Player Journey vs. Character Arc
When I was breaking stories for TV, we spent hours figuring out how to drop characters into impossible situations. Secret agents living double lives. Survivors on a cursed island. Ordinary people waking up with superpowers. We never anticipated how our characters would feel about it. We just cranked up the pressure and watched them respond.
Character + Situation = Condition that generates story.
That same logic can apply to multiplayer video games, but it needs a tweak. In games like Fortnite, VALORANT, and Tarkov, the player IS the character. So…
Player + Situation = Condition that generates story.
We story scribblers love our character arcs and emotional beats, but in these games? Too much scripting can kill the magic. Players don't want to be told their story. They want to live it.
When you're clutching a 1v5 in a shooter, talking trash with your squad, heart pounding as you barely escape with your health in the red, that's your emotional journey. Not some backstory about your agent's tragic childhood. If you even bothered to read it or watch the cutscene. The bond isn't built through exposition. It's earned through experience.
Your job isn't to dictate the player's story. It's creating conditions where they can forge their own.
Framework
The world defines the pressure (danger, rules, rewards)
The player defines the character (through choices, playstyle, squad dynamics)
The story emerges organically (no cutscenes required)
Games That Crush This
VALORANT: Agents have just enough personality to set a vibe. The real character development happens when you nail that perfect Sova drone or pull off an impossible Jett dash.
Fortnite: Turned the map into a storytelling canvas. Players feel part of a living world without needing lore dumps about why a banana is wielding an AR.
Helldivers 2: It’s not your character’s story, it’s your squad’s. And the emotional arc is written in friendly fire, failed extractions, and group chats after the dust settles.
Destiny 2: Smart move putting the deep lore in armor flavor text and optional cutscenes. Most players care more about their Guardian's loadout than any scripted backstory.
The Multiplayer Trap
Over-script these experiences and you risk:
Disrupting player agency ("Don't tell me how my character feels")
Creating weird dissonance ("Why is this tragic monologue happening during a squad wipe?")
Forcing identity ("What if I don't want to be this guy with this agenda?")
Think Archetype, Not Arc
Characters don't need full emotional journeys. They need:
Clarity of role: What do they bring to the fight?
Freedom of expression: Let players make them their own
Support for playstyle: Mechanics that match personality
Narrative Design, Not Narrative Dictatorship
I'm not saying totally ditch story. Change your approach:
Environmental storytelling over exposition
World evolution over character development
Transmedia (comics, trailers, ARGs) as optional deep-dives
Emergent narrative tools like killcams and player-created meme moments
Why This Makes Stronger IP
When players aren't locked into character stories, you get:
Flexibility across media (easier to adapt for shows, comics, merch)
Broader audience connection (players see themselves in the world)
A living mythos instead of a protected lore bible
Pull this off and you're not just building a story. You're building a playground where stories happen.
Your job as a narrative designer isn't to control the player's journey. It's to build the world, set the stakes, and get out of the way. Because when you nail it?
The player doesn't just play the story. They become it.
Think about your own story worlds. Could they survive without a protagonist? If yes, you’ve got a condition strong enough to build a game around. If no, maybe it should be a film, and that’s okay too, just as long as you’re always scribbling!
