How to Make a HIT Indie Game (Story-Driven) / "The Formula" | The Art of Game Design

Summary

This video explores the 'Indie Game Formula' for creating compelling story-driven and character-based video games. It highlights five key elements: well-developed characters, unique gameplay, interrelated music, effective storytelling through gameplay, and world-building. The script uses games like 'Undertale' and 'Night in the Woods' as examples, emphasizing the importance of character evolution, immersive music motifs, and creating a world that supports the narrative. The formula encourages developers to focus on storytelling and personal expression, rather than just following trends or seeking fame.

Takeaways

• 📚 The 'Indie Game Formula' is a set of five basic elements that contribute to the success of story-driven indie games.
• 👥 Characters and their development are crucial for making a game memorable and engaging, with complex personalities and interactions that drive the story.
• 🎮 Unique gameplay elements, while not essential, can enhance a game by providing a fresh experience that complements the story.
• 🎵 Interrelated music is vital for setting the tone, atmosphere, and emotion of a game, with motifs tying together characters, themes, or emotions.
• 🌐 Effective use of video games as a storytelling medium involves making the player feel and experience the story, rather than just passively watching it unfold.
• 🏰 World building is essential for creating a believable and immersive environment that supports the narrative and enhances the player's connection to the game.
• 🎨 Artwork, while important, is not the primary factor in making a good story game; it's the writing and storytelling that truly engage players.
• 📖 Writing quality is critical; even if a game follows the formula, poor writing can significantly detract from the experience.
• 💡 Originality and personal expression are key to creating a successful game; developers should aim to tell a story that is meaningful and personal to them.
• 🌟 Morals and lessons should be subtly integrated into the game, allowing players to experience and learn from the game's narrative rather than being explicitly told what to think.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the 'Indie Game Formula' video?

The video focuses on the elements that make story-driven and character-based indie games successful, outlining a formula with five basic elements.

What are the five basic elements of the 'Indie Game Formula'?

The five basic elements are: 1) Characters and cast, 2) Unique gameplay element, 3) Interrelated music, 4) Morals or an effective use of video games as a storytelling medium, and 5) World building and pertinence.

Why are characters important in story-driven games?

Characters are crucial as they propel the story through actions and dialogue, creating a sense of camaraderie and interaction that players can get attached to.

Can a game have standard gameplay and still be successful following the 'Indie Game Formula'?

Yes, having unique gameplay is not integral. A game can have standard mechanics and still succeed if it follows the other elements of the formula flawlessly.

What role does music play in video games according to the script?

Music provides tone, atmosphere, emotion, and character to events, settings, or persons. It can also be part of the story, especially when using motifs that tie together characters, themes, or emotions.

What is the significance of 'meta nostalgia' in the context of game music?

Meta nostalgia refers to the subconscious emotional connection players make when they recognize recurring musical motifs, which can evoke emotions associated with past events in the game.

How does the script define an effective use of video games as a storytelling medium?

An effective use involves making the player experience and physically interact with the story, rather than just passively watching or reading it, thus creating a more memorable and immersive experience.

What is the importance of world building in the 'Indie Game Formula'?

World building is important as it makes the game's setting feel real and lived-in, which supports the narrative, gameplay, art, and music, and can even facilitate the game's message or moral.

Why does the script mention that art is not the most critical aspect of a story-driven game?

The script suggests that while great art can be a selling point, it is not essential for a game to be successful. Good writing and storytelling are more critical, as they ensure that the game's message is effectively communicated.

What advice does the video give to developers who want to create a successful story-driven game?

The video advises developers to focus on creating complex characters, implementing unique or well-integrated gameplay, using interrelated music, effectively using the medium for storytelling, and building a realistic and coherent world.

What should be the developer's motivation when creating a game according to the video?

The developer's motivation should be personal expression and storytelling, aiming to create a game that is meaningful, has a point, and potentially makes people's lives happier or helps them learn something new.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 The Indie Game Formula

This paragraph introduces the concept of the 'Indie Game Formula,' focusing on story-driven, character, and narrative-based video games. The speaker emphasizes that this formula is not applicable to action games like 'Super Meat Boy' or 'Roblox.' The formula consists of five key elements: characters and cast, unique gameplay elements, interrelated music, morals or effective storytelling, and world-building. The speaker aims to demonstrate how popular indie games like 'Undertale' and 'Night in the Woods' excel in these areas, and encourages game developers to learn from these examples to create compelling narratives.

05:02

🎵 The Importance of Music in Games

This segment delves into the role of music in video games, highlighting its significance in setting tone, atmosphere, and emotion. The speaker discusses the concept of motifs, where recurring melodies connect characters, themes, or emotions across different songs. 'Undertale' is praised for its use of motifs, subtly weaving them into the narrative. 'Night in the Woods' and 'Mother 3' are also mentioned for their effective use of recurring themes. The speaker stresses the importance of music in creating a memorable and immersive gaming experience, advising game developers to ensure their music complements the game's world and story.

10:04

🌐 Effective Storytelling Through Gameplay

This paragraph explores the concept of using gameplay as a storytelling medium, emphasizing the unique opportunities it presents. Examples from 'What Remains of Edith Finch' and 'Undertale' illustrate how gameplay can physically immerse players in the narrative, making experiences more memorable. The speaker discusses the impact of moral choices in games, such as 'Undertale,' where actions have direct consequences on the game's outcome. 'One Shot' is highlighted for its innovative approach, interacting with the player's computer and creating a deeply personal connection. The speaker encourages developers to integrate meaningful gameplay that enhances the narrative and provides a purpose or moral lesson.

15:04

🌳 Building Realistic Worlds in Games

This segment focuses on world-building in games, explaining how a well-crafted world can enhance the narrative and player engagement. The speaker uses 'Lisa: The Painful RPG,' 'Undertale,' 'One Shot,' and 'Night in the Woods' as examples of games with immersive worlds that feel lived-in and realistic, even if fantastical. The importance of environmental storytelling is discussed, where the environment itself tells a story through objects and landscapes. The speaker advises game developers to consider the world's structure, laws, and how it supports the narrative and gameplay, emphasizing that a well-built world can make a game more engaging and memorable.

20:05

📚 The Formula for a Great Story Game

In this final paragraph, the speaker wraps up the discussion on the Indie Game Formula, reiterating the importance of originality, good writing, and storytelling. The speaker warns against creating games solely for fame or following trends, emphasizing the need for personal expression and a meaningful message. They encourage developers to take inspiration from other games but to make their work unique. The speaker also mentions upcoming games that they believe follow the formula, suggesting that this approach can be applied to various types of games, not just story-driven ones. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to share the video with developers and friends, and a reminder of the importance of good writing in making a game successful.

Keywords

💡Indie Game

Indie Game refers to independently developed video games, often characterized by their unique concepts and limited budgets compared to mainstream titles. In the video, the term is used to describe the focus on story-driven and character-based games that are typically developed outside of the large game studios, with examples like 'Undertale' and 'Night in the Woods'.

💡Formula

The 'Formula' in the video is a conceptual framework that the speaker uses to describe the common elements found in successful indie games. It serves as a guideline for game developers to create compelling narratives and is composed of five basic elements that contribute to the overall success of a game.

💡Character Development

Character Development is the process by which a character's personality and story evolve over time. In the context of the video, it is one of the five elements of the 'Formula' and is crucial for creating memorable characters that players can connect with, as seen in games like 'Undertale' and 'Night in the Woods'.

💡Unique Gameplay Element

Unique Gameplay Element refers to a distinctive mechanic or feature that sets a game apart from others. The video emphasizes that while not every game needs a unique gameplay element, when present, it can significantly enhance the player's experience, as demonstrated by 'Undertale' with its bullet-hell mechanic.

💡Interrelated Music

Interrelated Music is the use of recurring themes or motifs in a game's soundtrack to create a cohesive auditory experience and to evoke specific emotions or memories. The video explains how this concept is integral to storytelling in games, with 'Undertale' and 'Mother 3' using motifs to tie together characters and themes.

💡Storytelling Medium

Storytelling Medium refers to the platform or method used to convey a narrative. The video discusses the unique capabilities of video games as a storytelling medium, highlighting how player interaction can create a more immersive and memorable experience, as opposed to passive mediums like film or literature.

💡Morals

Morals in the context of the video are the ethical lessons or messages conveyed through a game's narrative. The speaker argues that effective use of morals can make a game more impactful, citing 'Undertale' as an example where the player's choices affect the game's outcome and moral tone.

💡World Building

World Building is the process of creating an immersive and coherent game world with its own rules, history, and characters. The video describes it as the final element of the 'Formula', emphasizing the importance of a well-crafted world that supports the narrative and gameplay, such as the post-apocalyptic setting in 'Lisa: The Painful'.

💡Environmental Storytelling

Environmental Storytelling is the technique of conveying a story or information through the game's environment rather than direct narrative. The video mentions this concept as a way to make a game world feel lived-in and to provide subtle context or backstory, like observing a bent light post and an overturned trash can to infer a past event.

💡Camaraderie

Camaraderie refers to the sense of friendship and trust among a group, which is an important aspect of character interaction in games. The video suggests that creating a feeling of camaraderie among characters can significantly enhance the player's emotional investment in the game's story.

💡Narrative

Narrative is the telling of a story, and in the context of the video, it is the central focus of the games being discussed. The speaker outlines how a strong narrative, supported by the 'Formula', can make indie games more engaging and emotionally resonant for players.

Highlights

Introduction of the 'Indie Game Formula' aimed at story-driven and character-based video games.

The formula consists of five basic elements crucial for creating a successful narrative game.

Emphasis on the importance of character development and their role in propelling the story.

Examples given of games like 'Undertale' and 'Night in the Woods' for effective character usage.

The significance of unique gameplay elements and how they can enhance the gaming experience.

Discussion on how 'Undertale' innovated with its bullet-hell mechanic and enemy interaction.

The role of interrelated music in setting the tone and atmosphere of the game.

Explanation of musical motifs and their subconscious impact on players' emotions.

The effectiveness of using video games as a storytelling medium through player interaction.

How 'What Remains of Edith Finch' uses gameplay to simulate the monotony of a job.

The moral implications in 'Undertale' where player choices affect the game world and story.

The concept of world-building and its necessity for creating an immersive game environment.

Examples of how 'Night in the Woods' creates a relatable small-town setting.

The importance of environmental storytelling to give depth to the game world.

Advice on focusing on the narrative and gameplay rather than just the art style of the game.

The necessity for good writing to effectively deliver the game's message and story.

Encouragement for developers to create original games that are personal and meaningful.

Recommendation to share the 'Indie Game Formula' with other developers for mutual benefit.

Transcripts

hello and welcome back to another video

today I'm going to be showing you

something I like to call the indie game

formula or for convenience just the

formula and this is going to be mainly

focused towards story driven and

character and narrative based video

games so if you're looking to make the

next super meatboy or the next roblox

then this is not the video for you you

can follow the formula yourself it

outlines why and how some of the most

popular story driven indie games like

longer tale are so beloved the formula

has five basic elements that all come

together as a whole to make a great game

what I'm trying to do is show you how

these good games I'm going to talk about

executed these elements and why they

executed them so effectively so you can

learn from them and get inspired one

characters and cast of characters two

unique gameplay element three

interrelated music four morals or an

effective use of video games as a

storytelling medium this is an important

one and five world building and

pertinence some of this may sound

obvious to you but some games follow

this formula and still fail

I'll explain segment one characters and

cast of characters the reasons that

these games are so memorable and

appealing at least to a lot of people

are the characters characters helped to

propel the story through actions and

dialogue and they're what you hope to

get attached to throughout the

experience just like any real human

being you want to be friends with that

person and you want to enjoy being with

them and Lisa the painful RPG your party

members have interesting designs and

personalities and the characters written

for the story Brad and Buddy are super

complex and very interesting a cast of

characters notably an undertale night in

the woods all the mother games lisa the

painful thomas was alone to the moon are

what make a story game really good in my

a feeling of camaraderie and interaction

so when you're making your game put a

lot of effort into the characters

develop each one as a complex being a

realistic being make them interact and

most importantly make them important to

the story at hand don't just make

characters for the sake of making a

character and make sure they evolve they

shouldn't be the same the entire game

it's satisfying to see a character learn

something about themselves or someone

else which almost all games that follow

this formula are good at and well most

popular movies books comics you know

they're good at character development

and character arcs segments to unique

gameplay element I want to preface this

segment by saying that it isn't integral

to have unique gameplay you could have

the standard RPG maker battle system for

all I care basic walking simulator

side-scrolling and follow everything

else flawlessly just helps the most

obvious game for this segment would be

undertale as an RPG which is

stereotypically known to either have

turn-based battles with spells and you

know or real-time turn-based battles

like in Chrono Trigger and undertale it

was super refreshing to see something

unique and fun it had a bullet-hell

mechanic and the ability to talk to your

enemies and befriend them which was

pretty unheard of except in 1992 Shin

Megami Tensei which actually served as

inspiration for under till night in the

woods is fairly linear but if you decide

to explore the town there is much to

find and there are a lot of people to

talk to and it builds the world a lot

which gets into segment 5 while there

are side-scrolling exploration games

like Lisa everything else was done so

well it's just very different for most

games on the market

speaking of Lisa it is a standard RPG

but it has major exploration and world

building segments 5 and the battle

system although basic RPG maker again

you know RPG maker has that era of stank

but Lisa really does a good job with it

has very unique character animations and

super riveting strategy and difficulty

and the story is just so fascinating

it's like everything works so well in

that game in one shot the gameplay is

very unique some of the puzzles

literally manipulate your computer

adding files to different locations

moving the actual game window etc this

gameplay complements segment four

perfectly which I will elaborate on

later so when you're making your game do

something interesting it doesn't

necessarily have to be unique but it has

to be implemented well and if it's

possible the gameplay should complement

the story but this is a hard task but of

course if it does complement the story

like undertale it creates a fantastic

experience segments three interrelated

music while it's pretty obvious music is

way more important than you might think

it gives tone atmosphere emotion and

character to an event a setting or

person music isn't just something for

the background it can even be part of

the story in fact it is best implemented

when it is part of the story what are

the most important elements of the music

and some of the greatest games and

movies and TV shows is motifs or elite

motifs where the same melody or harmony

occurs in different songs to tie

together characters or themes or

emotions these motifs if connected by

the listener in their head while they're

listening can create a subconscious meta

nostalgia for past events in the game or

the story and it doesn't have to be just

for a story game leap motifs can bridge

themes and emotions and have in many

different mediums other than games

undertale executes this magnificently in

its music characters that are related in

the story have different compositions

but will subtly have the same melodies

this could go completely unnoticed by

the average player and when you hear the

similarities in two different songs you

start to connect dots and it blows your

mind

[Music]

this happens in so many of under Tales

musical pieces it actually makes the

music a part of the story itself its own

character even the lore motifs are

common but might not be so well executed

as under tales and night in the woods

there is a recurring melody which is

like the theme song and many of the

pieces but I couldn't really find any

meaningful connections light in the

woods music is really good though and

the composer did a good job at conveying

atmosphere so I give that little detail

pass in mother 3 one of my favorite

games there are many recurring themes

like the love theme and the pig mask

theme they are very simple memorable

melodies that throughout the 40 plus

hours of the game it gets manipulated

and repeated in a lot of the songs and

there are a lot of songs there about 6

hours of music in that game and a lot of

the tracks have similar themes but

that's not random whenever the love

theme appears it is given the

connotation of love and whenever you

hear it used again it evokes the same

emotion in that scene so that's what I

meant by meta nostalgia you hear the

love theme at first and you like it and

then when you hear it again it gives you

the same emotion it strengthens the bond

and the theme it's the same for the pig

mask theme

whenever the enemy shows up or whenever

tension is happening the pig mask theme

shows up in order to symbolize like you

know their overarching power and grip

and their evilness so the music is used

as symbolism which is what a motif is

really good at think of it like this you

condition a dog to want food when a bell

is rung so when you ring the bell the

dog is like oh oh it's food time in the

music's case you are the dog the bell is

the melody and the emotion is the food

one-shots music is probably the most

ematic and atmospheric music I have ever

heard in a soundtrack it is beautiful

yet so dystopian with the subtle synths

reverb heavy Keys ila phones bizarre

tones and a

and with catchy melodies it is

unforgettable and one of the biggest

highlights of the game one shot also

manipulate sleep motifs it has one

memorable melody that is used throughout

the game and also if the music didn't

sound like this and say it was composed

like undertale music it wouldn't sit the

world of one shot and it would change

the entire tone one shots music is

extremely dystopian and very subtle and

very atmospheric and that adds to the

fact that it's a very bizarre world on

the edge of death the music sets the

tone having the right music holds the

experience together it's really

important so when you're making your

game if you are or are not a composer

try to make sure the music you make

receive download whatever make sure it

sets the feeling for the game it has to

help you get enveloped and invested in

the world make motifs for specific

emotions you want to reinvigorate later

or motifs for areas characters that are

linked themes and also if you can make

it sound good we want to have good music

so if you can make the music sound

pretty good segments for an effective

use of video games as a medium of

storytelling and morals this one is

extremely important in fact it's what

makes video games as a storytelling

medium such an appealing medium in the

first place if you don't understand what

I mean by an effective use of video

games as a medium of storytelling I'll

give you some examples so listen close

and what remains of Edith Finch there is

a part of the game where you are

learning about one of your relatives who

worked at a fish or produce facility you

use your mouse to drag the fish's head

into a chopper and then push it forward

to move on it repeats like this

continuously grab slide chop push repeat

you get to feel what it's like to do a

monotonous task but as you're chopping

away you start to daydream on the left

and you have to use your keyboard to

navigate your character through this

dream world you can't stop chopping the

fish and you have to move in the

daydream you're using your right hand on

the mouse and the left hand on the

keyboard just like real life chopping

the fish begins to become a reflex

muscle reflex and you focus more on the

daydream the cloud where the daydream is

begins to grow extremely large and you

barely see the fish table anymore but

you still chop because you memorize the

pattern it's a part of your reflex now

this to me is an effective use of video

games as a medium of storytelling in a

movie you would just watch a guy chop

away two fish and it's so boring he

starts to daydream with a book you just

read it happen in a video game

you literally experienced it physically

with your own hands with your own mind

you feel what it's like to be taken over

by daydreaming wishing for a better life

the monotony of a factory job becoming a

simple muscle in your right hand it's

really fascinating and when that happens

in a videogame it's extremely memorable

in undertale you are given the choice to

kill or spare monsters morally as a

human being you don't want to kill

mercilessly but in every video game RPG

prior to undertale that's what you do

you kill every enemy get points and

items and then kill more enemies if you

kill an undertale you as a human being

are punished for your actions and people

hate you towns evacuate the game gets

shorter and harder and the music becomes

McCobb and slow you have the dust of

monsters on your hands when you're a

good person the game literally gets

better characters are friends with you

towns are full of people the music is

cheerier the game increases in length

and content it goes beyond morals

because instead of telling you killing

is bad you get punished for it in real

time it teaches you to be a better

person and it doesn't have to tell you

to be a better person you just feel it

in one shot the game interacts with your

computer your desktop and your files as

a part of the gameplay and Niko the main

character will literally talk to you as

a god you are a character in the game

and you speak to the people in it with

dialogue options and they speak back to

you your connection with the main

character and the world

come so incredibly personal the real

world that's in your computer will fail

no other medium of storytelling can do

this so when you're making your game

make sure to have a reason a moral a

lesson it doesn't have to be ham-fisted

like be good

be courageous o be a good person oh you

should you should share but if it is

like that make it subtle don't don't

just make it so obvious that you cringe

that's not gonna make it good at all

it's not gonna make the message

memorable because your parents tell you

to be a good person alright if you want

to be a good person you should

experience it and make the morals a part

of the game just like all the examples I

gave you it can be complex and difficult

to accomplish obviously but in the end

your game should have a purpose most

stories have a purpose and hey if that

purpose is having fun go for it but it

might not connect with a lot of people

emotionally and again this is for story

driven games it's like you can have a

fun game where you shoot zombies that's

fine but in my opinion a game where you

shoot zombies for fun is a waste of time

when you could be playing a story-driven

game and learning something about

yourself or other people segment 5 world

building all the games I have described

have worlds that feel real and even if

they feel fantastical there's still

something you want to come back to to

experience to explore everything about

the formula I have talked about goes

inside your world so it's like the paper

that the writing goes on your world must

fit your narrative your gameplay your

art your music etc Lisa the painful a

super gritty and realistic post

apocalypse where all the women disappear

it's absolutely fascinating to explore

and facilitates the entire story as well

as being symbolic in its entirety of the

main conflict between the two characters

undertale monsters and humans monsters

are misunderstood and banished

underground and you explore what a

nonhuman society does to a

giant cavernous world it also makes you

sympathetic for the monsters bettering

the connection you have to the story and

the fact that you as a human fall into a

world of monsters and realize they're

nice and that you don't have to kill

them is again it's a part of the story

it's part of the moral in one shot you

just suddenly appear in the world where

the entirety of it is on the verge of

destruction because the Sun is gone and

Niko is the only one who can travel to

this tower to restore the Sun everybody

has lost hope but Niko carries the Sun

around with them and everybody gets

happy again knowing they might be saved

and again one of the big gameplay and

story elements is the fact that Niko

addresses you the player as a god you

control Niko in the game but you can

talk to them directly and they talk back

your connection with the main character

in the world to become so incredibly

personal night in the woods is a small

homely town in probably rural Pittsburgh

filled with interesting characters and

it just has a very good feeling of life

and what made it so effective is how

relatable it is someone who lives in a

relatively small town where they almost

know everyone living there it touched a

lot of people it made the characters

feel more realistic and it made you feel

like you're actually hanging out with a

bunch of friends it just helps at the

feeling so when you're making your game

before you do anything else where does

the story take place of course the story

as it's written will include a location

eventually but you should think about

how the world portrays everything in the

formula it should make sense to the

story it should facilitate your message

and the story and how's your gameplay

accordingly it should feel lived in and

it should obviously feel realistic and

what I mean by realistic is not like

literally realistic it's just that it

feels like a world like it can be

magical or whatever but you can have a

magical phantasmagorical world and it

can still be realistic or maybe not

realistic but it just has continuity

because the universe has laws so just

give your world basic laws and rules to

make it seem like it has structure also

there's a thing called environmental

storytelling where objects landscapes

and the environment

give away what happened or have its own

story and not the actual text kind of

like if you are walking down the

sidewalk and you see a trash can like

tipped over and then you see there's a

light post near it that's bent over then

you assume that a car hit into the post

and then also knocked over the trash can

and the trash fell out or whatever so

that's environmental storytelling this

there was a story there and you just

inferred what happened so that's the

gist of the formula explained in five

segments now this may have seemed pretty

obvious to you or something but I want

it to give you some examples some

details and make sure you can use the

formula to your advantage to make a good

narrative based game and you know what

this can even used in a normal game just

like a fun entertainment game you know

where you're jumping around it's a

platformer or something some of these

elements still do apply also in my

opinion art does not matter at all your

art can be terrible your art can be

amazing of course having amazing art is

a great selling point but undertale is a

little rough to look at but it still

evokes intense emotion and creativity

because of how good everything else is

don't worry about art you don't need it

to make a good story game good art maybe

a pros point on a game critics pros and

cons list but it shouldn't detract from

the formula also nothing in the formula

would it all be effective if your

writing is poor that's why things can

follow the formula and still be bad

because the writing is bad all of these

say the whole formula even the world all

of it is like a pill and the writing is

the mouth you just you gotta have good

writing or else the pill is not gonna go

down also there are some games that are

coming out that I think follow the

formula like amore Yik yak ma flight

which came out and it was it was pretty

good although the writing was subpar it

still had all the elements and it was

very

it was a very good experience I should

recommend checking out and I'm assuming

Austin Jourgensen's new game ninja tears

he's the guy who made Lisa that I've

been talking about so you can follow the

formula word-for-word and the game could

still be really bad you need it to be

original and most importantly you need

to be good at writing and storytelling

and it needs to have a point you can

take heavy inspiration from other games

but try to make it your own

if you're making a game to be famous or

get attention or follow a trend then it

isn't going to do well you have to make

a game that's personal to you it has to

be a form of self-expression maybe you

want to tell the player something about

themselves even or in the hopes of

making people's lives happier and better

or just to make people more learn it so

good luck and use the formula to your

advantage and spread this video to

developers or just around to your

friends tell your dev friends about it

and I would really appreciate it if you

could you know hit that subscribe button

hit that like button

this is a hard video to make so thank

you guys and I will see you in the next

video

[Music]