1st Edition

Game Narrative Design and UX Fundamentals Tools for Player-centric Storytelling

By Abigail Rindo Copyright 2025
    248 Pages 47 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    248 Pages 47 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Game narrative and UX share a deep, interconnected relationship. This book explores the connections between narrative and UX to develop a framework for creating player centric stories in games by covering best practices in both crafts using a unified language.

    Games are beautiful motivation engines, and there are three primary gears that power these engines: Context, Action, and Emotion. Each of the three sections of this book will lay out the elements of narrative and UX that lead to a coherent experience, guiding the player through the game world while teaching them the systems and actions of the gameplay.

    This is very much intended to be a reference book emphasizing fundamentals, but also offers a deep dive into the best practices and methodologies. It will appeal to aspiring and current game narrative designers, UX designers, researchers, writers, and developers, students at the graduate level, or anyone interested in expanding their understanding of player centricity or world building.

    Introduction. Chapter 1 Introduction to Game Narrative and UX. Chapter 2 Research and Development. Chapter 3 World-Building. Chapter 4 Let the Player Play. Chapter 5 Guiding the Player Experience. Chapter 6 Motivation and Engagement. Chapter 7 Emotion and Story Mapping . Chapter 8 Designing Characters DRAFT 2. Conclusion. INDEX.

    Biography

    Abigail Rindo is an award-winning developer who has worked on games ranging from educational to mobile free-to-play. She has had the pleasure of working in many disciplines (production, marketing, art, design, narrative), on many platforms, and with many worlds and IPs. She has collaborated with many talented developers on more than 50 titles and regularly mentors people from around the world. She currently resides in Sweden with her brilliant husband and fluffy cats while working as VP of Creative for King.