How to Make a HIT Indie Game (Story-Driven) / "The Formula" | The Art of Game Design
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🎮 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.
🎵 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.
🌐 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.
🌳 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.
📚 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Indie Game
💡Formula
💡Character Development
💡Unique Gameplay Element
💡Interrelated Music
💡Storytelling Medium
💡Morals
💡World Building
💡Environmental Storytelling
💡Camaraderie
💡Narrative
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]
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