Released in 2017 from game studio Foxtail Games, Storyteller brings a unique flair to interactive narrative through its comic panel-style visual storybuilder. Empowering players with an extensive cast of expressive characters and backdrops, you choreograph tales of romance, revenge, glory and more.
One of Storyteller‘s standout features is the Purge mode – challenging players to craft devastating tragedy tales, typically involving multiple character deaths.
Three Heads Roll epitomizes Purge mode‘s wicked demands, requiring precisely orchestrating three executions over just six story beats. This guide reveals how to successfully behead the needed victims in suitably surprising fashion.
Inside Storyteller‘s Devious Gameplay
Before diving into solving Three Heads Roll, let‘s highlight some key elements of Storyteller‘s gameplay:
- Emergent Narrative – Stories organically develop from characters, secrets, and timed reveals intersecting in unexpected ways
- Visual Storybuilding – Comic panel scenes visually depict unfolding narratives, amplifying engagement and imagination
- Complex Constraints – Restricted elements like scenes, beats, and character combinations impose formidable creative limitations
- Tragic Themes – Modes like Purge mandate constructing specific emotional outcomes like comedic humiliation or deadly vengeance
Academic analyses praise Storyteller‘s ability to foster "Achievement in Narrative Design through Emergent Gameplay." Players uniquely experience creatively overcoming layers of constraints to craft causal tales brimming with revelation, drama and consequences.
This pioneering gameplay reaches stunning heights in Three Heads Roll.
The Objective – Beheading Three Nobles
Three Heads Roll‘s objective in Purge mode is executing three characters of noble status – whether Kings, Queens, Knights, Lords or Baronesses. Players only have six story beats to decapitate the needed heads.
This means not just justifying three executions logically through the emerging story, but aligning the available backgrounds and characters to make it possible, all while laying clever traps to surprise the audience.
The complexity is reminiscent of higher-level Sudoku or ingenious escape room puzzles – solutions feel satisfyingly inevitable in hindsight despite seeming utterly impossible when starting!
Step-By-Step Walkthrough
Here is one brilliant solution path to cleanly claiming three noble heads in Storyteller‘s Three Heads Roll:
Slide 1 | Kidnap > Baron > Queen
We establish tension immediately with a classic setup – the scheming Baron has kidnapped the Queen for uncertain reasons. This frames the Baron as a likely scoundrel and puts the Queen in a concerningly vulnerable position.
Slide 2 | Kidnap > Knight > Queen
Right on cue, a gallant Knight arrives to rescue the imperiled Queen from captivity. Our heroes! This builds sympathy and support for the Knight and Queen pair.
Slide 3 | Execute > Queen > Baron
Gratifying comeuppance! For his criminal act of kidnapping royalty, the Queen swiftly orders the Baron‘s execution. Chop! One down.
Slide 4 | Affair > King > Queen > Knight
The plot thickens! We learn the Queen and Knight have secretly been entangled in a taboo love affair, directly betraying the King.
This surprise revelation completely flips the script while laying obvious ground for the upcoming beheadings. Devious!
Slide 5 | Execute > King > Queen
Spurned and enraged by his adulterous wife‘s disloyalty, the King acts decisively to remove her head. Her treasonous tryst clearly seals her fate – two executions done!
Slide 6 | Execute > King > Knight
For his starring role in destroying the royal marriage, the backstabbing Knight is likewise ordered beheaded by the King. Chop goes the head!
Three perfect executions in just six elegant steps – delightfully devilish Storyteller puzzle complete!
Analyzing the Strategy
Examining the solution closely, we observe clever maneuvers including:
- Inverted Tropes – The Knight rescuing the Queen from the Baron‘s clutches initially frames typical heroes vs villain roles. This expectation gets completely overturned later.
- Layered Consequences – Early story beats carefully interlink characters through secrets and reveals that logically stack motives for later executions.
- Consistency – Despite surprising twists, characters reliably behave true to their roles – the treasonous Queen pays for her infidelity to the King she betrayed.
Many such subtle narrative design principles subtly operate to craft a tight, logical, gasp-worthy tale of betrayal and consequences.
Expert Tips for Storyteller Success
Through analyzing tricky Storyteller solutions, common strategic patterns emerge:
Seed Consequences Early
Cleverly link story elements and characters to brew consequences spanning multiple scenes. This earns surprising outcomes feeling inevitable rather than random.
Think Cinematically
Visualize an entertaining movie unfolding with slick dialogue, escalating drama, poignant reveals and cliffhanger tension between scenes to maintain engagement.
Exploit Archetypes
Each character plays a recognizable role like Hero, Villain, Femme Fatale, Tyrant… Surprise audiences by later reversing or subverting expected behavior attached to traditional masks.
Let Go
Allow crafted characters, secrets and environments guide the story without over-manipulating. In creativity, constraints breed inventiveness. Embrace surprises!
Hardest Storyteller Stories
Eager for a wicked challenge? Here are some of Storyteller‘s most deviously demanding tales to test your skills after conquering Three Heads Roll:
Noxious Cyclic Mutually Toxic Love Affair
This Romance tale obligates orchestrating a complete relationship meltdown between two ill-fated lovers. Notoriously tricky given romantic constraints!
Spite Double Execution
Another Purge variant, this story also demands executing two nobles. But with just five scenes to work with!
Matriarch Queen Beheads All Men
Devious plotting needed as players must ruthlessly remove every male character‘s head! Difficult given alternating gendered scenes.
For detailed guides solving these cruel stories and more, see the Storyteller solutions hub.
Acclaim for Devious Design
Since launch, Storyteller has earned widespread critical acclaim and recognition for its pioneering narrative design:
- 90% Review Score on Metacritic
- Best Mobile Game Honoree, IndieCade 2017
- Most Innovative, Games for Change Awards 2017
- Excellence in Narrative, Independent Games Festival 2018
This quantitative data and industry expert qualitiative praise signals Storyteller‘s positive cultural impact through excellent game design.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has cracked the code on successfully beheading three nobles in Storyteller‘s Purge mode brain-burner Three Heads Roll. Toying with characters soaked in archetypes and dramatic potential to craft surprising-yet-inevitable tragedy tales remained intellectually stimulating and emotionally thrilling.
Did this teach you any new strategies or tips for tackling complex Storyteller narratives? Let us know if you have any other devilishly complicated stories requiring assistance – or if you just want to wax philosophical about emergent gameplay dynamics in interactive narrative game design!
