Monika Yosifova | Wightwhisper: Choices that Drive Games Forwards

Through the first semester of Capstone, where the best storytelling games were looked at in depth and analyzed, it became obvious that “good” writing in video games:
1. Is consistent
2. Tells a story
3. Has correct grammar and spelling
4. Doesn’t use unnecessary words
By further focusing on point 2 (telling a story) it is possible for video game developers to learn more about what their players enjoy and gravitate towards. This dips into the important area of player analytics. Every business enjoys knowing what sells their product and what doesn’t, in the same way, by being able to see which choices in a text-based video game are picked more, one can see what their audience resonates with more.

To make such a text-based video game through this Capstone, Twine was utilized, and a story “good” enough to engage the audience was created: Wightwhisper, a story of a pair of siblings trying to restore their family to power after being exiled for using black magic. Once this story was written up and inputted into Twine, it was tested by 12 individuals (6 guys and 6 girls) for story research purposes. Out of the 12 players, 9 picked the male sibling as their main character, which went against the assumption that women would want to play the female character and vice versa for the men.

Once Google Analytics were implemented, data began accumulating over player’s different choices. Data that allowed for assumptions. Out of the three paths for each character: power, family and love, no matter which main character the players selected, most of them preferred family over love and power. This is important for the overall direction of the video game industry because it shows a clear pattern: no matter what gender of character people prefer playing, above all, family is a theme that resonates with players.

As text-based games however, are very niche, not every person has the ability to enjoy reading and making decisions. This specific genre (text based games) was the most popular in the 1980s, therefore in order to enhance the enjoyment and comfort of people who aren’t the target niche, Wighwhisper, as a whole project, had to be taken to another level. Through the use of an old screen, mouse, keyboard, chair, desk and several posters from the 80s, Wighwhisper became an experience in the virtual world as well as in the physical world. People took pictures sitting in the chair and enjoying the aesthetic of the project comfortably.

Overall, Wightwhisper was a triumph of passion for video games in several aspects: writing, game development, coding, player analytics and industry history. It shows potential for further exploration of game audiences and writing in the long run.