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@stefangrambart EMERGENT NARRATIVE What We Can Learn From Dungeons & Dragons Presented by Stefan Grambart at AWE 2016 #AWE2016

Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

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Page 1: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

EMERGENT NARRATIVE What We Can Learn From Dungeons & Dragons Presented by Stefan Grambart at AWE 2016

#AWE2016

Page 2: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R) TSR, Canadian Improv Games@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 3: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 4: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

Can we

REDEFINE THE AUTHOR/AUDIENCE

DYNAMIC and create a system for building truly emergent stories?

#AWE2016

Page 5: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R, top to bottom) Game of Thrones, Camelot, Chronicles of Shannara, The Hobbit@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 6: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

LINEAR NARRATIVE The narrative unfolds as intended by the author; the audience has no control over the outcome.

#AWE2016

Page 7: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (2016)@stefangrambart

“[Uncharted 4] has a very specific ending that’s

definitive to the franchise.”- Neil Druckmann

Creative Director, Naughty Dog

#AWE2016

Page 8: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

BRANCHING NARRATIVE The audience chooses between multiple story branches, created in advance by the author.

#AWE2016

Page 9: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Aurora borealis above Lyngenfjorden, 2012 March - Simo Räsänen@stefangrambart

Complex branching narratives will experience

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

#AWE2016

Page 10: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Aurora borealis above Lyngenfjorden, 2012 March - Simo Räsänen@stefangrambart

Complex branching narratives will experience

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

#AWE2016

Page 11: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

TANGENTIAL NARRATIVE The audience can explore optional content, but the storyline remains linear.

#AWE2016

Page 12: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)@stefangrambart

244 Story-based quests

8% Form the main plot

#AWE2016

Page 13: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

ELASTIC NARRATIVE Any story branch followed by the audience quickly folds back into the main plot.

#AWE2016

Page 14: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Game Of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014)@stefangrambart

“Choices should feel meaningful, permanent, and

tailored to your story.”- Joshua Rubin

Writer, Telltale Games

#AWE2016

Page 15: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

These models all rely on

PREDESTINED OUTCOMES

#AWE2016

Page 16: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

Is there a model wherein there exists

SPONTANEOUS, COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING?

#AWE2016

Page 17: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 18: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Zero Charisma (2013)@stefangrambart

Tabletop Role-Playing Games

#AWE2016

Page 19: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart

SETTINGRULES CHANCE#AWE2016

Page 20: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

EMERGENT NARRATIVE The audience explores infinite options which fold into a single storyline as choices are made.

#AWE2016

Page 21: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Feng Zhu Design@stefangrambart

The rules, setting, and chance become

A FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING

STORY WORLDS

#AWE2016

Page 22: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

Collaborative storytelling allows for

DYNAMIC OUTCOMES

#AWE2016

Page 23: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart

Dungeon Master Tip #1

CONVERT PLAYER AGENCY

#AWE2016

Page 24: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Steve Wang@stefangrambart

Instead of relying on a predetermined setting, the players can helped create it.

#AWE2016

Page 25: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

PLAYER AGENCY Player interactions have a meaningful impact.

#AWE2016

Page 26: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Mathieu Latour-Duhaime@stefangrambart

What matters most to the players, must matter to the story.

#AWE2016

Page 27: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

DRAMATIC AGENCY Narrative outcomes elicit emotional responses.

#AWE2016

Page 28: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Fallout 4 (2015)@stefangrambart

Games often mistakenly try to force an

EMPATHIC CONNECTION

#AWE2016

Page 29: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart

Dungeon Master Tip #2

FLY-BY AND APPROACH

#AWE2016

Page 30: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Pathfinder@stefangrambart

ON FLY-BY Don’t establish too many details; only give the players what they need to understand the element on a superficial level.

#AWE2016

Page 31: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Feng Zhu Design@stefangrambart

ON APPROACH As the players focus on an element, bring it to life with detail and description. There’s no need to flesh-out elements the players don’t care to explore any further.

#AWE2016

Page 32: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Mela Muter@stefangrambart

THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS French writer Georges Polti grouped every possible dramatic situation in literature, and struggled to find more than thirty-six.

#AWE2016

Page 33: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

RIVALRY OF KIN

The Object Of Rivalry chooses the Preferred Kinsman

over the Rejected Kinsman.

#AWE2016

Page 34: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Wizards of the Coast@stefangrambart

Dungeon Master Tip #3

USE A DRAMATIC STRUCTURE

#AWE2016

Page 35: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Karl Stauffer-Bern@stefangrambart

FIVE ACT STRUCTURE German playwright Gustav Freytag wrote the definitive study of this dramatic structure in 1863, and it’s still used today.

Page 36: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart #AWE2016

1. THE SETUP Introduce the character, their desire, and their world. Create the familiar.

2. SETTING OUT Send the character on a journey; create the unfamiliar.

3. SET PIECE Give the audience what was promised; the movie poster.

4. THE SETBACK Disaster! The character’s karma is all wrong.

5. SETTLING THE SCORE Karma is fixed and paid off.

Page 37: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

We Are A Content Studio For Emerging Platforms

#AWE2016

Page 38: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Sleepy Hollow VR@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 39: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

360 Storyboard

o

#AWE2016

Page 40: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

James Milward, Robin Benty, Noam Dromi, Jay Williams, @stefangrambart

WE WON A PRIMETIME EMMY® The first ever for a virtual reality project, awarded for “Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - User Interface and Visual Design.”

#AWE2016

Page 41: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R, top to bottom) Insidious VR, Ebola Outbreak, Blasters of the Universe, VAN Beethoven@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 42: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

Oculus Rift@stefangrambart

VR BEGS FOR INTERACTION Being present in a virtual space leads the audience to question their identity and agency.

#AWE2016

Page 43: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

CORE CONCEITS OF VIRTUAL REALITY Presence is innate to the medium, but narrative and agency need to be defined, tested, and developed.

#AWE2016

VR

Pres

ence

Narrative

Agency

Page 44: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R, top to bottom) Valkyrie, Land’s End, Lucky’s Tale, World War Toon@stefangrambart #AWE2016

Page 45: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R) Avatar (2009), Up (2009)@stefangrambart

“there’s excitement

around something that, to me, is a yawn.”

“It’s good, but it’s not

storytelling…”

- James Cameron Filmmaker

- Ed Catmull President, Pixar

#AWE2016

Page 46: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart #AWE2016 Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

Page 47: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart #AWE2016 Star Wars (1977)

Page 48: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

(L to R) Colosse (2015), Spore (2008)@stefangrambart

“VR is a new medium, we need

new ideas.”

“We need to be discovering the building

blocks of interactivity…”

- Nick Pittom Director, Fire Panda Games

- Chris Hecker Game Engineer, Spore

#AWE2016

Page 49: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

“Challenge accepted.”- Me

and my big mouth

#AWE2016

Page 50: Stefan Grambart (Secret Location) Emergent Narrative: What We Can Learn from Dungeons and Dragons

@stefangrambart

THANKS! Any Questions?

#AWE2016