Procedural Storytelling in Game Design

If you've even heard of this book it's probably because you follow several of the authors on their social media, and are learning (or curious) about procedural storytelling. Let me save you $50 and some disappointment. The opening essay by Kate Compton is a thorough and practical guide to the various categories of generators, their uses, and limitations. All of this information is free on her social media (Tumbler, et al). Compton's chapter alone contains the majority of useful information here. If you're getting started, find her free, 'zine-styled procgen guide online and save yourself $50.The only other reason to buy this book is because you are fan of these developers, which admittedly I am (most of them anyway). But be prepared for almost all of their chapters to be filled with cautions to NOT use procedural generation, emphasizing again and again why it is an extremely limited tool for storytelling – and only a tool, not a magic wand. The end result is the sinking feeling that you've wasted half a C-note on a wet blanket and not the treasure trove of esoteric knowledge that will give you god-like generative powers.Unfortunately, it's the responsible thing for these developers to hammer to the reader judging from the repeatedly unrealistic expectations from an ego-driven 'scene' with vocal wannabes and wouldbes if only that magic 'make art' button (in this case 'make story' button) actually existed. Procedural generation is geometrically more complicated than 'regular' storytelling, while being a fraction as effective. Anyone who attempts it, will learn this almost immediately.Don't get me wrong, the book isn't GOOP-level chicanery. There is a demand for putting a wish into words and most of the devs here try to bring expectations back to Earth. 1 or 2 essays simply regurgitate the elevator pitch and a stock post-mortem lecture of their game – that's the low: a few narcissists that waste your time self-promoting (no different than a typical GDC talk). The rest attempt to describe at least one big takeaway concept, Short and Adams have put the essays in a certain order that works as a broad introduction and key concepts to more specific and structural examples.But after Compton's comprehensive opener the actionable information becomes scarce. A few highlights include Jon Ingold and Emily Short who reveal large structural systems behind their designs – advanced topics generously documented, albeit both do this on a regular basis through their social media communities. Only Darius Kazemi manages to be tongue-in-cheek while simultaneously cutting some refreshing holes in the wet blanket – he's the only one willing to point out flaws not so much in the technique of procedural generation, but in the often ridiculous personality-types of its acolytes. One of his sub-chapters is called "The Problem Might Not Be Your Procgen" – a slogan I'd sell as a t-shirt at the next convention. Kazemi's essay is second; third is Jill Murray's sobering experience working on a major game franchise and its ludonarrative compromises. This was when I felt the dysphoria settling in.The procgen 'scene' today attracts plenty of perlin poseurs and sidewalk preachers, and like many sham religions the avenues of access are sometimes controlled by petty men who realize they have no credibility or talent, so they resort to bullying, gaslighting, and harassment to protect their cachet of supposed 'knowledge' – that's my experience. This book represents a prior generation of pioneers, and is a testament of a handful of advocates and innovators who often had to define their own parameters of thought just to communicate it – these are the people who make the story engine tools we use today. As a collection of essays however, it's a repetitive warning against the folly of unrealistic expectations, and (only slightly veiled) the trolls who imagine they might 'rules teh worldz' with imaginary esoteric secrets which they alone understand and you are not worthy. Look for those who are constantly creating and sharing information – they are the artists. Ignore scenesters and charlatans who claim to hold keys of knowledge, there's nothing behind the procgen curtain, just many hours of tinkering and practice. Don't 'wish to write for a game company' go and write a game.I wanted to love this book, but as an artist and a writer I can't recommend it. Study Kate Compton's free procgen 'zine, and accept there are NO shortcuts and no esoteric secrets, just the naturally growing patina of experience gained by rebuilding projects and iterating on your ideas. Procgen is a practical craft that you learn by doing, not a philosophy that unlocks edge-lord sith powers. If you're already creating, this book has few eureka moments, and you've probably already encountered most of the ideas here. It's reassuring to know other people have walked the same path, it's disappointing that much of what they want to communicate is the reining of expectations.

I'm a procedural generation enthusiast and ordered the paperback version of this book on pre-order, so I was one of the first people to receive a copy of it. As such, my review may not account for later revisions or different formats. I finished reading it yesterday.Anyway, I've also read Tanya Short's and Tarn Adam's other procedural generation book and I can confirm that this book is of similar good quality.The field of procedural generation is a very young field of study compared to most, and the subfield of procedural storytelling is even more so. As such, there are a very limited number of books and sources available on this kind of thing. This is one of the only ones.Nonetheless though, despite this scarcity, this book manages to provide quite a broad and diverse collection of material related to procedural storytelling.Most of the book is conceptual, primarily focusing on providing interesting or useful ideas, but some parts are a bit technical too. The book provides only the general idea behind things in most cases. You will always have to figure out the exact implementation details yourself. This is to be expected though for such a dynamic and nuanced subject though.The contributors to the chapters range in expertise from some of the most famous in the field at one extreme to random people who hardly anyone has ever heard of before on the other extreme.Both Tarn Adams and Tanya Short have contributed their own chapters to the book. Tarn Adams is probably the most famous and well-regarded of all of the contributors. He is one of the greatest users of procedural generation techniques currently alive, at least within game dev. He is thus also very well qualified to serve as an editor here.A few of the articles felt a bit out of place (e.g. the Tarot chapter especially), but this is ok for the sake of diversity and a broad perspective on a young field of study like this though.I did notice a few random typos but I no longer remember the pages they were on. Also, since I was reading the paperback version, there was no easy way to report the errors. Everything was still understandable though.The book is good at making you think about the risks and rewards of different techniques and what kinds of trade-offs you may need to make to create a real product. Just like the other procedural generation book by the same editors, this book puts more emphasis on industry and real-world results. It isn't an academic book really. The contributors mostly have real experience working on real projects, rather than merely academic theory or out-of-touch pedantry. It's better that way generally.If you have an interest in procedural storytelling, then it is probably worth reading through this book to get a better overview of different approaches you could take to things. The individual chapters vary in quality but overall the book as a whole is excellent.One of the chapters (the one on ethics) is essentially a direct copy-paste from the other procedural generation book though. I don't think any of the other chapters were though, if my memory is correct.Some of the ideas are also relevant to procedural generation in general beyond just the storytelling context too.It's a good book, but do remember that it is on the bleeding edge of progress in game dev techniques, so don't expect any kind of complete theory. There are still tons of unanswered questions in this field.

This is a greate book. Some chapters are hit in miss in my opinion but overall it does a good job of covering the subject at large. I am a career programmer and game designer hobbyist and I felt that some chapters could have gone in more technical depth or at least hinted more on hight level implementation. I found it was a good read and gave a good idea.This book is a collection of ideas that are hight level and a good collection of use cases. Would definitively recommend but it sits in a weird middle ground between discipline for a hobbyist.

Ouvrage très intéressant, ouvre de nombreuses pistes de réflexion dans un domaine peu exploré.