depends on the working style of the team, particularly the lead designer and script-
writer, who may or may not be the same person. Certainly many great authors have
managed to write novels far more complex than your game is likely to be without keep-
ing more than a few scribbled notes to themselves, if that. Many complex films have
only had a script to go on for their stories, with the actors responsible for interpreting
their characters’ motivations based only on the lines they are supposed to speak. It may
be that the script’s author created a story bible for his own personal use, and never saw
fit to share it with anyone else. The story bible is a tool that can help in the creation of
the game’s story, but it may not be a tool that every scriptwriter or game designer feels
the need to use.
Script...................................
If a game has a story, it is quite likely that at some point players will be asked to listen to
narration, hear characters talking, or read information about upcoming missions. This
dialog and the accompanying descriptions of the situations during which the dialog
occurs (stage directions) should be contained within the game’s script. A game’s script
may be written by a variety of people: a designer, an artist, the game’s producer, or
someone whose only role on the project is to write the script, someone who was specif-
ically hired for his dialog writing skills.
The script may take on different forms depending on what type of game events the
dialog will accompany. For instance, if the game has film-style cut-scenes, the script
may closely resemble a movie script, with descriptions of the actions the players wit-
ness and rough indications of what the camera is looking at for any given instant. Or the
script for these cut-scenes may be more like that of a play, focusing primarily on the dia-
log. For in-game conversations, the script will focus primarily on the dialog, since
players are still in control of the game and thereby in control of what direction the
game’s camera is pointing. But a script for the in-game cut-scenes might include “stage
directions” or “set directions” along with descriptions for the accompanying character
animations to assist the artist in creating the appropriate motions to accompany the
dialog.
For instance, here is an excerpt of a script that could be used for a cut-scene in an
adventure game:
When the PLAYER approaches PAUL and SANDY after resurrecting the TREE
OF PLENTY, PAUL will be visibly thrilled at the player’s arrival. He immediately
bursts into effusive praise for the player’s accomplishments:
PAUL: That’s just the solution we have been praying for! You have saved our
great Tree, and nothing we can do could ever thank you enough. Please accept
this token of our appreciation...
PAUL tosses a BAG OF FLIMFLAMS at the player’s feet. SANDY steps forward:
SANDY: [Apologetically] We know it’s not much, but...
PAUL: [Interrupting] It’s all we have!
SANDY: [Cowering] Please do not hate us for our poverty...Chapter 17: Game Development Documentation 313