'Ori and the Will of the Wisps': Narrative Design and Visual Storytelling

In this 2021 GDC session, Moon Studios’ Jeremy Gritton and Chris McEntee discuss conveying themes through visual storytelling, and how narrative moments are integrated into a seamless gameplay experience.
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[@homeyworkey]

i cried a bit at the ending of this game, and i wasnt even that sad, i was ready for it to happen lol. the audio and the artstyle is just extremely moving.

[@BlarGames]

The way Ori tells a story just with animation (alongside occasional narration ofc) is one of my favourite things about it. The opening of Ori 1 always felt to me like a kind of homage to the start of Pixar's Up (2009)..not quite as affecting perhaps but still very beautiful, and a perfect fit for videogames. Wish more games would do stuff like this!

[@nickinatormusic]

Same, the Blind Forest got me hooked in the first like 12 minutes with the opening. I immediately fell in love with it

[@3m3v4s]

33:06 wow that's amazing, we need to see more of the earlier game stuff like old wellspring, baurs reach, mouldwood, windtorn ruins, gorlek mines, riverlands maybe

[@shadowofcat]

thats the part you put on your channel lol, it would be very interesting to see earlier versions or wotw and see the inner working of it all

[@davidcbeaudoin]

This is amazing. Thank you both for taking the time to put this together. I just finished the game this past weekend for the first time and I was overcome with emotion. Your team's ability to marry thoughtful storytelling with amazing characters, striking visuals and an evocative, beautiful soundtrack is unmatched. Can't wait to see what you do next!

[@d00mnoodle24]

❤11:20 when you realise that that is in fact ori's last look at nibel 😭

[@leejim584]

This is the moment when you want to be a game developer

[@Alcatrazzzzzz]

god tier gigachad game with sigma soundtrack.

[@henrique_zsp]

I just finished the game a couple months back and it is amazing how the Kwolok beat is still fresh on my memory I think is my favorite part of the game plus the boss music and the fight was awesome and rewarding. That whole part is ~chef's kiss~ AMAZING!

[@SoldatDuChristChannel]

amazing! I love the depth of though put into these scenes and also later on, how it is explained the different compromises that where made to balance out form vs function

[@Layla__88]

Such an amazing game, love Ori's allegorical aspect, its deeper meaning, that it's not just pure entertainment. Thank you guys for this valuable lecture!

[@imperfectgamedev7533]

Amazing practitioners of story. Inspiring and informative!

[@chaiiskies]

This is such a great video- I'm an aspiring game artist and seeing what went into this stunning game is so lovely, thanks for making this!

[@Zahk_noodle]

Funny how they used a deleted part of the game as their thumbnail for this video

[@djpony2460]

I feel you also could of done a vote for the testers of the game to help break the tie of death or no death. I also kind of see how the thought process of the game slowly switched from game play with story and art being fluff to story+art with game play being the fluff.

[@samu_g05tz36]

This was very interesting! I love this game

[@DinukDeshan]

I bought this game on the same day this video was uploaded 😍

[@gibs7320]

such an amazing talk!

[@liamskarhed6068]

Very cool. So much that went in to this. Many changes and disition making. It was very cool to se how it came to be. I love this game. It is on my top 3 favourite game on Switch. The stort telling was so good and emotional. And many things I love about the game I se now haven't sopossted to be in the game as Ku not being in the end of the game. Many gameplay changes as more breathroom after the challenging fights. One thing thus game is spot on is the Visuals. The game is Gorgeous. So beautiful, so much depth in the Background. The Persing sunlight trough the scenes as you trevers landscape. Everything is so beautiful. The only thing that I really don't like is the spiders nest area. Mostly bc of the unpleasant feeling(that is extensional I believe) really makes me uneasy. And I am afraid of spiders aswell. But the most thing is the light aspect of the area. That makes me unable to run trough the area as you'll die if you don't have the light. That made me feel like I was there for a long time. I really don't like spiders and Dark areas. The first game made me uneasy with the spiders as well. But not as much bc of the Insta kill that the darkness provides. Even with that area. I love the game. It is on my top 3 games on Switch no doubt. The Spider area Is mostly more hard for me to enjoy bc of my phobia for such. And the story, Visuals is so amazing and I haven't even mentioned how the battles are such a big improvement on the first game. Way more fun and way less linear. All did a good job. Thanks for making this. It was a Joy to play trough😃 It was fun to se one of my favourite games came to be.

[@harisban6742]

Amazing ❤