Enhance Player Connection to the Storyline
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- Introduce Story Questions
- Make the Setting Compelling
- Keep the Right Pacing
- Introduce Multiple Characters
- Make Players Care About the Characters
- Introduce Difficult Choices
- Make Sure Players Care About the Outcome of Their Decisions
- Introduce Interesting Situations
- Keep Some Headroom for Your Stakes to Go Higher
Encouraging players to become emotionally invested in your story involves motivating them to anticipate upcoming events. They should feel as though they are actively shaping the story, rather than merely following a predetermined path. Players seek to create their own narratives through activities they find engaging. Whether they are searching for treasure, rescuing a princess, or defeating evil, players want to see how the story unfolds—regardless of whether the game offers a single ending or multiple outcomes.
Introduce Story Questions
Story questions function like objectives within levels, providing players with motivation to progress. The answers to these questions drive the narrative forward and inspire players to uncover the full story. Consider these questions as incentives to reveal the plot. Your story may contain both major and minor questions. The answers to the minor questions can serve as pieces of a puzzle that help answer the larger ones. Be cautious to provide just enough information to keep these questions unresolved, as this maintains narrative tension and player engagement.
Make the Setting Compelling
Design your story’s setting in a way that encourages exploration. Players should feel curious about who or what resides in each location, as well as what secrets or surprises may be hidden there.
Keep the Right Pacing
Revealing too many events too quickly may cause confusion, as players will not have sufficient time to understand the characters or the world in which they exist. Conversely, including excessive and unnecessary detail can clutter the narrative and slow its momentum. The goal is to present enough detail to immerse players in the story, but in moderation, so the game maintains a steady pace and continues to motivate players to advance.
Introduce Multiple Characters
Relying solely on the main character (the player character) may result in a narrative dominated by monologues. Introducing additional characters allows the story to unfold in a more natural and dynamic way. In real life, we understand the world and its stories through interactions—both verbal and non-verbal—with others.
Make Players Care About the Characters
Refer to the section Develop Characters That Players Care About for detailed strategies on developing characters that resonate with players.
Introduce Difficult Choices
Place characters in situations that require them to make challenging decisions. This adds dramatic weight and unpredictability to your story, as the outcomes are uncertain and compel players to wonder what will happen next.
Make Sure Players Care About the Outcome of Their Decisions
To ensure players care about the consequences of their choices, let those decisions significantly impact the fate of characters.
Example:
In an RPG, a group of friends pleads with the player to save their beloved companion.
Players need to care about the results of their own actions—or the actions of others—especially when those results affect people or events they consider important.
Example:
If a player fails to defuse a bomb, non-player characters they have grown attached to may perish.
When there are meaningful stakes, players feel they have something to lose. Conversely, if there are no real consequences, the stakes feel hollow. If players must make sacrifices, they need to fight for something of personal value. The stakes need not involve the player character’s life alone; they may also involve valuable items, personal goals, or cherished in-game relationships. Low stakes may lead to disinterest, whereas high, tangible stakes intensify emotional investment.
Example:
If a friendly NPC faces an immediate threat, eliminating it should save the NPC’s life. Failing to do so should result in the NPC’s demise.
Introduce Interesting Situations
Incorporate engaging scenarios to enrich your story. These may include:
Unexpected plot twists.
Interpersonal conflicts.
Suspense-building situations.
Numerous scenes in Strange Brigade effectively build tension.
Credit: Rebellion Developments. Footage captured by the author.
Changes in narrative pace, such as action-packed sequences.
Witty or impactful dialogue.
A powerful and memorable conclusion.
Keep Some Headroom for Your Stakes to Go Higher
To escalate tension and build toward a climactic moment later in the story, avoid introducing the highest stakes too early. If the stakes are maximized too soon, it becomes difficult to heighten tension further. Leave room for escalation so that the narrative can naturally intensify and culminate in a satisfying climax.