Vague vs Clear Synopsis

[EpicFILE]

Hello!

I noticed there are different ways when it comes to delivering a game synopsis.
Some prefer to make the synopsis vague, and some prefer to make a very clear synopsis.

The amout of vagueness and clarity I'm talking about is not defined by the complexity or the length of synopsis.
It's defined by how much it reveals the informations about the big picture.
There are complex, long synopsis with vague informations.
Yet there are also simple, short synopsis with very clear informations.

One is using the specific-to-broad approach, and the other one is using the broad-to-specific approach.
I think there's no better one, but certainly each have its pros and cons.
Vague have some advantage when it comes to games with many surprises and plot twists.
It can preserve some mysteries and secrets. Done properly, it can stimulate the readers' curiosity.
But it's easier to mess up the vague one. It can be too vague that it doesn't even catch the readers attention.
Personally I prefer the clear one because it's easier to grasp.

That being said, which one do you prefer? A vague synopsis or a clear synopsis?
And why do you prefer one over the other?

 

[onipunk]

A combination is always what I aim to write. I need to try and get the basics of the world across, give an idea of the characters involved and why people should hopefully be invested in them (usually by writing a little bit about their specific arc, separate from the game's plot), a mention of the inciting incident and an idea of where it's going to go. Basically, specific enough to get the player invested but vague enough that I'm not spelling out entire plot points in the blurb. If there's anything that the player is going to find out in the game anyway, I leave it out.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

I think a lot can be accomplished with a good, old-fashioned "who, what, where, when, why, how?" Tell us a little about who you're playing as, what they do, where things are happening, when it's happening (like if it's right after a war as a generic example), why is any of this happening and being done, and how (which is a good opportunity to describe some gameplay). People will make discoveries as they play the game, so I think the synopsis should mainly focus on basic ideas. If you can't get someone interested in the basics, I doubt throwing in more would convince them.

 

[Tai_MT]

I prefer a synopsis that tells me exactly what I'm getting into. I don't really care so much about the delivery of that synopsis. Preferably, your synopsis tells me the "twist" on the tropes you're using. "You play the hero who goes to slay the dragon and rescue the princess" doesn't tell me much. "The rebellion started after the war because of massive widespread oppression, and you play as a new recruit who is sent along to ensure the new evil regime falls too!" also doesn't tell me anything.

A synopsis should basically be the thing that sets up your world, your characters, major players, primary conflict, and unusual circumstances. Basically, it's your "chapter one". I don't need lengthy bios on your characters. If you've done your job of creating the game properly, I'll get to know them as I play. I don't need every plot twist either.

But, I do need the information on why your game is unique among the hundreds of others. Using the examples above, maybe the Dragon defeats the hero and then puts part of his soul into the hero. Now, the hero has to do what the Dragon says, otherwise the princess would die. How does he escape that? Or, what if the rebellion always exists, and this whole thing is just a cycle? A cycle you're trying to stop by infiltrating the rebellion and sabotaging them from within?

Gotta have that hook in there. That's what I'm looking for in any synopsis.

 

[TheoAllen]

I prefer the short one for the story synopsis rather than lengthy one. One paragraph should be enough to get the idea of the whole plot in your game instead of telling the history. Granted, you can still write the history, but I prefer to learn them in game rather than reading the game description. An example would be a majority of anime synopsis in MAL. They don't tell you everything, but a few sentence for the anime

After the synopsis is done by a few sentences, it's followed by the character. who am I going to meet in your game? A simple short character bio is also ok. It just like you're introducing your friend to me. You don't have to tell me their past. You just need to tell me who are they. And maybe what kind of things I can expect from them.

 

[Frogboy]

I've been struggling with this one. I usually like to try to surprise the player with my cool idea but I'm pretty sure that works against me most of the time. For instance, if you read the synopsis for my IGMC 2017 game, what appears to be the storyline described there is nothing more than the setting. The actual story develops as the game progresses but I didn't want to talk about things that the main character of the story doesn't know about yet.

I also have a new idea that I'm thinking about working on that would be a much cooler reveal if the player doesn't know before playing but I know that if I don't say what it is up front that a lot of people who would play if they knew will probably pass it right by.

So I like vague but I'm realizing that it's probably not the best track to take. But to be honest, I'm also starting to think that pretty custom artwork might really be the important thing that gets people interested in your game. I'm not really sure that the synopsis matters much at all compared to the screen shots.