The use of dramatic elements in games serve to create emotional stakes between the player and the game. Both implicit and explicit elements may be used to convey drama within a game. 

In class, we used various playing cards to create a story merely through the pictures and descriptions displayed on the cards. However, the story is not created explicitly through the written word. Rather, our imaginations are used to craft the story implied through the way the cards are laid out. This kind of implicit storytelling can also be employed in other games, such as Monopoly, where one’s imagination can craft a story through the events of the game and the interaction with the other player. In cases like these, the dramatic elements are crafted through the players themselves. However, explicit elements are also present, shown through the different pictures and descriptions depicted on the cards that invoke reactions from players.

We also played through the game Virginia, which explicitly conveys a story of women of color characters working in a white male dominated workplace. Dramatic elements include the conveying of ambiguity through the lack of dialogue, sudden jump cuts, and dream sequences. These elements are crafted through the developers and conveyed to the players. Even so, because of the mystery conveyed through the elements introduced in the game, there are still some implicit dramatic elements created by the player themselves. The lack of dialogue and use of jump cuts serve to create vague moments that allow the players to interpret scenes and ponder on hidden meanings that the game might be trying to convey. Interpretations can vary wildly between different players, and these interpretations may make different players view different themes, messages, or characterizations from one another. As such, despite many events of the story being determined by the developers, some parts of the story still employ the use of the player’s interpretation to create implicit elements within the story.

Our exercises and observations of dramatic elements in games emphasized the use of player interpretation to add drama to games. Implications are created by the developer for the player to ponder about, and ultimately, the point of drama lies within the player’s own interpretation of the story and scenes presented to them.

Sources:

Fullerton, Tracy, and Tracy Fullerton. “Working with Dramatic Elements.” Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, CRC Press, 2019.