"80 Days around the world" lead author teaches you how to let the player lose

At the 2015 Game Developers Conference (GDC), the lead author of the adventure game "80 Days Around the World" (hereinafter "80 Days"), Meg? Jeanz (Meg jayanth) delivered a keynote speech, "Let the player get lost," sharing experiences of how the Inkle team created deep narrative and satisfying stories. Here is the content translation.

Multiple coverage of the plot can increase the fun of the game

"As a writer, my job is to induce players to make bad decisions," he said. "Because a bad strategy decision will bring a more interesting story to the player," Jeanz said. "Players always miss and discuss how close they are to the missile, what the disaster is, and how to survive." Jeanz said: "80 Days" is a surprise and memorable game. This leads players to explore, share and compare their stories. So the Inkle studio created a lot of "unheard of" content for most players.

According to Jeanz, "80 Days" lines more than 500,000 words, more than The Lord of the Rings trilogy. For the sheer size of the game story, she says, the Inkle team wants to create a game that will bring surprises and joy to players, but sometimes makes them feel uncomfortable. The game involved a variety of serious topics, such as race, gender, colonialism in the 19th century, war and politics, but still full of fun. The alternative history we created in the 80 Days is all-encompassing and full of political implications, breaking down the theory of class superiority and racism in Jules Verne's original works. "she said.

To construct the world as the keynote of the story and to convey an open world view

In order to achieve the goal of the description of the game, let the player focus on the whole world, the Inkle studio designed the story of building the world in a systematic way. In order to understand more clearly the effects that need to be created and realized, Jeanz itself has done a lot of research, although the results of the study are rarely directly reflected in the game, but all contribute to the formation of her writing style, tone and content.

"We asked ourselves what the steampunk outside of London would look like, New York, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East?" "Jeanz said. Whenever a new story line and a technique are added, "We ask ourselves what kind of repercussions this will have on a region and the world, we follow the influence of inventions in the game world and bring our fantasies to the world." ”

In "80 Days", the game story is completely non-linear, uncertain, and the player's choice determines the development of the game. No two paths are the same during the game, so players can experience different stories in different order.

The uncertainty of the plot brings lasting appeal to the game

"The uncertainty of the game is very tempting, thrilling and full of surprises." "You never know what's important, what you might lose," Jeanz said. You have to let the world and the character guide you. ”

To achieve this effect, the team must make sure that each game plot creates an appealing story for the player. The story of the game gives meaning to the game by "hyperplasia" of events and situations. "The game means adventure, not destination." "Jeanz said.

"80 Days" does not use bottlenecks or funnel patterns to achieve narrative structure, but as players travel around the world in different areas there will be more in-depth stories. "The Journey in America and West Africa is more perilous, and players are more likely to fail when they reach their goals," she said. The story goes deeper, more complex, and even more bizarre, and the player is more likely to fall into the game, "because they are already unable to think about their guesses." ”

The plot pushes the moral system with surprises to make up for game inadequacy

Another interesting approach is that the moral choice of 80 days is more simply driven by the plot itself than the common BioWare-style moral system. For example, if you want to get to a city more quickly, your only option is to grab a bunch of slaves aboard and serve you. But upon arrival. The locals will treat you as a slave owner, so you may be involved in a slave-hunting deal, which is a manifestation of the relevance of the original choice. "Systematic thinking about the world and the story gives you an idea of how you want to build your story and what kind of experience the player can get," says Jeanz. ”。

At the end of the speech, Jeanz suggested that the developer put more effort and attention on the player's emotional and role thinking than on power and control. "When you give players a surprise and they feel something they never get, they will forgive you for your mistakes and ignore the weaknesses in the game," she says. ”