of Love
To Achieve a Spiritual Connection to the World
To Learn Ethics
Final Thoughts
2.21. Emotioneering Techniques Category #21: First-Person Deepening Techniques
Emotionally and/or Morally Difficult Decisions
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Woman from the Future
Another Example of Technique Stacking
Problem #1: One Choice Seems Better than the Other
Problem #2: Save Points Mitigate the Emotion of Making a Tough Choice
Problem #3: This Scenario Means You Need to Build Assets for Two Different Paths
Problem #4: There Are No Long-Term Consequences in the Game
Case Study Summary
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Choice of Player Character
A Problem with This Idea—and a Solution
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Kidnapped Teenager
Technique Summary
Responsibility
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Terrellens
Giving a Face to a Group
Multiple and Sometimes Even Conflicting Viewpoints (Learning from Mr. Bill)
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Return to the Terrellens
Getting Even Fancier with This Technique
Another Way of Using Different Ways of Using Multiple Viewpoints to Create First-Person Deepening
Certain First-Person Character Arcs
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Returning to the City
Seeing Situations That Aren't Black and White
Final Thoughts
2.22. Emotioneering Techniques Category #22: Revealing Complex Characters Through Their Actions
A Real Game Case Study
Khensa
Khensa's Character Diamond
Depth Communicated Nonverbally
Final Thoughts
2.23. Emotioneering Techniques Category #23: Enhancing Emotional Depth Through Symbols
Usable Symbols
Symbol of a Character's Condition or Change in Condition—Visual or Verbal
Visual Example from TV
Visual Example from Film
Verbal Example from Film
Verbal Example from TV
Game Case Study: Ico
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Symbols of Sadness and Achievement
Symbolic Subplot
Operating Outside of Conscious Awareness
Using This Technique in Games
Turning These into Usable Symbols in Gameplay
Game Case Study: Aidyn Chronicles
Symbols Used in Foreshadowing
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Samurai
A Symbol That Takes on Increasing Emotional Associations—Visual or Verbal
Visual Example from Film
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Pendant
Game Case Study: Max Payne
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Hood Ornament
Final Thoughts
2.24. Emotioneering Techniques Category #24: Self-Created Story Techniques (a.k.a. Agency Techniques)
A Spectrum of Impact
Mixing Impact Modes
Different Ways of Fulfilling the Mission
Other Ways to Create Self-Created Stories
Final Thoughts
2.25. Emotioneering Techniques Category #25: Motivation Techniques
Don't Interrupt Gameplay
If Possible, Try Not to Let the Way the Player Receives Information Interrupt the Game
Don't Hold Back Too Long on the Carrots
Avoid the Feeling of Repetitive Gameplay…Sometimes
Keep Those Plot Twists Coming
Sometimes Provide Unexpected Consequences to the Player's Actions
Action Puzzles
A Mysterious or Interesting World That Takes A While to Sort Out
An Example
An Interesting Plot That Unfolds in an Interesting Way
A Higher Score
Final Thoughts
2.26. Emotioneering Techniques Category #26: Cohesiveness Techniques
Your Character Gets a Reputation
Karma
NPCs in One Part of the Game Refer to NPCs in Other Parts of the Game
Give Your Game a Theme
Relationships Between People or Groups That Take A While to Decipher, But Eventually Form Their Own Coherent World
Abilities You Learn in One Part of the Game Are Useful Later in the Game
Remind Us of the Stakes
Final Thoughts
2.27. Emotioneering Techniques Category #27: “True-to-Life” Techniques
Final Thoughts
2.28. Emotioneering Techniques Category #28: Cross-Demographic Techniques
Cross-Demographic Techniques
The General Idea
Self-Deconstructing Humor
Giving NPCs Character Arcs
Trendy Comedy
A Game That Takes Place in a Rich World
Have Characters Who Undergo Either Adult or Complicated Emotions
The Use of Deepening Techniques
Final Thoughts
2.29. Emotioneering Techniques Category #29: Injecting Emotion into a Game's Story Elements
Dissecting a Story
Story Elements in Types of Games That We Normally Don't Think of as Possessing “Stories”
Simple and Complex Emotion
Using Story Elements to Brainstorm Emotional Complexity
An Enemy
Danger
Racing
A Mystery
Tension
Spying
Good Guys and Bad Guys (or Good and Evil)
Final Thoughts
2.30. Emotioneering Techniques Category #30: Tying Story to Gameplay and Mechanics
Contrasting Examples
The Obvious Example
The Not-So-Obvious Example
Just the Other Day
Final Thoughts
2.31. Emotioneering Techniques Category #31: Writing Powerful Pre-Rendered and In-Game Cinematics
Learning from Film
Few or No “Blocks”
Give Major Characters Interesting Diamonds
Ambivalence Between Characters Can Make a Cinematic More Interesting
Use Layer Cakes Between Characters to Give Their Relationships Complexity Beyond Simple Ambivalence
Watch Out for the Clichè and Bland Lines
Can It Be Said or Told Better with Actions Rather Than Words?
Time Permitting, It's Okay to Briefly Stray from the Topic at Hand
No Predictabilty
Obstacles and Interruptions Can Make a Cinematic More Interesting
Use Dialogue Devices to Make the Dialogue Sound Natural
Summary
The Example
The Student's Scene
David's Scene
Deconstructed Scene
Final Thoughts
Glossary for This Chapter
2.32. Emotioneering Techniques Category #32: Opening Cinematic Techniques
Begin with a “Fakeout Scene” (Faking Out the Player)
Begin with a Mystery
Begin by Introducing Us to a Unique Character
Begin by Throwing Us into a Suspenseful Piece of the Plot
Begin by Entering into a Unique World
Final Thoughts
Looking Back
III. An Emotioneering Gallery
3.1. Introduction
Emotioneering in Reality-Based Games Versus Fantasy and Sci-Fi Games
3.2. Chasm
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Boston Physicist
The First Group of Missions
The Next Group of Missions
NPC Interesting Techniques (Chapter 2.1)
Player Toward NPC Chemistry Techniques (Chapter 2.11)
World Induction Techniques (Chapter 2.18)
First-Person Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.21)
Player Toward NPC Relationship Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.13)
Emotionally Complex Moments and Situations Techniques (Chapter 2.15)
Plot Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.17)
Adding Emotional Depth to a Game Through Symbols (Chapter 2.23)
Final Thoughts
3.3. Styx
Hypothetical Game Case Study: The Roman Empire
Emotionally Complex Moments and Situations Techniques (Chapter 2.15)
NPC Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.2)
NPC Toward Player Relationship Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.12)
First-Person Character Arc and First-Person Deepening Techniques (Chapters 2.20 and 2.21)
Your First-Person Character Arc After Escaping the Realm
Plot Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.17)
Two More Doubling Backs
Final Thoughts
3.4. Rough Trade
Hypothetical Game Case Study: Cyberpunk Novelist
NPC Interesting Techniques (Chapter 2.1)
NPC Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.2)
Player Toward NPC Chemistry Techniques (Chapter 2.11)
Player Toward NPC Relationship Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.13)
Role Induction Techniques (Chapter 2.19)
First-Person Character Arc Techniques (Chapter 2.20)
First-Person Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.21)
Motivation Techniques (Chapter 2.25)
Plot Deepening Techniques (Chapter 2.17)
Final Thoughts
IV. Magic
4. Magic
Let's Get Real—But in Whose Reality?
A Secret Land Where Smiles Are Born
Creating Life Out of Nothing: Hard for Scientists, a Cakewalk for You
The Ultimate Gift
Final Thoughts
V. Addenda
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Techniques for Creating Fun
Types of Fun
Incongruence
What's Wrong with This Approach
What's Right with This Approach
The Exercise
Example #1: A Racing Game with Building, Combat, and Sneaking
Example #2: A Fighting Game with Sneaking, Resource Management, and Training of NPCs
Example #3: An Online Combat Game with Superhuman Abilities and with Making and Breaking Alliances (Betrayal)
Exercise Summary
Final Thoughts
5.3. Gatherings
Art Credits
Cover
Color Section
Interior
Artists' Bios and Contact Information
Glossary
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3.4. Rough Trade
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4. Magic
Part IV. Magic
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