Mady Winters - Narrative Designer

Post Mortem

Contributions: 

• Wrote a majority of the script with valuable input from the narrative team along the way. 
• Wrote the description of Wroughted Iron. 
• Wrote the beginning and middle segment of the story beats and provided feedback on the end section. 
• Attended a meeting to help "storyboard" the cinematic moments of the game. 
• Wrote the narrative description for the shock umbrella, the game's final weapon. 
• Assembled the credits list with help from the narrative team. 

What Was Learned

1. The Impact of Narrative: Before this project, I thought I understood just how much narrative impacts the other concentrations in game design. Of course, I knew that narrative played an important part in designing a game, but every team had questions for the narrative team. I expected it from the art team, but was surprised to get questions from the programming team. All of the questions asked were valid questions, and I'm glad that I could help my peers come to an answer that made sense within the story we were trying to tell. 
2. How To Collaborate on a Script with Multiple Teammates: Previous to this project, I had only ever written scripts by myself or with one other person. On this project, I had to collaborate with five other writers. This is a step up from what I was used to. I had to make sure to communicate at every chance possible, as I was trying to help out five other people on top of myself. 
3. The Importance of Deadlines: As a narrative designer, I understand that my role comes early in the pipeline. As one of the first roles, it is imperative to establish deadlines and stick to them. Without narrative structure, the other teams cannot move forward with their processes. If we, as the narrative team fall behind, everyone falls behind. 

What Was Surprising 

1. The Relationship Between Narrative and Programming: It surprised me how much the narrative and programming team had to collaborate on this project. Previously, I had hardly worked with programmers on any projects. However, when the programmers approached the narrative team with a question, it made sense for them to be asking these questions. They needed answers from the narrative team and we were happy to provide. 
2. The Tasks Expected of the Narrative Team: Throughout this project, the narrative team was given tasks. Some of the work I expected; however, a few of the assignments that were given to us surprised me. Some of them made sense, others, not so much. For example, we were asked to make storyboards of the UI/HUD. While narrative does play a part in this, I figured this would be more of a task for the art team. Of course, we were glad to help out where we were needed, but  I feel like it would have been more beneficial for everyone if the art team was asked first to do this. Additionally, level layouts and block-ins were asked of the narrative team as well. To me, this feels like a collaboration between the art and narrative teams. However, the narrative team ended up doing the first leg of it and then asking the art team for help when we realized it wouldn't get done without assistance. Overall, I think more collaboration between each of the teams would be beneficial for everyone involved. 

My Greatest Achievement

• While I wrote a lot for this project, one piece that I wrote was my all-time favorite. I was extremely proud of the game's description. I researched professional first-person shooters on Steam and read their descriptions. Then, I made an attempt to match the professional level of writing that they had achieved. In my opinion, I matched this level well. I am proud of how the game's description turned out because it highlights the most fun parts of our game while selling the audience on why they should play it. 

Recommendations for Future Students

• Time Allotted: I believe that the biggest challenge that was faced throughout this project was the lack of time. While a majority of time management does fall on the students, I think giving them some wiggle room to allow for falling behind would be helpful. I think giving students the entire semester to complete a polished project would help with this greatly. 
• A Clear Timeline: Coming up with a clear, concise timeline and sticking to it would help everyone stay on track and organized. Perhaps taking the first week of class to allow students to draft and agree on a timeline would be a good solution. 
• Scope: Establishing realistic and obtainable goals is something I highly recommend doing. I believe that we bit off more than we could chew with this project. Every time we wanted to write something that added to the narrative, we would always ask, "Does this create more work for other people?" If it did, it would be cut. It was a struggle to work within these restrains, but if we start with a smaller scope from the beginning, I think this would help everyone work together to create to the best of their abilities. 
• Assigned Leads: Having each team vote on someone to represent them as the lead would help with miscommunication. Having the leads regularly check-in with each of their team members can help relive some of the stress knowing that if they need to, they can rely on the lead to help them out of a tough spot. They could also communicate their needs to the lead, who then could relay the information to the rest of the group. This way, everyone's voice can be heard. 
• Lead Meetings: Adding on to the last point, if we had each team assemble and voice their concerns to their leads, then each of the leads could meet up and discuss these issues. They could also share progress reports from each of their teams and show where they are at on the timeline. This would help everyone understand what is needed from each team.