Foreword / Larry Hryb -- Loading : W00t! A.K.A. wow, loot! ; A criminally brief history of storytelling technology ; The golden age of games? ; Hollywood calling! ; Why "slay the dragon"? ; Meet your quest givers: Bob & Keith ; Screenwriter meets game producer, fight breaks out -- Dragon exercises : Playing to learn -- What's in a game? : What we talk about when we talk about games ; A game is a journey of action ; Game genre vs. story genre ; How do they make games? Who's the director? ; Where do game ideas come from? ; The narrative designer -- Dragon exercises : Making a game -- Do games need stories? : Story matters ; Immersion: context is everything ; Story [does not equal] plot ; A story tutorial ; A criminally brief history of game narrative -- Dragon exercises : Exploring the game world -- Aristotle vs Mario : The challenge of game writing ; Aristotle vs. Mario: the clash of story and gameplay ; Making the dragon roar: roles in a game studio ; How are games written? Are they written? ; The rise of story-driven games ; How do we solve this problem? -- Dragon exercises : Expressing your game idea -- The no-act-fits-all structure of video games : Finding the dragon ; What is structure? ; Traditional entertainment structure = 3 acts ; Add a midpoint = 4 acts ; Shakespeare and the Hulk = 5 acts ; The sequence approach = 8 acts! ; Serialized storytelling ; Beginning, middle & ending(s) ; Time is different in video games ; The "slay the dragon" structure ; A no-act structure? -- Dragon exercises : Speaking of structure -- Writing a great playable character : The evolution of the video game character ; Writing from the arc backwards ; Who's more awesome, Superman or Batman? ; Conflict: the essence of drama ; Backstory: How is Finding Nemo like The last of us? ; Don't tell Bowster: the bad guys think it's their game ; And the dragon goes to: the best supporting NPC -- Dragon exercises : Meeting your characters -- Who am I when I play? Gameplay as method acting : Playing your character ; "Character creation" is not creating characters ; Agency vs. emotional arc ; Characters in conflict must make choices ; To be (press A) or not to be (press B) ; Choices must lead to consequences -- Dragon exercises : Speaking through your characters -- Game design basics for writers : It's only a game: an that's a pretty good thing ; Gameplay is the core building block of interactive narrative ; What is a game designer? ; Our theory of fun ; Mechanics = active verbs ; Mechanics and context -- Dragon exercises : Playing with gameplay.

The hero of a thousand levels : Quests, levels, and missions: dissecting your game ; Level design is story design ; Story beats by level: an analysis of The last of us ; What must happen in your level? ; Fit your idea in the game engine ; Level design impacts traditional media -- Dragon exercises : Leveling up -- Building your world with the narrative design toolbox : The game concept document ; The GameFly pitch ; Imagine your world: not someone else's ; Make your map ; Filling your tool box ; Cinematics, or cut the cut scenes! ; Software for game writing ; Acting and dialogue: barking up the wrong tree ; Use the world for words -- Dragon exercises : Building your world -- We can't all be Batman: on MMO's and multiplayer : "Spel" time ; Whose story is it, anyway? ; Sandbox games ; Multiplayer games and modes ; Emergent gameplay and emergent narrative ; Aerith dies, Bob cries ; Multiplayer often comes first -- Dragon exercises : Feeling your world -- Always be creating : The rise of the indies ; Who are the game players? ; Tools you can use ; Start on paper ; Easy mode ; Medium mode ; Hard mode: game engines -- Dragon exercises : Using new tools -- What happens next? : The future is story ; The world is full of gamers ; Get into the game! ; Our final challenge to you -- Dragon exercises : Bringing it all together -- Glossary of select terms from video game production and culture.