Story Structure for Games

Purpose

Branching narratives, player agency, non-linear story structure, and act frameworks adapted for interactive media. Genre-agnostic — works for any game with narrative elements.

When to Use

Trigger: story structure, branching narrative, player agency, non-linear story, act structure, story beats, narrative arc, dialogue tree, multiple endings, player choice, consequence system, narrative design

Prerequisites

• quest-narrative-coherence — ensures all story content is consistent
• worldbuilding — provides the world context for the story

Core Principles

Hideo Kojima: "Games can tell stories that no other medium can — stories where the audience is the protagonist." Ken Levine: "Narrative should emerge from systems, not just scripted sequences."