Discussion panel Storytelling through game mechanics
summary
Panel argues concrete ways to tell story with systems: environmental layout in Dark Souls and Inside, timed failure via an oxygen HUD in Event Zero, awkward limb mapping in Octodad controls to create comic unease, and losing a playable sibling to remove inputs in Brothers to evoke grief. Notes that text can be expensive once localized to 18+ languages, so designers use light UI signals, music shifts, and coin-as-resource economy (Kingdom) to make consequences visible rather than verbose. Examples and tradeoffs are compared.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:12What is storytelling through game mechanics
- 4:24Text as story delivery
- 7:58Text pros and cons in narrative
- 11:59Non-text story delivery
- 13:48Emotions as narrative foundation
- 17:42Games with strong emotions
- 22:06Narrative mechanics in big projects
- 24:38Future of game storytelling
- 34:16Narrative trends and predictions
- 42:51Q&A on game choices
- 51:01Games with unique narrative
- 55:38Visual story and world objects
- 57:26Text role in game genres
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