A story you want to come back to. What you need to know about narrative in casual games

What the talk is about

Olha Shapovalova of Woki Games explains how to build narrative in casual games, using Manor Matters, a mansion-restoration game with match-3 and hidden-object mechanics. Key points: narrative is more than plot, it is everything that forms the story in the player's mind; a story needs one main backbone line (here, mysteries) plus extra lines (mysticism, restoration) that add depth. A player returning after a break must always remember the goal, which is supported by a journal, visual anchors and subtle reminders in dialogues. Promised rewards for spent stars must be delivered, and negative twists should not come at the player's expense. She also covers character creation and common mistakes: an over-complicated plot, ignoring non-readers and readers alike, buried "treasures" and unevenly distributed content. Useful for writers and narrative designers.