Ludonarrative in Game Design Education: A Concrete Approach

This paper, written by Hartmut Koenitz, Teun Dubbelman, and Christian Roth of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, argues that narrative has been underserved in game design education and presents a concrete pedagogical model for addressing this gap. Its central claim is that game designers can be trained to become interactive narrative designers, people who craft game systems so that meaningful narratives emerge in players' minds through interaction. The authors ground this argument in the rise of narrative-focused games such as Dear Esther, Gone Home, The Walking Dead, and Firewatch, which they present as evidence of a distinct space for interactive digital narration rather than a mere adaptation of print or film storytelling.

The core of the proposed approach is a minor concentration called Interactive Narrative Design, developed in response to a stated need from the Dutch game industry. The authors observe that scriptwriters are skilled at fixed storytelling but struggle in interactive contexts, while game designers understand interaction but often lack deep narrative knowledge. The minor addresses this divide through a two-step process: first helping students "unlearn" linear, Euro-centric storytelling conventions and recognize alternatives such as Kishōtenketsu and cyclical African oral forms, and second training them to "reuse" their existing design skills for narrative purposes, including designing narrative game mechanics. Narrative is framed throughout as a cognitive meaning-making process rather than a fixed structure.

The paper is a position and program description rather than an empirical study, so it reports no survey data, sample sizes, or quantitative findings. Its scope is confined to one institution and one national industry context, and its conclusions about the minor's effectiveness are not yet supported by outcome evaluation. The authors also note that ludonarrative research should extend into video game studies, citing evaluation methods, narrative structure analysis, and player interpretation, and they report that a Master's program is being developed to pursue these questions.