• Consistency
  If a character is surly and keeps to himself for 90% of the story, without proper character development, he's not going to suddenly change his tune and pick flowers with a broad smile on his face. If a town was attacked by monsters a day ago, chances are they wouldn't have been able to repair everything overnight. People do not recover from bullet wounds in a matter of hours. And for all that is holy, unless alluded to in your story based in the "real world" – DO NOT introduce "magic" or "super natural" qualities right at the end (I'm looking at YOU, Fahrenheit [Or Indigo Prophecy, for our North American audience {do you guys exist? Say hi!}]) – see Deus ex Machina later on.
  Be very careful that you're consistent in the tales you weave – inconsistency in your story will lead to players feeling detached from it.
  
  
  
  
• Twists
  DUN DUN DUNNNNN! – What a twist! Twists are a great way to create that "Whoa!" factor in stories, and really, there's usually at least one in all kinds. But be warned! Use this plot device sparingly, because too many twists will leave the player disorientated and confused (*stares at Metal Gear Solid*). If you really want to make an impact with a twist, try finding a way to twist something the player would never expect – because there's rarely something more disappointing than an obvious twist.
  
  
  
  
• Deus ex Machina
  Possibly the biggest thing to avoid in any story is Deus ex machina. What does it mean? Well, it translates to "God in the machine" and what it means in terms of story telling, is basically that you were too Goddamned lazy to make sure all the loose ends tied up together neatly to create a cohesive conclusion, so you introduce something magical right at the end of the tale that totally resolves all the problems. It's a major cop-out from a narrative perspective and should really be avoided at all costs.
  
  
  
  
• Plot Holes
  Remember in the last Lord of the Rings movie when Gandalf came flying over Mordor on a large eagle to rescue Sam and Frodo? Remember sitting there thinking "Why the hell didn't he just do that in the first place and throw the ring into the volcano and save me from watching 9 hours of homosexual tension between two hairy midgets?" No? Well, you should have. Do your best to make sure your story makes complete sense, and doesn't leave itself open with gaping holes for players to prod their fingers into.
  And accept the fact that if your tale involves any form of time travel, you're screwed with this one anyway.

Dear readers, that brings us to the end of the Narrative guide, I hope you got something out of it. It's difficult to set any real form of structure to it as, really, there are no boundaries. Anything can work if you have the skill, and imagination, to do so.

And as always I leave you with this message:

REMEMBER YOUR NARRATIVE LEVEL!

It's the core of your entire journey!

Dev.Mag apologises profusely for any endings spoiled, lives ruined, kittens murdered and divorces induced by the publishing of this page. We hide under the 'old news' amnesty banner on this one.