Exploring the Role of Narrative Puzzles in Game Storytelling


Wei Huaxin Durango Betty
2019 DiGRA '19 - Proceedings of the 2019 DiGRA International Conference: Game, Play and the Emerging Ludo-Mix

In this paper, we consider narrative puzzles in story-driven video games as distinct design elements of great narrative importance. While many scholars and designers focus on the inner workings and mechanisms of puzzles, we delve deeper into the role that puzzles play in the unfolding and the player’s experience of game plot. Drawing on examples from a variety of games that are rich in narrative puzzles, we present an initial taxonomy of the functions a narrative puzzle can perform for game storytelling and discuss their potential implications. Through the analysis and discussion, the paper aspires to contribute to both game analysis and game design with a new analytical lens as well as description of some potential design patterns that involve narrative puzzles.

 

Games as Travel Guides: A Look at Meaningful Downloadable Content and Its Connection to Locational Context


Durango Betty Wei Huaxin
2016 Chinese DiGRA '16

This paper aims to discuss the surging phenomenon of games placing more focus on locational context to create stories and play concepts as well as collaboration with local businesses. The latest trend of distributing exclusive downloadable content (DLC) at location-specific events acts as an incentive for gamers to travel locally or overseas. Such strategies help to promote traffic for places both from an environmental perspective and from a cultural perspective. The paper therefore will identify various opportunities of how content development could make an impact on a larger economic scale on the gaming industry, the tourism industry, and local businesses.