Narrative Design Analysis
One of the best ways to learn about narrative design is to simply play games and experience the stories they tell first-hand. EASY PEASY! However, there is a difference between playing something and looking deeply at how it tells its story. This is where the Narrative Design Analysis template I use comes in handy.
I started doing game design analysis notes years ago based on an old Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra) article I can no longer find. (Sorry to the person who inspired this, I want to give you credit!) Then as my work focus shifted from game design to narrative design I altered the template to be more useful to me.
Just have the template set up in your notes app of choice. Then copy and fill it out when you've either finished a game's story or decided to stop playing it. For lots of games, I keep it fairly high level but for a few, I will go super in-depth and break things down accordingly. Some of the prompts require more detail than others to fully answer but the whole thing usually takes me around 10-20mins to fill out.
The Narrative Design prompts are the main focus with the General Notes serving as mini-review/context for the narrative notes.
Things to remember:
Bullet points are your friend and will keep things concise!
This is for you so use whatever personal shorthand you prefer.
Re-read the notes you've made every once in a while.
You will miss things and that's fine, the methods and ideas that jump out to you are key.
Anyway here is the template followed by a filled-out example:
Template
Key Info
Title:
Platform:
Genre:
Playtime:
Made by:
Narrative Design
What are the methods of narrative delivery?
What created dissonance between the player, story and game?
What are the stand out narrative moments?
General Notes
What is the really good stuff in the game?
Are there any possible improvements?
What is the core of the game?
What did the game mean to you?
Key Takeaways
Takeaway 1
Takeaway 2
Takeaway 3
Example - Cyberpunk 2077
LEGAL NOTE: The views and opinions expressed below are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views of my employer.
Key Info
Platform: PS4 (running on PS5)
Genre: Openworld ARPG
Playtime: ~50 hours
Made by: CD Projekt Red
Narrative Design
What are the methods of narrative delivery?
World and Environment Design
Each area of the city feels unique, has its own style and controlling faction
Billboards and advertisements (news feed in elevators)
Meticulous environmental design of some areas tells some really interesting stories - abandoned mall area was meant to be a hip new area but eventually became a demilitarized zone
Pick a direction to walk in and you’ll quickly find something interesting to look at.
I rarely fast travel instead I prefer to hop on my bike or in a car, crank up the radio and drive - soaking it all in
Data Shards, Files and Emails
Backstory text files found in the environment
Range from conversations to book excerpts to news articles and more
Completely optional to read but you get a richer understanding of the world if you engage with them
Really help connect the dots of the setting - which can be a very confusing place at times
Lots of duplication which is a good and bad thing
Good: It means you're more likely to find important lore
Bad: If you're actively hunting these collectables down you see the same things again and again, and again.
Radio
Adds flavour to the world
Keeps the player updated on key events
Great way to be in and of the world while driving between points on the map
NPC Details
Procedural??? - or at least randomised
Key info on scanned NPCs - criminal history, current standing, etc.
Micro details tell a story on their own
This content is very small on-screen and presented as part of more gameplay focused enemy info
Branching
Yellow text
Branches the conversation and advances the story
If you have multiple yellow options it is often a point of no return in the convo
The player is shaping their version of V with these choices
Implications on the wider story - subtle and overt changes
Blue text
Optional “more details please” dialogue, mainly conversational but can lead to extra rewards and options if you have the right skills
Icons
Life path specific choices
These are great when they pop up and make that lifepath choice feel important
Skill-based choices
Can be under or over skilled which blocks options which is cool
No chance of failure, you either have the right stat range on the check or not.
Missions and Side Missions
Missions take you into the heart of an area of the city and introduce you to the faction that controls it which is either informed by or informs side gigs depending on your approach.
Lots of engaging with NPCs and V very much being in the middle of things
Choices and approaches can affect the overall story of the game (in small ways) or just mission (medium ways) or even encounter (big ways)
Side missions allow you to get to know secondary characters and even romance some of them
Main missions are overall quite serious - Side missions are a mix of serious, lighthearted and absurd
Side Gigs
No impact on the main narrative but inform the story of areas of the city and NPC factions
Stopping crimes, stealing stuff, dealing with cyber psychos, etc.
Your V (and Jonny)
The great thing about the game’s stats and perks system is that it really does impact how you interact with the world.
Stats give you specific dialogue choices and micro branches
Stats also allow you to access different areas in different ways (high strength forcing doors open, high tech picking locks)
Perks give you a unique toolset that reflects and enhances your style of play and in turn your V as a character.
Your relationship with Jonny also impacts your V - moving them closer or further apart has implied implications on the narrative even if they’re paid off or not.
My Nomad pistol-wielding super hacker and crafter V feels unique to me
In conversations with other characters, V is a character in the vain of Geralt. Somewhat defined in terms of their personality but you direct their approach to a situation.
The female V (props to the voice work) really gives players a licence to regularly say, fuck it and cut loose and it works. It doesn’t feel like it has a negative impact or is the “bad or evil choice” it is just one of many approaches V could have had to the situation.
What created dissonance between the player, story and game?
The city only moves when you move
Stuff that should be random chance encounters are fixed events
Most Blue icons break the narrative reality of the game - the mugging will be happening forever until you decide to intervene.
Side gig in a diner that caused it to become subject to attempted robbery - It didn't feel like random chance it all felt very forced.
Some missions and content require waiting for time to move but most do not - I failed an interesting side mission involving V's neighbour because I thought the game would wait for me - it didn’t. This is the only case I’ve seen of this behaviour in the game. This leads me to think it is either a fake-out or a holdover from more day/night cycle based content.
I'm pretty sure the cops have been surveying the crime scene outside of V's apartment for a good few months of in-game time at this point.
Broke the logic/order of a couple of stories in a few missions - minor quibble but still annoying.
Escalation in missions often happens off-screen and is confusing as a result. You get a call telling you shit is hitting the fan then you deal with the aftermath. Which makes V very reactionary as a protagonist at times.
BUGS the odd bug here and there in a game is fine, it is part of what makes games...games but man there are so many minor bugs that they are a compounding issue.
V is an item vacuum with an inventory full of useless junk that quickly becomes meaningless
What are the stand out narrative moments?
Convo with Johnny post interrogation, it gets philosophical in a good way. It was the moment I got his character and why he behaves the way he does.
Just to note: The main narrative is pretty strong overall.
Some side mission chains are really interesting
Convicted criminal planning to live stream their execution - it skirts the line of decency and uses the setting of the game to talk about the issues of today.
The street racing storyline has layers - It is just a shame you have to take part in the most boring racing sections to get to the good stuff.
Jonny flashbacks - they always happen at the right time, give you just enough info and really flesh out the backstory of the world.
General Notes
What is the really good stuff in the game?
V as a character (at least female V) is surprisingly well realised and consistent regardless of the choices you make.
Different areas of the city have their own look and feel
At higher levels, the combat is that good kind of chaotic, sit just takes a long time to get to that point.
Are there any possible improvements?
Fixing all the minor bugs....
Making the open-world city feel more like an open-world city. It is currently this weird theme park where things only happen because you are there.
More / Stronger side mission chains that focus on interacting with the various factions that make up the city. You only really engage with them on the main path. It would be cool to pick sides and play things out from there (like the faction choices seen in similar games like Skyrim/Fallout)
More lifepath content! It is one of the best things in the game and it is over so quickly and mostly ignored apart from the odd choice here or there.
Be less offensive for clicks - This is more to do with the game’s marketing but there is some semblance of it in the game. If you know, you know.
What is the core of the game?
Being a super badass merc in a cyberpunk dystopia.
What did the game mean to you?
A missed opportunity,
Some great moments of narrative mired by the mess around them both in and out of the game.
Key Takeaways
Make the cities in your games feel like cities
Block branches by being over skilled rather than under-skilled (a very fun idea)
Don't release games before they are ready