Sadly, by the time you finish reading this essay… thirteen narrative designers will have been asked to summarize their game’s story in one sentence, and they will be unable to do so.
To combat this painful epidemic, here's a tried-and-true format for a one-sentence summary!
When (something bad happens),
(the protagonist) (uses a repeating gameplay action)
to (reverse the bad thing) and (bring a new equilibrium).
Let's fill in the ( ):
✅ When Princess Peach is kidnapped by the vile Bowser, a brave little plumber called Mario will have to jump, bump, and fight across dangerous terrain to defeat Bowser, rescue Peach, and bring peace to the Mushroom Kingdom.
✅ When a mutated fungus ravages civilization and turns humans into aggressive, infected creatures, a cold mercenary called Joel must smuggle an immune girl called Ellie across the country, fighting creatures and humans along the way, to create a cure for the infection... but when Joel learns the cure will kill Ellie, will he sacrifice or save her?
One-sentence summaries are a great pre-production milestone! The team can ideate on, review, and finalize this sentence before it expands into a thousand or more.
Sadly, by the time you finish reading this essay… thirteen narrative designers will have been asked to summarize their game’s story in one sentence, and they will be unable to do so.
To combat this painful epidemic, here's a tried-and-true format for a one-sentence summary!
When (something bad happens),
(the protagonist) (uses a repeating gameplay action)
to (reverse the bad thing) and (bring a new equilibrium).
Let's fill in the ( ):
✅ When Princess Peach is kidnapped by the vile Bowser, a brave little plumber called Mario will have to jump, bump, and fight across dangerous terrain to defeat Bowser, rescue Peach, and bring peace to the Mushroom Kingdom.
✅ When a mutated fungus ravages civilization and turns humans into aggressive, infected creatures, a cold mercenary called Joel must smuggle an immune girl called Ellie across the country, fighting creatures and humans along the way, to create a cure for the infection... but when Joel learns the cure will kill Ellie, will he sacrifice or save her?
One-sentence summaries are a great pre-production milestone! The team can ideate on, review, and finalize this sentence before it expands into a thousand or more.
Sadly, by the time you finish reading this essay… thirteen narrative designers will have been asked to summarize their game’s story in one sentence, and they will be unable to do so.
To combat this painful epidemic, here's a tried-and-true format for a one-sentence summary!
When (something bad happens),
(the protagonist) (uses a repeating gameplay action)
to (reverse the bad thing) and (bring a new equilibrium).
Let's fill in the ( ):
✅ When Princess Peach is kidnapped by the vile Bowser, a brave little plumber called Mario will have to jump, bump, and fight across dangerous terrain to defeat Bowser, rescue Peach, and bring peace to the Mushroom Kingdom.
✅ When a mutated fungus ravages civilization and turns humans into aggressive, infected creatures, a cold mercenary called Joel must smuggle an immune girl called Ellie across the country, fighting creatures and humans along the way, to create a cure for the infection... but when Joel learns the cure will kill Ellie, will he sacrifice or save her?
One-sentence summaries are a great pre-production milestone! The team can ideate on, review, and finalize this sentence before it expands into a thousand or more.
