Narrative Design

Narrative Design — Story, World & Dialogue

Craft compelling game narratives that serve gameplay rather than fight it — from world-building to dialogue trees to environmental storytelling.

Inputs

• Game concept or GDD (use /game-concept or /game-design-document first)
• Tone and genre (dark fantasy, comedic sci-fi, grounded realism, etc.)
• Narrative delivery method (cutscenes, dialogue, environmental, emergent)
• Player agency level (linear, branching, open-world, procedural)

Step 1: Narrative Framework

Choose the story structure that fits the game:

LINEAR          BRANCHING        HUB & SPOKE      EMERGENT
   │            ┌─B1─┐           ┌──Q1             [Events]
   A            │     │       Hub┤──Q2             [Systems]
   │            A──B2─D          │──Q3             [Combine]
   B            │     │          └──Q4             [Stories]
   │            └─B3─┘
   C
   │
 (RPG,         (Visual         (Open-world        (Roguelike,
  Adventure)    Novel)          RPG)               Sim)

Story Architecture Table

Step 2: World-Building

Build the world in concentric rings — only detail what the player touches:

Ring 1 — IMMEDIATE: What the player sees and interacts with
  → Locations, NPCs, items, environmental details

Ring 2 — CONTEXTUAL: What explains Ring 1
  → History, factions, politics, economy, religion

Ring 3 — DEEP LORE: What enriches but never blocks progress
  → Ancient history, mythology, Easter eggs, codex entries

World Bible Template

## World: [Name]

### Geography & Regions
| Region | Climate | Culture | Conflict | Player Relevance |
|--------|---------|---------|----------|-----------------|
| [name] | [type]  | [desc]  | [desc]   | [what happens here] |

### Factions
| Faction | Goal | Method | Ally/Enemy | Player Interaction |
|---------|------|--------|-----------|-------------------|
| [name]  | [want] | [how] | [relations] | [quests/combat/trade] |

### Timeline
| Era/Event | When | Impact on Present |
|-----------|------|-------------------|
| [event]   | [date] | [consequence]   |

### Rules of the World
- [Magic/Tech system and its limits]
- [Social norms and taboos]
- [What's possible and impossible]

Step 3: Character Design

Character Sheet Template

## [Character Name]
- **Role:** [protagonist / antagonist / mentor / companion / NPC]
- **Archetype:** [hero, trickster, sage, etc.]
- **Want:** [external goal — what they pursue]
- **Need:** [internal goal — what they must learn]
- **Flaw:** [the thing that holds them back]
- **Arc:** [who they are at start] → [who they become]
- **Voice:** [speech patterns, vocabulary, verbal tics]
- **Design Hook:** [one visual/behavioral trait that makes them instantly recognizable]

Character Relationship Map

        MENTOR ──teaches──→ PROTAGONIST ←──opposes── ANTAGONIST
           │                    │    │                    │
        trusts              bonds  conflicts           commands
           │                    │    │                    │
        ALLY ←──rivals──→  COMPANION  RIVAL ←──serves── MINION

Step 4: Dialogue System Design

Dialogue Types

Dialogue Node Structure

[Node ID: intro_merchant_01]
Speaker: Merchant Vela
Condition: player.reputation.town >= 5
Line: "Word travels fast. You're the one who cleared the eastern pass?"

  → [Choice A] "That was me." → [node: merchant_friendly]
     Tag: confident, +reputation
  → [Choice B] "What's it to you?" → [node: merchant_suspicious]
     Tag: aggressive, -reputation
  → [Choice C] [Say nothing] → [node: merchant_default]
     Tag: silent

Writing Style Guide

• Show, don't tell — reveal world through conversation, not exposition dumps
• Every line serves two purposes — advance plot AND reveal character
• Read it aloud — if it sounds unnatural spoken, rewrite it
• Match vocabulary to character — a soldier and a scholar don't use the same words
• Subtext over text — what characters don't say matters more than what they do

Step 5: Environmental Storytelling

Design stories told without words:

Step 6: Narrative Integration Checklist

• Story supports core gameplay — narrative motivates player actions
• Player agency is respected — choices have visible consequences
• Pacing matches gameplay — story beats align with difficulty curves
• Lore is discoverable, not mandatory — completionists find more, not a wall
• Characters react to game state — acknowledge player achievements/failures
• Environmental details reinforce theme — world tells the same story as dialogue

Output

Save to artifacts/game-design/[project-name]-narrative.md

Guidelines

• Gameplay first — story serves the game, not the other way around
• Kill your darlings — if lore doesn't enhance the player experience, cut it
• Don't write a novel — write a world that generates stories
• Players remember how a moment felt, not what was said
• Test dialogue by reading it aloud in character — awkward phrasing breaks immersion
• Use /game-design-document to ensure narrative aligns with the GDD