Polished mechanics and clear rules are indispensable for a good board game, there’s no denying that. However, it’s not the game’ s technical details that we mainly remember, but the stories we experience at the game table. Here I have already tried to give a little insight into the connection between rules and the game world. Today, I want to focus on the more exciting part of the game experience: compelling storytelling, beautiful world building, and the excitement that keeps us coming back to a game world.
Narrative Design?
If I’m honest, I could only enlighten you this field extremely dilettantishly. That would be embarrassing, therefore Ingelis takes over this honorable task. If you are looking for the way into a mysterious world, Ingelis will show it to you, I am sure. She devoted all of her studies to Narrative Design and now makes her living telling stories in games. Board games are only one aspect of her field of work – more classic fields for professional storytellers are, for example, the video game industry or pen and paper role-playing games.
Polished mechanics and clear rules are indispensable for a good board game, there’s no denying that. However, it’s not the game’ s technical details that we mainly remember, but the stories we experience at the game table. Here I have already tried to give a little insight into the connection between rules and the game world. Today, I want to focus on the more exciting part of the game experience: compelling storytelling, beautiful world building, and the excitement that keeps us coming back to a game world.
Narrative Design?
If I’m honest, I could only enlighten you this field extremely dilettantishly. That would be embarrassing, therefore Ingelis takes over this honorable task. If you are looking for the way into a mysterious world, Ingelis will show it to you, I am sure. She devoted all of her studies to Narrative Design and now makes her living telling stories in games. Board games are only one aspect of her field of work – more classic fields for professional storytellers are, for example, the video game industry or pen and paper role-playing games.
Work in Progress: Project Amboss
All the better that we were able to obtain a piece of Ingelis! She is currently busy building and writing on “Project Amboss”, which is funded by the “Film- und Medienstiftung NRW”. You have to imagine that the work on this hybrid project of board game with app support is going on in the background all the time – characters are created, worlds are built and designed. All of this is being taken care of by Ingelis. The goal of this effort is to create an innovative experience that combines the best of the role-playing and board game worlds. Without a good story, this endeavor is doomed to fail. Now before your enthusiasm gets out of hand: This project will still require a lot of time and a lot of brainstorms!
Work in Progress: Project Amboss
All the better that we were able to obtain a piece of Ingelis! She is currently busy building and writing on “Project Amboss”, which is funded by the “Film- und Medienstiftung NRW”. You have to imagine that the work on this hybrid project of board game with app support is going on in the background all the time – characters are created, worlds are built and designed. All of this is being taken care of by Ingelis. The goal of this effort is to create an innovative experience that combines the best of the role-playing and board game worlds. Without a good story, this endeavor is doomed to fail. Now before your enthusiasm gets out of hand: This project will still require a lot of time and a lot of brainstorms!
A Dash of Escapism
When I tell you that reality sometimes gets boring and frustrating, I’m not giving away any secret. Escapism is an essential part of reality, Ingelis didn’t have to convince me of that at all. When I asked her about her motivation, this aspect was the first one that she told me about. You can learn in stories. The mistakes you make there don’t have a negative impact on reality. You can relax, take a break from everyday life, and then return to reality a few experiences richer. In short, Ingelis loves what stories do to people. She started her career telling stories to her sisters.
A Dash of Escapism
When I tell you that reality sometimes gets boring and frustrating, I’m not giving away any secret. Escapism is an essential part of reality, Ingelis didn’t have to convince me of that at all. When I asked her about her motivation, this aspect was the first one that she told me about. You can learn in stories. The mistakes you make there don’t have a negative impact on reality. You can relax, take a break from everyday life, and then return to reality a few experiences richer. In short, Ingelis loves what stories do to people. She started her career telling stories to her sisters.
Storytelling for Boardgamers
So what exactly keeps Ingelis with us? Admittedly, board games don’t offer the same creative potential as video games or role-playing adventures. What she thinks is that with a board game – similar to role-playing games she hands over her story to other people for personal editing. In order to give this creative part of the player enough freedom in this board game, “Project Amboss” will allow and emphasize failures. On the one hand, the decisions of the players thus gain relevance, on the other hand, an unusual kind of story is told. When Ingelis talked about all this, I suddenly realized that the classic heroes seem to have a psyche of steel. When I see three of my friends die, I don’t kill a dragon in the next moment – I would have other problems. I’m sure Ingelis does too!
Funtails: Institute for Game Research
The current plan is to replace the gamemaster, who usually leads a (role-playing) game, with an app. However, Ingelis immediately pointed out to me that there is still a lot of tinkering to be done on this before it is even clear if this will work. The same goes for the openness of the game world, which Ingelis is currently working on. The players’ setbacks and successes should have an influence on the game world and the characters in equal measure.
The Psyche of a Hero
The psyche of the characters should be an essential part of the game. What is often forgotten in most hero stories should get much more attention. An experience, good or bad, shapes a personality. It changes the way we see, interact with and interpret our environment. A person in shock or grief has difficulty slaying dragons. That’s how it is, let’s face it! These issues are themes of our everyday lives. We know exactly what power our mental state has. I’m not necessarily talking about illnesses or shattering fates. A serious heartbreak is enough to turn a world upside down. My first heartbreak kept me in my room for days with vanilla ice cream and ABBA songs. Heroic deeds were out of the question.
Storytelling for Boardgamers
So what exactly keeps Ingelis with us? Admittedly, board games don’t offer the same creative potential as video games or role-playing adventures. What she thinks is that with a board game – similar to role-playing games she hands over her story to other people for personal editing. In order to give this creative part of the player enough freedom in this board game, “Project Amboss” will allow and emphasize failures. On the one hand, the decisions of the players thus gain relevance, on the other hand, an unusual kind of story is told. When Ingelis talked about all this, I suddenly realized that the classic heroes seem to have a psyche of steel. When I see three of my friends die, I don’t kill a dragon in the next moment – I would have other problems. I’m sure Ingelis does too!
Funtails: Institute for Game Research
The current plan is to replace the gamemaster, who usually leads a (role-playing) game, with an app. However, Ingelis immediately pointed out to me that there is still a lot of tinkering to be done on this before it is even clear if this will work. The same goes for the openness of the game world, which Ingelis is currently working on. The players’ setbacks and successes should have an influence on the game world and the characters in equal measure.
The Psyche of a Hero
The psyche of the characters should be an essential part of the game. What is often forgotten in most hero stories should get much more attention. An experience, good or bad, shapes a personality. It changes the way we see, interact with and interpret our environment. A person in shock or grief has difficulty slaying dragons. That’s how it is, let’s face it! These issues are themes of our everyday lives. We know exactly what power our mental state has. I’m not necessarily talking about illnesses or shattering fates. A serious heartbreak is enough to turn a world upside down. My first heartbreak kept me in my room for days with vanilla ice cream and ABBA songs. Heroic deeds were out of the question.
