tannerwelsh
commented
8 years ago FWIW, I did an exercise on creating premise from the Game Design Workshop book:
Write out the premise for 5 games I've played and describe how this premise enhances the game.
Games:
- Zelda
- Monument Valley
- Civilization
Zelda
The story is set in Hyrule, a kingdom ruled by a king maybe? You are Link, a elfish child with a special fairy sidekick, Navi. You explore the terrain to discover new abilities, magic, and resources. The king's daughter Princess Zelda is abducted by an evil lord who starts turning the whole kingdom to shit. In order to defeat this lord, you need to be bigger and stronger, so you travel forward in time. In the future, Hyrule is a dark and evil place. The same terrain is there, but the characters and mood is all different. You need to defeat a series of monsters and ultimately the evil lord in order to return Hyrule to its original glory.
Monument Valley
THe story is set in a magical three dimensional world that doesn't obey the normal laws of physics we are accustomed to. You are Ida, a princess who has stolen some mysterious objects, and you are on a mission to return the objects to their rightful place. In order to do so, you must make your way through a series of increasingly difficult, mind-bending puzzle worlds by altering the landscape so that Ida can move to her end point.
Civilization
The story is set in an simulation of Earth or an earth-like planet. You play as a single civilization starting at the dawn of human history, and you must build and expand your civilization over the course of time. You explore the map, meet and trade with other civilizations, build cities and units, develop the terrain and exploit resources, and research technologies. There are multiple paths to victory, depending on individual civilizations' and leaders' abilities.
The premise section of our rule book could use some editorial polishing.