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The Narrative Sandbox Game

Indulgence, the game we are developing, is a Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG). Unlike ACT, RPG, or Rogue-lite, which are more approachable for mainstream players. The Narrative Sandbox is primarily targeted for dedicated players, as many mainstream gamers are unfamiliar with it. Therefore, I believe it is crucial to introduce the genre of Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) before discussing our own game.

The Name

I created the term Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG), which is why a Google search will tell you little information. The concept is the same as Story Generator (first used by RimWorld in my memory) or Emergent Narrative. They are good names, but to me, they fail to describe the unique characters of the game we are talking about. The Story Generator can be easily confused with the trending AI writer, let people focus on the final narrative product instead of the game. And the Emergent Narrative, excluding its academic term flavour, every game genre could have its emergent moment.

I use the term NSG to describe this game genre--a sandbox full of narrative bits. In gameplay, players are in the story created by the game system and themselves. Each story is unique; no one can get the same story twice.

The Core Features

So, we have the name, but what exactly does the name represent? From bottom to top, we can find THREE core features in all of them.

  • Deep System Design
  • Open Rules of Play
  • Emergent Narrative

Deep System Design

If you have some knowledge of game design, you could agree that each game is a self-consistent system. Even though the games lack much interaction, like a walking simulator, or the games focus on art expression, they are also a small system.

The depth of the core system in most games is shallow because the designer wants players to understand the system easily and quickly. Players control Mario running and jumping, free from the complexities of Princess Peach’s political rivals in the Mushroom Kingdom. Developers find it intuitive to design and build, while every player can enjoy a seamless and engaging experience. Sounds perfect, right?

Usually, the answer would be affirmative. But for some curious souls, the small core system could easily make them bored. They are hungry for more.   

The Revenge of Big Forehead

There is an NPC. What does he look like? His big forehead makes him look like an ape and uglier than others. The unattractive outlook spawned hatred and envy to others and twisted his mind. He swore there would be a bloody sacrifice when he got the magic stone on the crown of the king. His sister knew his plan, and she loves her brother and wants to save him. She got the magic stone before her brother and made a wish to shrink the forehead bone of his brother when he was born. All of a sudden, the hatred spawned by the bigger forehead bone is gone. Everybody has a happy ending.

In a game with deep system design, to make the above story possible, we need to implement multiple subsystems.

  • Body Traits System, a bigger forehead could be a special trait applied to the body. Furthermore, we can replace it with a more intricately designed body system with additional details. Which contains bone, muscle and skin, and a user can adjust each part as needed.
  • Aesthetic Opinion System: NPC can distinguish between ugliness and beauty in this world.
  • Psycho System: Negative thoughts can corrupt the mind of an NPC.
  • Property System: NPC can own items in this world. They cannot use the item that does not belong to them.
  • Social Hierarchy System: NPCs have different social statuses, and there is also a mechanic that allows them to change their position in society.
  • Magic System: magic is real in this world.
  • Family System: NPCs have family relationships in this world.

The above list are not the final, I can list many more: Memory System, the brother and the sister must remember the things they keen to do; Evolve System, after the sister changed the forehead of her brother, the history in this world changed a lot, we need this system to get what exactly the result is; etc.

Of course, we can implement it with pre-written scripted events. However, that would eliminate the 99.99% possibilities created by chemical effects among subsystems. Lose all the charm of the deep system.

“You guys are crazy! How dare you create a Matrix! Nobody would play such a sophisticated game!”

Yeah, I hear your scream. Unlike in other game genres, players need to know the system as much as possible. NSG does not have such a requirement. The players only need to know the rules of how to play, or not.

The last question is, how deep is the deep system? Is the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild deep system design? The depth of its element system is surely beyond most games in the genre. I do not believe it qualifies as a narrative sandbox game. Honestly, I lack a clear standard for defining it and am relying solely on my sense of the depth and breadth of its subsystems. I hope to have a clear standard established in the future.

Open Rules of Play

Every game has rules that govern what players can or cannot do, shaping how they win or lose. The Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) are no different; players learn the rules and play them. But the most unique characteristic of the rules in Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) is  No Fixed Ruleset.

As a transdisciplinary traditional mechanical genre, Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) doesn’t have its own game rules. We can create an NSG based on any mature genres. For example, Kenshi is an RPG; Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld are Colony Sim (the most popular ruleset in NSG); Crusader Kings is grand strategy; The Sims is life simulation. This unique character opened a gateway, enabling us to convert any traditional game genre into Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG).

An Example

In the NSG version of StarCraft, players can browse the background of every unit. One day, the player discovered that a marine named Ryan lost three brothers, leaving him as the family’s last surviving son. Out of mercy, the player wants to keep Ryan alive for his parents. However, he has already been sent into the heartland of Zerg territory and lost contact due to the fog of war. The player assembled an elite team aimed to save Marine Ryan.

The above clumsy imitation reveals the tremendous potential of combining traditional game mechanics with sophisticated system design.

The Great Fault Tolerance is another unique characteristic of the rules in Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG). In most games, losing is frustrating and keeps players repeating the same gaming process until they beat it. Such things would not happen in Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG). Of course, I don't mean to say that narrative sandbox games are all simple and that players will never fail. In fact, the opposite is true. If measured by the standards of traditional mechanism games, most of them have a certain degree of difficulty, and players' gaming experiences are often accompanied by failure.

!!! quote “Motto in Dwarf Fortress" The losing is fun.

In NSG, the player can define their own loss and win conditions. The loss in other games here is treated as a different gaming branch. Some unique joy of the game can often only be experienced through losing. This is also why game streamers love these types of games—failure in the game often leads to unexpected entertainment value.

In Crusader Kings, the player can be a good ruler through mastering all the rules. If the player is overwhelmed by the complicated system, wasted years in the game and did nothing remarkable, then watching the kingdom fall can also be another kind of experience. Remember what I said before? The lack of knowledge about how to play would not be an issue for players; it can become a meaningful part of their gaming journey.

Emergent Story

Finally, we reach the top layer of Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG), the final product of gameplay, The Story. There are mountains of articles, books and videos to discuss the story, so I do not want to talk too much about it. I want to give my two cents about why Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) can create a good story.

Player Owns the Story

Most of us would appreciate the good moments in our lives. A boring joke can only trigger laughter between our friends. A familiar street food reminds us of a distant town we have not seen in years. They seem too ordinary to attract others, but they hold special meaning to us; they are part of our lives.

We spent time on games, and the play experience is also meaningful to us. No matter how small it is, like an NPC couple welcoming a new baby in the town we visited routinely, it would also get us some emotional impact.

Intuitive

Although the system of Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) is vast and intricate, it is designed based on a real-world framework. That is the reason why the emergent stories in it feel intuitive. The more players understand the game system, the more they can understand that even the most bizarre plot twists have their own internal logic.

The system is huge and complex; even seasoned game system experts would be surprised when they face something unusual in the gameplay. And after they figured it out, they would think that it is a reasonable chain effect according to their system knowledge. If you heard of the famous drunk cat story In Dwarf Fortress, you must know what I am talking about.

The Ways to Make A (New) NSG

From a broad perspective, creating a Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) is straightforward.

  1. Find a traditional game genre as the base.
  2. Expand its system, add details to fill the gap.
  3. Coating every game system rule and player interaction narrative meaning.

Then, after extensive testing and refining, you can deliver your fantastic narrative sandbox to the hungry gamers. Sounds easy, right?

The reality is that steps 2 and 3 require a tremendous amount of work. I do not know the situations of others, but I am surely drowning in it. Instead of modifying a genre that few people have stepped into, the safer path is to choose a genre that many people have already modified. That is why the Colony Sim is the most popular genre in Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG), they can stand on the shoulders of giants. How lucky they are.

May the god in Narrative Sandbox Game (NSG) bless all of us.