Title: The Game Narrative Toolbox

Authors: Tobias Heussner, Toiya Kristen Finley, Jennifer Brandes Hepler, Ann Lemay

Publisher: CRC Press

First Published: 2015 (Second Edition 2023)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315766836 (1st editition), https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003369332 (2nd edition

Abstract: Four experienced narrative designers from different genres of game development have banded together to create this all-inclusive guide on what it's like to work as a writer and narrative designer in the videogame industry. From concept to final testing, The Game Narrative Toolbox walks readers through what role a narrative designer plays on a development team and what the requirements are at every stage of development. Drawing on real experiences, authors Tobias Heussner, Toiya Finley, Ann Lemay, and Jennifer Hepler provide invaluable advice for writing compelling player-centered stories and effective dialogue trees in order to help readers make the switch from prose- or screen- writing to interactive. Accompanying every chapter are exercises that allow the reader to develop their own documentation, outlines, and game-dialogue samples for use in applying for industry jobs or developing independent projects.

Table of Contents (1st edition):

1. What Is Narrative Design?
2. The Concept
3. Worldbuilding
4. Characters
5. Story
6. Implementation and Production
7. Dialogue
8. Cutscenes and Cinematics
9. Troubleshooting

Table of Contents (2nd edition):

1. What Is Narrative Design?
2. The Concept
3. Worldbuilding
4. Characters
5. Story
6. Implementation and Production
7. Dialogue
8. Cutscenes and Cinematics
9. Troubleshooting
10. Visual Novels
11. Storytelling in Open-World Games and Games-as-a-Service
12. Conclusion
13. References