Tim Willits

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Tim Willits

• Storytelling and Technology at id Software

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Who is this guy?

• Creative Director at id Software
• Started at id Software in 1995
• First Published Title Ultimate Doom
• Current Title RAGE
• Level Designer
• Lead Designer
• Creative Director

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Purpose Of This Talk

• How id Software develops stories alongside
  changing technology
• An understanding of how to balance storytelling
  and technology
• The decisions behind the storytelling of previous
  titles and what is changing for the upcoming
  title RAGE
• An explanation of how id Software wants to build
  the RAGE franchise through storytelling not
  sequel numbers!

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id Software giving a talk on storytelling Huh?!

• Public perception of the company
• Historically speaking id Software has created
  some of the most successful and industry shaping
  games

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What is video game storytelling?

• The story in a video game, if done correctly, can
  be as great as any novel or movie
• Doom vs. Lord of the Rings
• Its all the stuff in the middle
• Its the experiences
• Its the immersion
• Its the feelings
• Its the memories
• The paper story is only part of video game
  storytelling

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So what are the other elements of good video game
storytelling?

• Information relayed through experiences
• What the player brings with them
• Choices and consequences
• Player skill
• Replayability
• Who they play with

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Storytelling through EXPERIENCES is the
cornerstone of id Software game design

• Its the key when developing new technologies
• It isnt an excuse its the challenge
• There is nothing worse than a boring game with a
  great story

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How id Software approaches storytelling along
side changing technology

• Solid straight forward plot
• Dynamic story
• Writer choice
• Dont commit everything to the story
• Concentrate on the experiences
• Lighting -Effects -Design
• Music -Choices -Immersion

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The goals for RAGE

• The story is a larger component in RAGE than
  previous id Software titles
• The technology was designed from the ground up to
  support greater storytelling
• More experiences through gameplay variety,
  environments, characters, AI, etc, etc
• Proper pacing of gameplay experiences

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Technology Challenges for RAGE

• Media size
• Media streaming
• Compression
• Wasteland level size
• Development time
• Asset development
• AI Animation
• Physics
• NPC interaction system

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The future of RAGE.
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Take Away

• The story in a video game, if done correctly, can
  be as great as any novel or movie
• When faced with changing technology focus on the
  experiences
• Create your story in such a way that you can push
  or pull it to accommodate the changes to the game
  or technology
• Create modular story elements

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Questions