Marv Albert. Here is what our character bible would say about Hangnail's protagonist:

Game Growth

by: Sebastian Gross
The bible deals solely with story and its parts. Whereas the design doc guides the creation of the complete gaming expertise, the bible controls the sport's interactive screenplay.
Log Line
For instance we're working on a recreation titled Hangnail,” the latest game inspired by Quake. Hangnail's bible would come with a remedy” or synopsis of the game's story. That therapy ought to embrace one- or two-sentence evaluations of the story's starting, middle, and end. In some cases, the treatment might go into higher element, stretching from one page to twenty or more, if the designer or recreation author selected to essentially flesh out the story in the design stage. If the sport's narrative is really based mostly on cinematic story development, the story may embrace first, second, and third act opinions. Go away those bits to your author—we waste hours worrying about that act-structure nonsense. On the very least, the synopsis should include a log line,” or a quick evaluation of the game's story, like this:
Hangnail:
Synopsis: A giant, robust man with heaps of muscle tissues and a heart of gold walks by mazes and kills a lot of stuff to battle evil, discover his boxed lunch, and save the way forward for humanity…at least till the sequel comes out.
Characters
The second portion of the bible would come with character critiques. A very powerful component of any effective narrative, whether it is in a recreation, a film, a TV present, or a novel, is nice characters. They should have well-rounded histories and strong motivations. Most importantly, they should be clearly drawn out so anybody who reads the bible or works on the sport sees the identical individual of their minds. If a writer or designer creates a game revolving around a Schwarzenegger-sort action hero and fail to explain his all-American, psychopathic personality, the artist or renderer might find yourself drawing Marv Albert. Here is what our character bible would say about Hangnail's protagonist:
Character Identify: Dirk Squarejaw
Age: Late 20s
Look: Ruggedly handsome and within the kind of impossibly fine condition that you simply'd have to spend 25 hours a day in a fitness center to realize.
Equipment: Loss of life Ray of Loss of life, Grenade of Extreme Owies, Swiss Military Knife of Animosity, Pulse Cannon of Gentle Mood Swings.
Attributes: Splendidly and relentlessly violent. With an overdeveloped sense of honor. Devoted to saving all life on Earth, or at the least all attractive women on Earth. He enjoys portray in splattered blood, wet days, long walks on the seashore, thermonuclear devices, and backgammon.
Background: Orphaned at birth and raised by wolves, Dirk was rescued by nuns on the age of four. The nuns instilled in the younger Dirk his sense of honor and his bizarre obsession with backgammon. When the evil villain, Normal Payne, destroyed the nuns' village to hijack all their dice, Dirk set out on his lifelong quest to finish evil around the globe. He won't ever relaxation until Payne is defeated, peace and justice restored, and double sixes rolled in every single place.
All the data in the character description above might be distilled into one lengthy paragraph entry, if the designer chooses to limit the size or the scope of the bible. However, each character within the recreation (even supporting gamers) ought to be presented on this identical element.
Such enriching character sketches can present inspiration when planning sport maps or missions (relying on the sport's style). For example, in Hangnail's case, given Dirk's devotion to backgammon, the designer might construct a maze or a level by which the objective is to slaughter all of Basic's Payne's agents to get well their sick-gotten cube.
Character description and background is one area where a narrative bible can actually enrich an interactive game. If the bible can draw out a recreation's central character with convincing depth and element, the manufacturing can current an attention-grabbing and exciting person around which you can construct a sport and story.
In some circumstances, the participant becomes that character. In other games, the participant merely guides an already existing character. In both case, the story bible can define what the main characters needs! That's the important thing. Your complete game story should be constructed around what the main character or hero needs and needs. Once that's pinpointed (be it the damsel in misery, a magic amulet, or the enemy capital), a designer can build a complete game around that quest. Battles in the cold reaches of house. Races by way of monster-crammed mazes. Puzzle-solving by way of a haunted library. Something that makes the game more entertaining can stand between the hero and the purpose. But, the aim should be clear, ever-current, and motivated. The story bible can assist a design group do that.
In another instance, if Dirk was afraid of water because his wolf mother and father could not swim, the designer may want to create an underwater level and cause Dirk's air provide to disappear shortly because he hyperventilates too easily.
Utilizing a technique like this, through which you outline the background, attributes, age, appearance, and equipment of a character, may also help guarantee actually motivated and pleasant characters and offers the design staff ideas for gameplay. A recreation's characters should be compelling. If the participant turns into a hero within the sport, that hero should be attractive enough that the participant desires to imagine that persona. A recreation villain needs to be rotten sufficient that the participant generates real passion and satisfaction from defeating her or him.
A necessary rule of thumb states that each character, even probably the most incredibly butch of heroes, must have weaknesses or shortcomings. If a character appears too all-powerful and has every ability imaginable down pat, no participant will consider he or she might presumably lose or die. You don't have to make your hero or heroine a simpering wimp, but don't make them invulnerable. Even Superman has his kryptonite.
In the final document, Dirk's bible entry would possibly embody an artist's sketch (if created early within the game development process) or a 3D rendering (if created farther along in the improvement process) which might also be the precise avatar used in the game if the product makes it that far along.
To digress for just a second, I have approached the usage of game bibles for story growth solely from the angle of the hero to this point. These days, video games reminiscent of Bullfrog's Dungeon Keeper and LucasArts' Dark Forces II have made it doable for players to assume the function of the villain. Nevertheless, that does not turn the narrative rule on its ear—the same guidelines nonetheless apply. A villain additionally has wants and needs. In the very best situation, the unhealthy guy wants precisely the same thing because the hero. In drama and writing programs, that's referred to as the Law of Conflicting Need.” A great story (and therefore a good sport, if it has story parts) has a protagonist and an antagonist wanting the same factor for perfectly reverse reasons. We usually want the hero to get to that aim earlier than the villain. Nevertheless, in video games where we grow to be the villain, we assume the motivations of the villain. The bible ought to define the history, character, and motivation of the unhealthy guy as well as the hero. That way, if we turn into the antagonist in gameplay, it really works simply as well if we had chosen the hero's function.
Sebastian Gross


by Sharon Housley