Multiplayer Games as a Template for Multiplayer Narratives: A Case Study With Dark Souls Callum Spawforth David E. Millard University of Southampton University of Southampton Southampton, United Kingdom Southampton, United Kingdom cs14g13@soton.ac.uk dem@ecs.soton.ac.uk ABSTRACT most popular examples of IDS can be found in digital games. Ex- Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) is an increasingly popular amples range from emergent, simulation driven narratives (such as field, with a number of novel systems emerging in the last few Dwarf Fortress[21]) to pre-authored, structured narratives (such as years. However, these systems have typically focused on narratives The Walking Dead[1]). involving only a single person. In contrast, multiplayer video games Most of these games are single player as opposed to multiplayer. are a common and popular form of entertainment. In this paper we This is despite the huge popularity of multiplayer games 1 , their ask whether the way in which these works might inspire a new recognised social benefits[9], and ability to heighten emotional generation of multi-player narratives. responses[17]. In particular we look at the multiplayer video game "Dark Souls" A number of multiplayer games contain elements that can be and consider the goals and inter-player interactions present within considered interactive narrative experiences. For example, the Mas- the game. We then reimagine what these might look like as multi- sively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) World of player narratives, and demonstrate how they might be realised with Warcraft 2 contains "Dungeons", in which a group of players need a sculptural hypertext approach. We conclude that even within a to overcome a highly-structured series of challenges in order to single game there are a number of rich possibilities demonstrated, receive a reward. A game such as Space Station 133 offers a more from asynchronous indirect examples where the players enrich each emergent form of storytelling, where the story arises from the ac- others worlds and exchange information, to synchronous direct tions and experiences of the players. In this game, players take on examples where players have direct influence over the choices of positions aboard a space station, with some players being desig- other players, and thus the outcomes of their stories. nated as "traitors". These "traitors" are assigned goals designed to bring them into conflict with other players. CCS CONCEPTS These interactive narrative experiences can be considered a limited form of multiplayer 4 narrative experience. But the ma- • Applied computing → Computer games; • Software and its jority of the literature in the IDS space deals with singleplayer engineering → Interactive games; • Human-centered com- narratives[4, 5, 13, 19]. There is little research in the area of multi- puting → Hypertext / hypermedia; Collaborative interaction; Col- player narratives, despite the opportunities that it offers, and the laborative and social computing devices; • Computing method- popularity in non digital games (the most obvious example being ologies → Modeling and simulation; table top role-playing games). In this paper, we consider the dynamics of the multiplayer expe- KEYWORDS rience present in a number of multiplayer games and attempt to interactive storytelling, narrative, multiplayer, player interactions, reimagine them into a narrative space. We propose an initial model games for multiplayer narrative and inter-player narrative interactions, Reference format: based on Sculptural Hypertext[3, 15]. Callum Spawforth and David E. Millard. 2017. Multiplayer Games as a Template for Multiplayer Narratives: A Case Study With Dark Souls. In Pro- 2 BACKGROUND ceedings of Narrative and Hypertext Workshop 2017, Prague, Czech Republic, 2017 (NHT2017), 5 pages, CEUR-WS.org. One of the first IDS systems was TaleSpin, a system that gener- ated stories based on the answers a user provided to a series of questions[14]. Since then, a number of novel systems have emerged, 1 INTRODUCTION particularly in the last 20 years[3, 5, 6, 13, 19]. These systems typi- Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) is a type of storytelling that cally fall into a number of categories. Emergent systems typically allows the reader to change the story through their actions. The attempt to create narrative through the simulation of a complex world, creating narrative through the interactions of independent 1 http://www.polygon.com/2017/1/27/14417214/how-many-people-play-overwatch- 25-million 2 World of Warcraft official website: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/ 3 Space Station 13 - Wiki of the most common distribution: http:/www.ss13.eu/wiki/ index.php/Main_Page 4 The term "player" has been chosen as opposed to "multi-reader" or "multi-participant" Copyright held by the author(s). as we feel it best reflects common usage. NHT2017, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic C. Spawforth components[2]. Plot-based systems adopt a top-down view of nar- a collectively experienced story, but clearly other models of inter- rative, typically assembling a high-level plot from a number of nar- action are possible. For inspiration we have looked at the types rative components[8]. Structural systems are plot-based systems of interaction found in more traditional multiplayer games, and that typically use a hand-crafted structure, such as a graph, offering explored how these might translate into multiplayer narratives. a unified and well-formed experience, typically at the expense of agency[13]. 3 MULTIPLAYER GAMES AS NARRATIVE Some systems do not fall cleanly into any category, using ele- Multiplayer games consist of a number of significant gameplay ele- ments of each, such as Facade[13]. Facade is an interactive narrative ments. Goals and interactions are areas frequently looked at as sig- that places the player amidst a conflict between a couple engaged nificant to the multiplayer experience[7, 11, 18, 20, 22]. For the pur- in a heated argument. It adopts elements from both plot-based and poses of this paper, interactions as defined as "perceivable actions emergent approaches, representing the world as a simulation, with that act as manifestations of the user-user and user-environment the addition of a "Drama Manager". The drama manager adds and interactions" as proposed by Manninen[12]. retracts behaviours and discourse contexts for the characters, in an In this section, we look at the video game "Dark Souls", identify attempt to manage the dramatic pacing of the narrative. the inter-player interactions present and consider how to adapt Only a few systems exist within the multiplayer narrative space. them to the narrative space. Fairclough and Cunningham proposed a multiplayer case-based story engine that used a "story director" (SD) to assemble a plot using moves from Propp’s morphology[6]. Characters could be 3.1 Dark Souls - Game Description assigned to roles in each move by the SD. The system supported Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing video game. Players multiple players by instantiating a story director for each. This al- play as an "undead", a cursed human that is unable to die perma- lowed the system to support multiple parallel plots or insert players nently, who must collect resources known as souls and humanity into different roles in a single plot. However, the multiplayer com- in order to prevent them becoming mindless like most of the other ponent of the system was not evaluated and so how it performed is undead. Mechanically, this is represented by "humanity", a resource unknown. that can be expended to restore the player to human form. In this A system proposed by Peinado and Gervas uses a knowledge form, the player games a number of benefits, such as being able to intensive case-based reasoning approach to plot generation[16]. summon other players for aid. The system creates a single plot, allowing the players to navigate it At the beginning of the game, the player’s character is con- only as a group. demned to an undead asylum, which the player is required to es- In our work we propose using Sculptural Hypertext as a model cape. Following that, they are left to explore the decaying world for multiplayer narratives. In a sculptural hypertext the author outside of the asylum in a open-world fashion. Much of the history creates a collection of narrative nodes. Each node has a set of of the world is implicit, told through the visual style of the game preconditions and effects. Unlike traditional hypertext, all nodes and dialog with non-player characters (NPCs). are potentially available, but links are removed based on the current The goal of the player is to progress through the game, defeating reading context. For a node to be accessible, all of its preconditions a number of strong opponents so that they can make a final narra- must be satisfied by the world state. Visiting a node modifies the tive choice at the end of the game - To usher in an age of darkness, reading context, revealing or hiding new nodes[3]. Despite its basic or to prolong "the age of fire" and end the undead curse. A number underpinnings a number of more complex high level patterns can of sub-goals exist within the game in the form of tasks given to be created using this system, such as parallel threads, or narrative the player by NPCs, or joinable groups known as "Covenants". The phasing [10]. player’s progression through the game can be considered to be in a In [3], Bernstein proposes the collaborative system Social Shark fixed number of states, depending on several interactions with key using Card Shark as a base. Card Shark is a sculptural hypertext objects in the game, in addition to bosses defeated. implementation that treats each node as a card. Each card contains Each player has an individual version of the game, independent a brief passage of the narrative. The player is dealt 7 cards, and in almost all aspects, including progression and space. However, a able to select any which have satisfied preconditions. This node is number of interactions between players still exist. visited, any effects triggered, and then left "on the table", unable to The simplest interaction in Dark Souls is to leave a message be reused. The player then receives another card, and the process on the ground, which other players can later read. In order to do repeats. Social Shark deals a hand of cards to each player, who then this, players require an item, known as the "Orange Guidance Soap- take it in turns to play possible cards. Each player receives points, stone". Using this item presents players with a dialogue, where they depending on the card played. Goals can be added to each player construct a short phrase from a pre-made grammar. "Try Jumping" utilising points, such as score maximisation. The game ends when and "Illusory Wall Ahead" are examples of messages. Each message no more cards can be played. Similarly to the system by Peinado appears in the game of an unknown number of other players, and and Gervas, players collaborate on a single narrative viewed from may or may not be helpful. To aid in determining this, players can a shared perspective. add a positive or negative rating to the current message they’re We are interested in this kind of collaborative multiplayer nar- reading, which is visible to other players. rative, in Social Shark multiple players take it in turn to influence The death of a player in Dark Souls forms a passive interaction. When a player dies, there is the potential for a bloodstain to appear on the ground in the games of other players. Should another player Multiplayer Games as a Template for Multiplayer Narratives: A Case Study With Dark Souls NHT2017, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic stand on the bloodstain, they will witness a ghost of the dead char- Write a Report : acter, acting out their final moments. This can provide a warning Conditions : of future danger to the other players. − { p l a y e r 1 } h a s s e e n P r o f e s s o r Plum w i t h M i s s Dark souls also contains a cooperative play system that allows White players to directly fight and assist each other, called "summoning − { player1 } at { location1 } signs". Players can place these signs on the ground, in a similar Effects : way to messages, using the "White Sign Soapstone". These signs − ( ∀ P l a y e r s ) r e p o r t a v a i l a b l e on appear in the games of other players, who can then interact with { Plum White R e l a t i o n s h i p } them to summon that player into their game. A player can only summon someone to assist if they are in human form, the area boss Read t h e F i l e : is alive and they haven’t placed a summoning sign. The summoned Conditions : player appears as a copy of their avatar in the hosts’ game, with − r e p o r t a v a i l a b l e on { Plum White R e l a t i o n s h i p } a restricted set of abilities. The area is then sealed off, preventing − { player2 } at { location2 } either player from exiting. The area can be unsealed by defeating its boss or the summoned player dying. If the boss is successfully Figure 1: Example Sculptural Nodes for Messaging Another defeated, the summoner’s game progresses, while the summoned Player is returned to their own game with resources as a reward. If the summoned player dies, they are returned to their own game with no rewards. Several mechanics exist to begin player versus player fights. Each 4.1 Messaging Another Player fight behaves very similarly: a copy of the invader’s avatar enters Leaving a message for another player is a purely aesthetic change the game of another player, with a restricted set of abilities and the to the narrative, but one that could influence the receiving player’s task of killing them. The winner of the fight receives resources as future decisions by giving them access to information from an a reward. The loser is sent back to their last checkpoint, possibly alternative story world. By limiting the set of messages the author losing a number of resources, depending on the mechanic used to can control the extent and value of these interactions, as well as initiate the fight. A number of these mechanics operate in the same forcing them to comply with the rules of the narrative itself (for way as the White Sign Soapstone. They place a sign that requires example, by referring only to the internal story world, or being in the to-be-invaded player to interact with it. Others allow a player the voice of a particular character). to forcibly invade the game of another player. These mechanics In Dark Souls these messages are typically functional (avoiding generally require the expenditure of an item, as in the case of the an obstacle, warning of an impending enemy), but in a broader nar- "Cracked Red Eye Orb" or the invaded player to be in a specific area, rative could also add detail or richness to the world, or expand on as is the case for players who have a "Cat Covenant Ring" equipped. the player’s understanding of a character’s motivation. For example, All of the mechanics require the player to be in human form. imagine a simple murder mystery where other player’s messages manifest as background information on suspects, provided by de- tectives working on similar or past cases. 4 DARK SOULS’ INTERACTIONS AS In terms of a sculptural hypertext it assumes a set of players experiencing the same murder mystery story (although not nec- SCULPTURAL HYPERTEXT essarily simultaneously), and could be implemented through the Our objective is to identify the interactions between players within unlocking pattern[10], where a new "Read the File" diversionary Dark Souls, and then reimagine these as narrative interactions in node in Player A’s story is unlocked by Player B visiting the "Write a multiplayer story experience. How would the players interact a Report" node in their own story. Figure 1 shows an example. and be aware of each other, what is the impact and extent of their agency? 4.2 Involuntary Signalling of Significant Event In each case we use a sculptural hypertext model to define the interaction. As discussed in section 2, Sculptural hypertext is a Being aware of the death of a player is very similar to leaving a system that allows navigation of a set of nodes based on whether message, except it is not voluntary, and lacks the richness of a a node’s preconditions are satisfied by the current system state, messaging system. Dark Souls focuses on player deaths, which known as the reading context. Our choice of sculptural hypertext is is entirely in line with the game’s aesthetic, but the idea could based on it facilitating an authored approach, rather than utilising be broadened in narrative terms to involuntary signalling of any narrative generation techniques. significant event that occurs to the player. To model a multiplayer narrative one would need to create a For example, imagine a location-based ghost story where players separate sculptural hypertext instances for each player. Each in- can encounter the ghost at a variety of different places according to stance is then given access to the reading context of the other the way in which the story unfolds. When they do, in the stories of instances. Nodes can then be crafted whose conditions depends on other players, it changes the way in which that location is described. the other player’s context and therefore, their actions. This provides For example, a warm sunlit garden could become cold and drab. the means for a player to influence the narratives of others. Just as in Dark Souls, this simultaneously adds richness to the story world and provides clues to the player seeing the effect. NHT2017, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic C. Spawforth Ghost E n c o u n t e r : Conditions : Romeo r e j e c t s R o s a l i n e : − { player1 } at { location1 } Conditions : − ( o t h e r c o n d i t i o n s t h a t i n d i c a t e an − { p l a y e r 1 } f o l l o w s Romeo e n c o u n t e r s h o u l d happen ) − ( other narrative conditions . . . ) Effects : Effects : − ( ∀ P l a y e r s ) ghost seen at l o c a t i o n 1 − ( ∀ P l a y e r s ) Romeo h a s r e j e c t e d R o s a l i n e D e s c r i p t i o n o f Garden : J u l i e t and P a r i s meet : ( T e x t d e s c r i b e s warm and v i b r a n t g a r d e n ) ( T e x t h a s P a r i s m e n t i o n i n g Romeo and R o s a l i n e ) Conditions : Conditions : − { player2 } at { location1 } − { player2 } follows J u l i e t − NOT g h o s t s e e n a t l o c a t i o n 1 − NOT Romeo h a s r e j e c t e d R o s a l i n e Effects : D e s c r i p t i o n o f Garden : − ( ∀ P l a y e r s ) J u l i e t i s u n s u r e o f Romeo ( T e x t d e s c r i b e s c o l d and d r a b g a r d e n ) Conditions : J u l i e t and P a r i s meet : − { player2 } at { location1 } ( T e x t makes no mention o f R o s a l i n e ) − ghost seen at l o c a t i o n 1 Conditions : − { player2 } follows J u l i e t − Romeo h a s r e j e c t e d R o s a l i n e Figure 2: Example Sculptural Nodes for Involuntary Effects : Signalling − ( ∀ P l a y e r s ) J u l i e t i s i n t r i g u e d by Romeo Figure 3: Example Sculptural Nodes for Collaborative Play In terms of sculptural hypertext this is also a form of unlocking, but in this case the more specific example of an alternative node pattern. In this pattern, there are multiple versions of a single node interaction might be encoded as sculptural hypertext nodes, using (that otherwise have the same location and place in the narrative) the same alternative node pattern as above. but the version the player sees depends on their reader context. In Dark Souls this whole collaborative venture occurs as a mul- This was imagined to deal with things like alternative descriptions tiplayer encounter within a singleplayer game, as the player has of a place depending on the time of day, but could equally be ap- to use a summoning stone to bring in the second player. There is a plied to this kind of involuntary inter-player signalling. Again the primary player who has existed for the duration of the game, and a assumption is that a set of players are experiencing same story. assisting player that is only temporarily part of the game world. Figure 2 shows an example of how this might be implemented. This whole collaborative encounter is effectively part of a signif- icant foldback pattern. In this pattern, the narrative branches (in 4.3 Collaborative Simultaneous Interactions this case to be either single player or multi-player) and then returns Summoning Signs are a much more complex interaction as they to the same point. This is shown in Figure 4. summon another player into your world to help you directly. To do In our romance example, this re-conceptualises the story as a this requires a simultaneous experience. There are also two distinct single player experience where the player plays an Angel following viewpoints within the narrative - one for each player. both characters. However they can (at some strategic point) sum- Simultaneous experiences require that a sculptural hypertext mon in another player representing another Angel to assist them, front end continuously polls the engine, as it is no longer just this with each Angel affecting one half of the couple. Such encounters players actions that can change their state, but also the actions are likely to be very difficult to both author and successfully run. of other independent players acting in real time. Thus a player This is because it requires players to be matched dynamically, rather contemplating which choice to make on a list might suddenly see than choosing to play together from the offset. that list change, as another player makes their choices. For example, consider a romantic adventure where the players 4.4 Competitive Simultaneous Interactions are angels sent to Earth to guide and protect a young couple destined The last interactions we described in Dark Souls are those that initi- for love. Each player is assigned one half of the couple and their ate a player versus player fight. These fall into two major categories: narrative follows that person throughout the romance, but the voluntary summoning and forcibly invading another player’s game. interventions of each player impacts on the experience and possible Forced invasion can occur either through item use or the player to actions of the other, as they try to manoeuvre the pair to find love. be invaded entering a restricted area. This is about as far removed from the Dark Souls premise as you In a narrative this has the same dynamics as the collaborative can get, but functionally follows the same collaborative simulta- simultaneous interactions, but now the goals of the two players neous interactions. Figure3 shows an example of how part of this are at odds, and the reading becomes a competition to see who Multiplayer Games as a Template for Multiplayer Narratives: A Case Study With Dark Souls NHT2017, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic factors by which those games are characterised. 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