1 of 33

Procedural Prohibition

Bringing Story Generation into a Simulation Game

Matthew Viglione

NarraScope 2023

2 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: An Outline

  • A bit about me and my studio
  • Mandatory audience participation
  • Some general background before getting specific
    • How we think about story and narrative �in sim games
    • Some strengths of narrative in sim games
    • A few problems with narrative in sim games
  • And thus armed…

Foundations

3 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: An Outline

We’ll get specific.

  • City of Gangsters – a social simulation of Prohibition-era crime organizations that features:
    • Procedural 1920s American cities
    • Procedural 1920s city residents
    • A business/logistics tycoon game
    • 1920s crime boss
  • A unique city emerges with each new game
  • Building, nurturing and using relationships
  • Social actions and consequences
  • Become Nucky Thompson or Al Capone!

4 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

A bit about me.

5 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

A bit about me.

6 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

A bit about me.

7 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

Mandatory audience participation

Stories that evoke systems

Evolving, shifting relationships

8 of 33

Stories that evoke systems

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

Systems that evoke stories

9 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

Systems that evoke stories

Systems that evoke stories (indirectly)

No explicit narrative

More authored

10 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

How do we indirectly create narrative in sim games?

Initial narrative singularity

Setting – time, place, theme

Tabula rasa

Dawn of civilization

Discovery of FTL travel

Foundation of a new city

January 17, 1920

11 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

In sim games, the story is right in front of you. All the time.

12 of 33

That’s the strength of sim games – they’re great at creating stories. �But they’re bad at (re)telling them.

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

13 of 33

The “R” word.

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

Replayability.

14 of 33

The “R” word.

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

How we think about story and narrative in sim games

Replayability.

15 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

The story so far…

  • Systems that evoke stories
  • Creating on a blank canvas or starting out anew (over and over again)
  • The story is the gameboard – the artifact fully contains the story
  • Good at creating story but lacking when it comes to telling it
  • Replayability is required

16 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

The (back) story

17 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Procedural George Remus

  • What do we need to do to create that story (over and over again)?
  • New George
  • New Cincinnati

18 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Procedural George

19 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Procedural Cincinnati (OK. Fine. Pittsburgh)

20 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Becoming George

  • The basics of being a booze tycoon in 1921
  • Starting in the basement
  • Moving the product

21 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

A business/logistics tycoon game

22 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Making friends and influencing people (literally)

  • You gotta know a guy (or in this case, gal)
  • Meeting new people
  • Calling in favors

23 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Making friends and influencing people (literally)

Our turf.

Our friends.

No friends, no turf.

24 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Making friends and influencing people (literally)

Copacetic.

Who did you say you are?

We should be friends.

We are friends.

They know each other.

About that favor…

Let them know we’re cool.

Irene, old buddy, old pal…

It’s all just talk.

25 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Be careful who you call your friends. I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies. – Al Capone

Friends can be useful…

Sometimes you gotta break out the tommy guns…

In our way.

Careful with that machine gun, Liz.

26 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Block by block, become the Boss.

27 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

An engine for social economics in simulation games

  • Action space is gated by relationships and those are created by actions
  • Relationship history is tracked and displayed – it’s always transparent
  • Social queries are done via logic programming (we have other talks about that)
  • “Enemy of my enemy”.
  • “You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

28 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

An empire of stories

  • Story built beat by beat
  • In a game like City of Gangsters, the player builds story “socially”.
  • Those relationships – built on individual bits of narrative – build your empire
  • Each sale, each block of control, each building you take over is the result of a story “brick”
  • Those are recorded and form foundations for future action – or the lack of action

29 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Telling prohibition-era stories

  • Problem: sim games are good at creating story. �Lacking when it comes to telling it.
  • Make social history impactful – a constant reminder of past actions
  • The social history is a narrative
  • Success is combination of physical control and social influence where the former is visible via the city map and the latter by your web of connections
  • Very helpful in getting (back) into a story in the game
  • Adds added dimension to a simulation - consequences

30 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: City of Gangsters

Telling (new) prohibition-era stories

  • Problem: Starting over (and over and over)
  • Procedural cities create new canvases for each novel Prohibition crime syndicate
  • Each new city has brand-new families, friends and enemies
  • The unique constraints and opportunities in each new procedural city allow new stories
  • A George Remus simulator

31 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition

What we built

  • Some positives
    • Procedural generation leads to high replayability
    • Very sticky with players
    • Creates lots of memorable moments
    • Documents and preserves player’s stories in building/sim games
    • Players tell their own stories and those stories are the building blocks for their simulated criminal organization
  • Some negatives
    • Procedural generation can also not be your friend
    • Words, words, words

32 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition: Foundations

Systems that evoke stories.

33 of 33

NarraScope 2023

June 9-11, the University of Pittsburgh

Procedural Prohibition

Thanks and let’s talk!

www.somasim.com

matt@somasim.com

@somasim_games