Design Principle #2 – Story

Guiding design principle number 2 is incorporating story into all aspects of the game. It’s important that the player feels like they have a purpose in every part of the game. So, every level should tell a small story. This directly affects the logic and sequential steps that I design in to each scene.

For example, when the player first finds the Riddle Box – they literally have to put a story together in order to obtain it. Or it could be a series of puzzles strung together – perhaps the main character needs a key to their hotel room, but the hotel manager is required to authorize the key. However, the manager is taking care of other business or another problem, so the player has to figure out how to get the authorization (perhaps find and forge the manager’s signature) or solve the manager’s problem (in order to free them up to give their authorization). In the end, the player gets what they need and we’ve learned a little bit more about the world and the hotel manager in the process.

While completing these scenes, the player is directly interacting and facilitating the events in the story. They’re not just a cog in the machine, and I think that promoting that feeling helps the player feel more invested in what’s going on and makes the game mean more to them on a personal level.

I also like to throw in little nods for fans of the series (keep an eye out for little pieces of Dirk and Steele-isms) and foreshadow later elements of the overarching story.