Linking the Narrative to the Game

Since I started making video games, my thoughts about game narrative have changed a lot. And my experience with the subject has been a really challenging one.

In the beginning, I thought that all you needed is to create a good story to complement the gameplay. However, after studying game design and working on Deathroned, I realized this was not the main objective.

In my opinion, a video game’s narrative is important because it helps the player feel more immersed in the game. It gives meaning and coherence, helping the player to figure out what they have to do. Video games have a great advantage over other media—the player is part of the story and empathizes with the main character, sharing their successes and defeats.

Video games utilize different methods to convey their stories, like videos, dialogues, and animations. Due to our lack of time and resources, we cannot provide that kind of experience in Deathroned. As a result, trying to create a good narrative for our gameplay has been a great challenge for me.

Keeping this in mind, I focused on what I think is the best approach: linking the narrative since the beginning to our gameplay and environment.

This way, our story is showed directly as you play it. The environment, the palace, the colors and contrasts, everything is directly linked to the narrative. The gameplay also includes magic combat, enemies, and mechanics that show our intention and give charisma to Ayla Qand, our main character.

I have focused on providing the best quality to the different elements of the lore and character design. Furthermore, players will not feel confused for not having cutscenes, videos, and extensive dialogue, as the entire game is constantly speaking to them. Details like the sentences written on the palace or Ayla’s spoken comments as she progresses in her adventure make the player empathize with her and live the exciting experience of Deathroned.