Adventure Games: The Ins and Outs of Design and Development (Lessons Learned)
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The document outlines the development process for an adventure game called 'Elroy,' led by co-founder and CTO Tadej Gregorčič. It covers various aspects such as narrative design, puzzle development, character design, and project management techniques. The text also highlights the importance of narrative structure and character motivation in game design, referencing classic games and the challenges faced during production.
Adventure Games: The Ins and Outs of Design and Development (Lessons Learned)
- 3. Who Tadej Gregorčič Co-Founder / CTO Creative & Technical D. twitter, facebook: @tadej code, puzzle design, story, production
- 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)
- 8. Topics NARRATIVE ART DESIGN CODE AUDIO PRODUCTION
- 9. Production
- 10. NARRATIVE ENGINE CONCEPT ART PUZZLE DESIGN ROUGH ART “FINAL” ART ROUGH ANIMATIONS “FINAL” ANIMATIONS ROUGH DIALOGUE “FINAL” DIALOGUE TEMP SFX TEMP MUSIC “FINAL” SFX “FINAL” MUSIC VOICE ACTING “FINAL” CODE CHARACTER DESIGN LOCATION DESIGN BETA The Mountain of Adventure Game Development PROTOTYPE
- 11. NARRATIVE ENGINE CONCEPT ART PUZZLE DESIGN ROUGH ART “FINAL” ART ROUGH ANIMATIONS “FINAL” ANIMATIONS ROUGH DIALOGUE “FINAL” DIALOGUE TEMP SFX TEMP MUSIC “FINAL” SFX “FINAL” MUSIC VOICE ACTING “FINAL” CODE CHARACTER DESIGN LOCATION DESIGN BETA The Mountain of Adventure Game Development PROTOTYPE
- 13. NARRATIVE ENGINE CONCEPT ART PUZZLE DESIGN ROUGH ART “FINAL” ART ROUGH ANIMATIONS “FINAL” ANIMATIONS ROUGH DIALOGUE “FINAL” DIALOGUE TEMP SFX TEMP MUSIC “FINAL” SFX “FINAL” MUSIC VOICE ACTING “FINAL” CODE CHARACTER DESIGN LOCATION DESIGN BETA The Mountain of Adventure Game Development PROTOTYPE
- 14. NARRATIVE ENGINE CONCEPT ART PUZZLE DESIGN ROUGH ART “FINAL” ART ROUGH ANIMATIONS “FINAL” ANIMATIONS ROUGH DIALOGUE “FINAL” DIALOGUE TEMP SFX TEMP MUSIC “FINAL” SFX “FINAL” MUSIC VOICE ACTING “FINAL” CODE CHARACTER DESIGN LOCATION DESIGN BETA The Mountain of Adventure Game Development $ PROTOTYPE
- 15. NARRATIVE ENGINE CONCEPT ART PUZZLE DESIGN ROUGH ART “FINAL” ART ROUGH ANIMATIONS “FINAL” ANIMATIONS ROUGH DIALOGUE “FINAL” DIALOGUE TEMP SFX TEMP MUSIC “FINAL” SFX “FINAL” MUSIC VOICE ACTING “FINAL” CODE CHARACTER DESIGN LOCATION DESIGN BETA The Mountain of Adventure Game Development $$$ PROTOTYPE
- 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
- 20. Narrative
- 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:
- 22. Narrative 90% structure, 10% plot
- 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
- 28. CHANGE FALLGROWTH Source: http://vanvelding.blogspot.si/2015/05/ffs-pulaski-hate-is-unjustified.html Act 2 Act 1Act 3 Limited awareness Increased awareness Reluctance to change Overcoming Committing Experimenting Preparing Big change Consequences Rededication Final attempt Mastery Character Arc
- 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
- 31. Examples Tomorrowland Last of Us Star Wars (1977)
- 32. BASIC PLOT CHARACTER LISTBASIC LOCATIONS
- 33. BASIC PLOT WRITTEN NARRATIVE CHARACTER LISTBASIC LOCATIONS CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS, CHANGES LOCATION DESCRIPTION
- 34. BASIC PLOT WRITTEN NARRATIVE STORYBOARDS CHARACTER LISTBASIC LOCATIONS CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS, CHANGES LOCATION DESCRIPTION
- 35. BASIC PLOT WRITTEN NARRATIVE STORYBOARDS PUZZLES, PROTOTYPE CHARACTER LISTBASIC LOCATIONS CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS, CHANGES LOCATION DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER SCRIPT / DIALOGUE LOCATION CONCEPT ART
- 36. BASIC PLOT WRITTEN NARRATIVE STORYBOARDS CHARACTER LISTBASIC LOCATIONS CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS, CHANGES LOCATION DESCRIPTION BETA PLACEHOLDER SCRIPT / DIALOGUE FINAL SCRIPT / DIALOGUE LOCATION CONCEPT ART PUZZLES, PROTOTYPE
- 40. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK Placeholder
- 41. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK Will Rewrite Later OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK
- 42. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK Will Rewrite Later OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK
- 43. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK Will Rewrite Later OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK
- 44. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK Will Rewrite Later OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK
- 45. Narrative Technical Debt OK OK Will Rewrite Later OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK ??
- 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
- 47. Puzzle Design
- 48. Puzzle Types DIALOGUE PUZZLES NON-CONTEXTUAL LOGIC PUZZLES ENVIRONMENTAL PUZZLES INVENTORY PUZZLES
- 52. Puzzle Dependency Chart FLY AWAY IN SPACESHIP
- 53. Puzzle Dependency Chart FIX ENGINE FLY AWAY IN SPACESHIP GET NAVIGATION CHARTS GET ROCKET FUEL
- 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
- 56. ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT ART PUZZLE SKETCH ON PAPER
- 57. ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT ART PUZZLE SKETCH ON PAPER PLACEHOLDER PUZZLE ART
- 58. ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT ART PUZZLE SKETCH ON PAPER PLACEHOLDER PUZZLE ART PROTOTYPE
- 59. ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT ART PUZZLE SKETCH ON PAPER PLACEHOLDER PUZZLE ART PROTOTYPE TESTING
- 60. ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT ART PUZZLE SKETCH ON PAPER PLACEHOLDER PUZZLE ART PROTOTYPE FINAL ART & CODE TESTING
- 61. ART!
- 62. 2D -vs- 3D -vs- 2D with 3D pipeline
- 63. Pencil & Paper TV Paint Camera Photoshop PS Scripts Unity
- 64. Animation process video: http://elroythegame.com/blog/hand-drawn-2d-animation-process-for-elroy/
- 65. Concept Art
- 72. NARRATIVE CONCEPT ART LOCATIONS (except non-contextual puzzles) PUZZLE DESIGN PROTOTYPE CHARACTER DESIGN FINAL ART Pipeline from art POV
- 74. Animation 2d hand-drawn for live characters skeletal (3d-style) for robots, machines
- 78. Engines Unity Game Maker Adventure Game Studio
- 79. Unity Frameworks Roll Your Own -or- Asset Store
- 82. x y h = hmin + (y-hmin) * k k = (hmax-hmin) / (ymax-ymin) hmax hmin ymin ymax ywb
- 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
- 92. ROUGH SCRIPT
- 95. ROUGH SCRIPT TEXT-TO-SPEECH ALPHA Script Line (Google Docs) Custom Windows App Speech API (Text to Speech) Example.WAV Example_txt.txt Example_visemes.txt
- 99. ROUGH SCRIPT TEXT-TO-SPEECH ALPHA VOICE ACTING SPEECH RECOGNITION FINAL SCRIPT
- 100. ROUGH SCRIPT TEXT-TO-SPEECH ALPHA VOICE ACTING SPEECH RECOGNITION MANUAL FIXES * FINAL SCRIPT
- 101. ROUGH SCRIPT TEXT-TO-SPEECH ALPHA VOICE ACTING SPEECH RECOGNITION BETA MANUAL FIXES * FINAL SCRIPT
- 103. Hint Systems The door is locked. Hm, maybe I can find a key somewhere? implicit hint system = BEST
- 104. Voice Recording Native speakers Different sources ($): (!) Similar equipment (!) Similar environment -or- Professional studio ($-$$)
- 106. Audio Music + levels + mood SCUMM (LucasArts), small number of themes, variations based on context