At the heart of Optix is a puzzle game where the player has to figure out the shortest way to the exit. Why include a story? I occasionally question the necessity of a storyline when playing casual games because the mechanics and level design should stand up without any arbitrary plot or setting. Simply put, a story can give any game a sense of context, fun or emotion. It’s another way to connect with the player. Sounds obvious.
The core mechanic of this game is colour mixing. Stripped down, it is a simple game where you rebound a disc against other objects in order to change its colour. It seems like a strong enough idea on its own and I’d hate to be accused of ‘tacking on a narrative’ where it isn’t necessary. Yet this is an opportunity to improve on something that I already think is good, so I’m wondering how I can use this game to tell a story and to connect with people on a different level.
One ground rule. If we’re going to have a story, it must serve to enhance the game. Equally, the game must enhance the story.
How do you tell a story when your levels are a series of apparently unlinked screens or environments? Well, fellow puzzler Portal linked its levels through the medium of a scientific test facility. It seems like an elegant solution, so I have taken this main idea and placed the player into a network of tanks, where they must solve puzzles consecutively in order to progress through the network. Deciding on this setting helped trigger further ideas for the story. (Note: I am not copying Portal any more than any more than most fantasy MMORPGs copy Tolkien’s Middle Earth setting (and whoever he copied it from)).
One of my favourite approaches to story telling in any game, not just the puzzle genre, is in These Robotic Hearts of Mine by Alan Hazeldean (Draknek). In his game too, each level consists of a single screen with a puzzle to solve. The story in Robotic Hearts is revealed to the player one line at at time before each level, with the correct solution to each puzzle also relating to the story visually. The levels are linked by the story and therefore do not feel like isolated screens but essential parts of an overall narrative. It also has a wonderful ending, so please play it!
So there is time to tell a story in a puzzle game between levels.
I like the idea of revealing the story to the player slowly. I enjoyed how the ‘glyph’ minigames in Assassin’s Creed II hinted at backstory through short audio soundbites. I want the player to find out what Isaac is really doing in the tanks. Since he can’t freely investigate the facility, he is only able to overhear conversations from the scientists experimenting on him. I want to start each level with a snippet of conversation between two scientists, building a sense of intrigue and mystery.
I already have the ‘meat’ of the story sorted and probably gave too much away when announcing this game! I am working to build a title that will surprise players with a story that sets a mood and keeps them guessing.
Bzzz 