GDCO Notes - Transmedia with the Halo Universe

Building Transmedia Worlds in Halo 4

Speakers: Kevin Grace (343 Industries), Armando Troisi (343 Industries)

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Spoilers Included -> Transmedia, Halo Universe, 4 Principles, and QA

Transmedia -> TV, comics, game, novels, Halo Waypoint, animated series, live-action series

Halo Universe

                Transmedia Hierarchy:

                                { TV, Comic, Novel, etc. } all point to Halo 4

Organization:

                { 343 Industries } points to { Franchise, Game Team, Consumer Products Team }  which point to each-other

Why do transmedia?

1)      Create new storytelling opportunities

2)      Promote accessibility

3)      Keep fans engaged all the time

Challenges of transmedia?

1)      Coordinating content

2)      Focusing all efforts

3)      Curating the fiction; there is a reason behind everything

4 Principles Summary

1)      Enable your partners

a.       Hire good employees; make good contacts

2)      No required reading/playing to get into the Halo universe

3)      Room to grow

a.       Let the medium direct the flow towards the medium’s strengths

4)      Tell the right story in the right channel

4 Principles Expanded

1)      Don’t hire vendors … create permanent partnerships

a.       Don’t dictate; guide

                                                                          i.      Ex: Greg Bear and “Halo Cryptorium”

                                                                        ii.      Halo team game him info of what was coming-up in the Halo universe

                                                                      iii.      Team gave him requirements of major timeline points/character traits

2)      Reward fans for participation in the transmedia lore

a.       Don’t punish the ‘casual’ fan who only plays a little/one type of media

b.      Sequential model: // doesn’t work for Halo

                                                                          i.      Universal Plan: Do a novel, then game, then novel, then game, etc.

c.       Supplementary model: // helps with building Halo; can always add to it

                                                                          i.      Each channel can stand alone

                                                                        ii.      Each channel supports other channels through connections in events/lore

                                                                      iii.      Ex: Halo Terminals! -> Prologue Terminal on Halo Waypoint

                                                                       iv.      Ex: Forward Unto Dawn -> words in Halo 4 are framed from action series

3)      Understand media/audience; play to the strengths of the media!

a.       Don’t enforce canon; manage it

4)      Ex: Games are action; novels are politics and feeling; etc.

(Questions)

How much is planned in advance for the universe?

                No endpoint is planned.  The “Halo Bible” is very fluid.  But, there is less and less detail going farther into the future.

Use separate teams for each media?

                Yes!  ‘Keep feet in 2 ponds’ and ‘not all eggs in 1 basket’.  Create personal connections between and outside of teams.

Do you decide on channel (media) or story first?

                Story first (the universe plan).

What if a mistake is made in lore?

                It happens.  However, it can add details that may challenge fan perception.

How to use analytics for deciding the direction of the franchise?

                The direction is more an art than science.

GDCO Notes - Chris Avellone, Making Fallout DLC

A 4 Hour Story in 400 Simple Steps: Fallout DLC

Speaker: Chris Avellone (Creative Director - Obsidian Entertainment)

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Approach DLC:

1)      Examine the reality of the situation; what will get the game done?

2)      Due diligence – do research and read reviews

a.       They (Obsidian) knew they could do 4 DLCs for Fallout: New Vegas

b.      They knew they were only ~4 hours long

c.       Only 10,000 lines of dialogue between 4 DLCs!!!

d.      DLCs were self-contained adventures

e.      Through research: there would be 4 areas

f.        They didn’t know much about the character :(

3)      Team must have a hierarchy

a.       System Designer to -> Level Designer to -> Narrative Designer

b.      Break down individual sections (Systems/Levels/Narrative) into who had what strengths

c.       (notes missing)

4)      Have a Dialogue Standards document (answering questions such as:)

a.       Double space or single?

b.      Tone direction? Ex: “{sarcastic} I love you, {Dah-la} Dala.”

c.       Pronunciation; capitalization

5)      For plot: As a player, why do you care?

a.       What do factions do for a character?

6)      Pitch!

a.       Ensure that no lore conflicts exist

b.      Research is done for each DLC

c.       Has everyone in the team pitched in ideas to the hierarchy?

d.      1 hour presentation on theme/mechanics

                                                                           i.      Good for new QA/personnel

                                                                         ii.      Have inspiration from movies/games

                                                                        iii.      Declare the overall theme (difficulty, horror, greed, etc)

                                                                       iv.      Plot/level summary

1.       Level toolbox (what can be used; ex: hacking)

2.       Setup ‘Acts’ of the game

                                                                         v.      Bullet point characters/give an image; visualization

                                                                       vi.      State environments and what goes in them/props

7)      Create emotional vistas

a.       Impact moments for player (short, quite moments)

8)      Breakdown Narrative text

a.       Major NPCs, minor NPCs, terminal text, mission slides, loading screens, item descriptions

b.      Visual storytelling (environment foretells a character’s arrival)

c.       Diagram and map character/NPC movement

9)      Get a good editor to go over written lines

a.       Reference the Dialogue Standards document

10)   Do table reads

a.       Have a person who hasn’t written a line needs to read it aloud

b.      Edit on the fly!

11)   Stop writing dialogue for 2 weeks to find if anything is missing

12)   Voice acting

a.       Include concept art, age, attitude, sample lines

b.      Include game screen shots (have who they are, who they like, hate, etc)

c.       Listen to audio to ensure subs are correct

(Questions)

Why keep a line count?

To tell a good story, you don’t need that many lines.

What elements from research apply?

                Players like cooler, better stuff (weapons/costumes).  Include a super special weapon and gear for each skill category (sneak, speech, combat).  Use narrative ‘twists’ and ‘dilemmas’.

How to approach DLC expectations?

                Take 10 reviews of prior DLC’s and breakdown DLCs based on reviews.

How do you allow for character development with a compelling narrative?

                Provide strong NPCs that are straight-up entertaining.

 What is done for lore conflicts between the pitch and publisher?

                Find a work-around.

What percent of budget is given to the 400 steps?

                Initial: 2 weeks; text lock: 2 weeks; rest is studio time.  Otherwise, ask the producer!

What is the future of DLC?

                Look at community mods.

How to execute ‘work-arounds’?

                Simple animations with subs allow to make-up the rest.

How do you use the 400 steps across departments?

                Pick battles.  Refer to the 1 hour presentation for most of it.

Gathering the Magic

Magic: The Gathering, an epic fantasy trading card game.

• + All aspects of the game are relentlessly balanced.
• + Cards released a decade ago are still viable in modern strategies.
• + Card visuals are aesthetically appealing.
• + Playing the right card at the right time gives great player feedback.
• + Standard naming and sentence structure for card effects makes for an easy read.
• + Many people are passionate about the game, and many more play it regardless.
• + There is a robust economy in card selling that gives real-world value to any deck.
• + The game boasts cards and decks for any type of play-style: aggressive, defensive, manipulative, etc.
• - Some cards are just plain worthless.
• A fix: Add either lore-centric flavor text to each and every card.
• - Constant updates to the card library render some decks illegal in ‘official’ play.
• A fix: Gradually phase-out older cards.

Magic: The Gathering is the forefather to trading-card games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any game where collectors ‘battle’ each other with their cards.  MTG has been around awhile; such age brings a respect and an ability not matched by any other card game.  An appropriate point here is that MTG has been balanced, play-tested, and updated to the point of near perfection; new tweaks are needed always, but core gameplay cannot be faulted for anything.

My experience with MTG has been one had at a distance.  I only recently garnered my own Black and Red deck which now allows me to play against others (and not get trounced), but the rules and basics have been known for awhile.  Gameplay steps are well laid-out, card effects are usually very descriptive, and the entire experience comes together in a rock-solid package sure to please.

I can’t say that I’ll start buying new cards, but what I have right now give me a fun enough time.  That trait itself is stellar; one good deck is all that is needed for play.  Magic: The Gathering is an old game, but it only shows age in the thoughtful development in its design.  If the opportunity presents itself, play a game of MTG for yourself; who knows, you may even want to get a deck of your own!