Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: A Player-Centered Approach to Creating Memorable Characters and Stories Josiah Lebowitz 9780240817170

What really makes a video game story interactive?
What's the best way to create an interactive story?
How much control should players be given?
Do they really want that control in the first place?
Do they even know what they want-or are their stated desires at odds with the unconscious preferences?

All of these questions and more are examined in this definitive book on interactive storytelling for video games. You'll get detailed descriptions of all major types of interactive stories, case studies of popular games (including Bioshock, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, and Metal Gear Solid), and how players interact with them, and an in-depth analysis of the results of a national survey on player storytelling preferences in games. You'll get the expert advice you need to generate compelling and original game concepts and narratives.With Interactive Storytelling for Video Games, you'll:

Lebowitz and Klug's tag-team approach to the subject makes this an engaging read, even for seasoned interactive storytellers. The combination of Lebowitz's theory and Klug's field experience present both new and experienced game writers with both the promises, and the challenges, of experimenting with game narratives. The use of diverse case studies, which cover everything from the classic Final Fantasy VII to the Japanese visual novel genre, provide readers with the opportunity to engage Lebowitz and Klug's ideas and inspire innovation in their own writing. The exercises and questions both guide readers through the key points, and encourage application and exploration, perfect for a classroom setting.
-Kathleen Dunley, Faculty Chair-English, Rio Salado College

Interactive Storytelling in Games is a great primer for students, educators, and writers looking to move into this increasingly prominent profession. The authors explain branching dialogue clearly and carefully, covering many details that are ordinarily lost on writers of other types of fiction, as well as the designers of many games! This book will help you understand what makes games tick, how to tell stories using them, and what players really want out of their games and stories. It's thought-provoking, intelligent, and founded on a combination of experience and research that's hard to match.-Chris Keeling, Course Director, Game Design, Full Sail University; Executive Committee Member, IGDA Game Writing SIG

Lebowitz and Klug's tag-team approach to the subject makes this an engaging read, even for seasoned interactive storytellers. The combination of Lebowitz's theory and Klug's field experience present both new and experienced game writers with both the promises, and the challnges, of experimenting with game narratives. The use of diverse case studies, which cover everything from the classic Final Fantasy VII to the Japanese visual novel genre, provide readers with the opportunity to engage Lebowitz and Klug's ideas and inspire innovation in their own writing. The exercises and questions both guide readers through the key points, and encourage application and exploration, perfect for a classroom setting.
-Kathleen Dunley, Faculty Chair-English, Rio Salado College