Module 2 - NARRATE
Building the scenario
4. Mapping the player’s journey
The player’s journey is the story arc – how things unfold from the moment they arrive to the moment they escape. Planning this out helps make sure the story feels logical, builds tension in the right places and lands emotionally at the end.
4.1 The overall arc
- Plan a clear beginning, middle and end. Each part should relate to the social issue and build towards the escape.
Example: In a game about industrial pollution:- Step 1: Beginning – Players arrive at a polluted factory and discover illegal dumping.
- Step 2: Middle – They gather evidence and navigate hazards.
- Step 3: End – They expose the crime and escape before being caught.
- Break the story into key moments. Identify the points where the narrative moves forward and the issue becomes clearer or more serious.
Example: In a game about data privacy:- Step 1: Finding hidden surveillance files.
- Step 2: Decoding an encrypted message.
- Step 3: Confronting the organisation in charge.
- Build tension as the story goes on. Things should feel more serious or urgent as players get further in.
Example: In a housing rights game, early clues show small injustices. Later on, players uncover eviction threats and corruption – making the mission feel more and more urgent. - Plan the order of discoveries carefully. Players should uncover information in a way that feels natural and keeps them engaged.
Example: Players find a leaked memo first, follow environmental clues next, and then face the culprit – each step builds on the last. - Let the story shape the characters. Events should reveal more about who the characters are as things progress.
Example: A whistleblower who starts out hesitant gradually finds the courage to act as they uncover more evidence – their personal journey mirrors the story’s arc. - Give players feedback at each stage. Remind them why what they’re doing matters.
Example: “If this leak isn’t stopped, dozens will be harmed” – a simple note like this keeps the mission feeling real and grounded.
4.2 The player’s personal journey
- Set up a clear starting point. Players need to know who they are, where they are and what they’re walking into.
Example: Players arrive as new interns at a failing hospital, with no idea yet about the staff shortages causing patient harm. - Think about how players should change by the end. What do you want them to understand, feel or have accomplished?
Example: By the end, players have exposed systemic mismanagement, built empathy for overworked staff and understand the real human cost of the issue. - Break the journey into clear stages. Move through the story step by step, with each stage revealing something new.
Example: In a hospital game:- Step 1: Noticing small problems – missing medicines, overbooked schedules
- Step 2: Finding bigger failures – fraudulent billing, ignored safety rules.
- Step 3: Taking action – gathering evidence or alerting the right people.
- Plan emotional moments throughout. Think about when players should feel curious, tense, urgent or moved.
Example: Finding a patient’s diary about their experience with understaffed care creates empathy. Discovering a locked records room creates tension. Both keep players emotionally invested. - Connect what players do to the story. Every action should feel like it matters for the issue, not just for the game.
Example: Searching the supply cupboard reveals mismanagement – which pushes players to ask harder questions and make tougher choices. - End with something that feels earned. The resolution should reflect how far players have come and what they’ve done.
Example: Players expose negligence, reforms are put in place at the hospital – the ending rewards their journey and circles back to the mission.
Activity: Fill in the blanks
5. Interaction points
Interaction points are the moments in the game where players touch, read or engage with something – and in doing so, learn more about the world and the story. From a narrative point of view, these aren’t just clues for puzzles. They’re pieces of the world’s lore.
A well-placed note, object or message can hint at what happened before the players arrived: a failed experiment, a person who went missing, a cover-up that went wrong. The space itself becomes a storyteller – players piece together the history through what they find.
These moments also shape how players see themselves in the story. Are they investigators? Intruders? Survivors? The way information is revealed – through a warning, a personal letter, a hidden file – tells players who they are and why they should care about what’s happening around them.
6. Choices and outcomes
When players get to make real choices, the story becomes theirs. Decisions should connect to the social issue and actually change something – in the narrative, in the characters, or in the stakes.
- Step 1: Make decisions feel meaningful. Every choice should affect the story, reveal something about a character or raise the stakes around the social issue. Avoid choices that are just there to fill time.
Example: In a game about corporate corruption: do you report the illegal activity now, or wait and gather more evidence first? Both options have real consequences. - Step 2: Tie choices to who the player is. Decisions should feel personal – they should say something about the kind of person the player character is or wants to be.
Example: Choosing to help a struggling colleague or walk past them shows whether the player is empathetic or self-serving. That choice shapes their identity in the story. - Step 3: Show how choices affect the social issue. Decisions should make the problem better or worse, more or less visible – not just change the mechanics.
Example: Reporting illegal deforestation straight away might save the forest but put the whistleblower at risk. Waiting might keep them safe but let the damage get worse.
- Show consequences clearly. Use dialogue, changes in the environment or story events to show what happened as a result of a choice.
Example: After sharing sensitive data, players see news reports about the injustice being exposed – a clear, satisfying consequence that makes the decision feel worth it. - Let choices have lasting effects. A decision made early on should still matter later in the story.
Example: Ignoring a safety warning at the start leads to a minor incident. Later, that same issue becomes a major crisis that changes how the story ends. - Embrace moral complexity. Don’t make every choice clearly right or wrong. Let players sit with the difficulty.
Example: Should you sabotage a corrupt factory? You’d be breaking the law – but you’d be protecting workers. There’s no easy answer, and that’s the point.
7. Event sequence and story flow
How you order events determines how the story feels. A good flow keeps players moving forward, raises the tension at the right moments and makes the social issue feel more and more real as the game goes on.
- Step 1: Plan the overall rhythm of the story. Think about how tension and discoveries build from start to finish.
Example: In a game about illegal labour: it starts with paperwork that doesn’t add up, builds to evidence of worker abuse, and ends with a confrontation with management. - Step 2: Organise the story into beats. Each moment should lead naturally to the next, with each new revelation building on what came before.
Example: Beat 1: A confidential memo hints at corruption. Beat 2: Hidden contracts or evidence come to light. Beat 3: Players expose the wrongdoing and get out before it’s too late. - Step 3: Make things feel more urgent as the game goes on. Each stage should feel weightier or more morally complex than the last.
Example: Early on, players notice small rule violations at a factory. Later, they find out workers are in real danger – the stakes keep rising.
- Let characters grow alongside the story. As events unfold, characters should change – gaining courage, making harder choices or revealing new sides of themselves.
Example: A journalist who starts out cautious gradually commits to exposing the truth as the evidence stacks up. Their growth mirrors the story’s momentum. - Use foreshadowing. Drop hints early that pay off later. It makes the story feel crafted, not random.
Example: A note mentioning a locked storage room early on becomes significant when players later find critical evidence inside. - Balance action with quieter moments. Not every moment needs to be intense. Breathing space helps players absorb what’s happening emotionally.
Example: After uncovering corruption, give players a moment to read a personal diary from someone affected before the final confrontation. It adds depth and emotional weight.
Activity: Quiz
Watch the videos
In the following videos, you will find a summary of this Module.