What Does it Make a Fascinating Storytelling in Video Games?

Sure there are video games with no specific background story at all. But, looking at these games closely, you will see a lot is happening within them. For example, take chess or card. They do not hold any conventional background story.

However, there are characters, a specific world, a progression, and a full-fledged plot. The plot concerns mission, conspiracy, war, death, and victory. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Still, the presentation manner is different from the storytelling in video games.

On the other hand, when you look at the success of video games like God of War, Prince of Persia, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and a few like these, you will get the essence of a well-crafted backdrop story of video games. These games reflect the significance of a good story for video games.

Take the example of God of War. The backstory follows the thrilling and action-filled adventure of Kratos, a Spartan warrior. His mission is to kill Ares, the former Greek God of War. Therefore, a creative backdrop story is essential for heavy-action-adventure RPG games like God of War.

In modern video games, there are heroes, villains, their conflicts, and a relevant imaginary world. Developers need to provide players with stories to give them context as to what they are doing.

In this advanced age, when approx. 3.03 billion gamers are thriving worldwide (Statista), and gamers' demand is evolving quickly.

Besides the game mechanism and actions, people are now prioritizing storytelling in video games. Consequently, weaving a compelling background story becomes a sensational part of mobile game development.

Here, we will share a few crucial tips to craft compelling background stories for your video games and how to evoke storytelling in video games.

The Elements of Video Game Background Story

A flawless video game narrative always mirrors the balance between the characters and their distinct characteristics and personalities. Ideal backdrop storytelling in video games holds two principal elements:

• Player-character dynamic
• Interactive space for the player to explore

The player-character dynamic must ensure that the player will always think the action seems suitable for the character. Developers should always present all the narrative parts clearly to the players before diving into the game.

Besides developing a solid player-character dynamic, developers must consider making the story interactive. However, every video game story must offer some form of interaction. The interactive elements are the core things that make a game alluring to the players. Otherwise, it will seem like a movie. Apart from the Player-character dynamic, fusing the game with interactive elements is crucial for compelling storytelling in video games.

What Does it Make a Fascinating Storytelling in Video Games?

A fascinating video game backstory comprises multiple features like the game mechanics, the conflict between hero and villain, the interactive elements, the imaginary world, Etc. But besides these features, what makes a compelling video game backstory? What is the secret sauce of superb storytelling in video games? Let's discuss this in detail.

Creating the Video Game World

Every video game story starts with an imaginary world. Although it is a video game, developers must offer players a complete geographical location idea.

• Which continents does this world have?
• Which cities are there?
• Who lives here?
• Are there exciting landmarks?
• What could spawn conflict in this world?
• How did the nations come to their current form?
• Are there contested borders?
• Do people have enough resources? (food, water, wood, etc.)
• What technologies must exist?
• Should you consider teleportation or magic?
• Are there specific cultures?

When you have the background world in your mind, you can use it as a guideline for your characters' backstories. You need to do that to ensure your effort to produce compelling storytelling in video games is a distant dream.

Developing Characters

It can be mentioned that characters are the heart of a video game. Moreover, characters design helps developers to maintain the storytelling in video games. Players relate themselves to the characters.

Characters animation helps players to port themselves into the in-game scenario. Like real-life characters, in-game characters also have history, specific characteristics, and flaws.

• Think about what kind of characters suit your video game world.
• In what environment did your in-game characters grow up?
• What are the average ages of your characters?
• Do they excel in any specific skills?
• What are the characters' personalities?
• What kind of look and appearance do you want to give your characters?
• Are there any specific things they like?

Above all, events and game environments shape characters and their personalities.

Crafting Storyline

After deciding on the characters and backdrop geography, craft the grand storyline. And the great storyline is all about the conflict between the hero and villain. A seasoned developer only reveals part of the conflict at a time.

The conflict gets more profound with the progression of the game levels. Whether it is an adventure or battle, reveal the conflicts layer by layer across the game levels.

Before plunging into crafting the storytelling in video games, ask yourself,

• Which nations or rulers conflict?
• What is the history of the hero and villain?
• What is the role of the hero in the grand scheme of things?
• Which unknowns do you want to reveal along the way?
• How are different characters plotting and clashing?

We can take the example of Game of Thrones. The characters and storyline got intertwined in such a brilliant way that the players can feel the characters breathing and bleeding along the grand storyline.

Nothing seemed irrelevant or exaggerated. There is a history behind every character and their actions. The whole storytelling in video games appears well-knitted and perfect.

Related post: Video Game Monetization - Strategies to Maximize Your Profit

Final Words

Yes, crafting a great video game backstory that will hit the crowd is not a piece of cake. But it is pretty easy too. You must mingle your creativity and observation to knit the most exciting storytelling in video games.

Put all of your efforts and imagination into creating a deeply engaging storyline for your video games. If any doubt crosses your mind, let others listen to your ideas. You will get critical, constructive feedback to work on your storyline.

EDIIIE holds supreme experience in crafting video game background stories. If you have any project in mind, consult with us.