Tag: story development

How to Write a Synopsis and an Elevator Pitch for a Game or Animation

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Before anyone agrees to fund, build or even read your project, they want to know one thing: what is it about? A synopsis is a short written summary of the whole story of an animation or game, from beginning to end, including the ending. An elevator pitch is a spoken summary short enough to deliver in a lift ride (about 30 to 60 seconds) that makes the listener want to hear more. Both grow from a logline: a single sentence that captures the heart of your idea.

In Story Development and Scriptwriting we turned an idea into a premise. In this post you will turn a premise into a synopsis and a pitch you can use with teachers, teammates, funders and publishers.

Logline, elevator pitch, synopsis and treatment: what is the difference?

ToolTypical lengthWhat it is for
Logline1 sentence (about 25–40 words)The hook. Who the main character is, what they want and what stands in the way.
Elevator pitch30–60 seconds spoken (about 75–150 words)Getting a busy person interested enough to ask for more.
SynopsisHalf a page to one page (about 150–500 words for a short project)Showing the complete story, including the ending, so readers can judge whether it works.
TreatmentSeveral pagesA detailed, scene-by-scene prose version of the story, written before the script.

What goes into a synopsis

  • Title, format and genre – for example “a five-minute 3D comedy short” or “a 2D puzzle-platformer for mobile”.
  • The protagonist and their goal – who we follow and what they want.
  • The setting – where and when the story happens.
  • The conflict – the problem, obstacle or antagonist that makes the goal hard to reach.
  • The key turning points – the big events that change the direction of the story.
  • The ending – a synopsis is not a teaser. Say how the story is resolved.
  • Tone and theme – is it funny, spooky or heartwarming, and what is it really about?

Animation synopsis vs game synopsis

An animation synopsis describes one fixed sequence of events. A game synopsis must also explain the player’s role and how the story is experienced through play: what the player does most of the time (the core gameplay), how the story unfolds across levels or chapters, and whether choices lead to different endings. Game synopses often add the genre, platform and target audience (see Types of Video Games: Game Genres, Game Goals and Game Platforms).

How to write a synopsis, step by step

  1. Write your logline first. If you cannot say it in one sentence, the idea is not clear yet.
  2. List the big story beats: the beginning (the normal world and the problem), the middle (attempts, setbacks and a turning point) and the end (the climax and resolution).
  3. Turn the beats into paragraphs written in the present tense and the third person (“Maya finds a map…”, not “I found a map…”).
  4. Name only the most important characters and cut the sub-plots.
  5. Show cause and effect: each event should lead to the next.
  6. Read it aloud, cut unnecessary words and ask someone who does not know the story whether it makes sense.
Poster for the animated short film Big Buck Bunny showing a large white rabbit and three rodents
Figure 1 – The poster for Big Buck Bunny (2008), a free, open-licensed short film made by the Blender Foundation. Its synopsis is used as an example below.

The elevator pitch

A pitch is a performance, not a document. A simple formula for a game or animation pitch is:

  1. Hook – an opening line that sparks curiosity.
  2. Who and what – the main character (or the player’s role) and their goal.
  3. Obstacle – what stands in the way and why it matters.
  4. What makes it special – the unique twist, art style, mechanic or cultural setting.
  5. The ask – what you want from the listener: feedback, a meeting, funding or a place in a competition.

Keep it conversational, practise it until you do not need notes, and adapt it to your audience. A teacher, a publisher and a funding agency care about different things. For more on e-portfolios, proposals and funding, see How to Pitch and Fund an Animation or Game Project.

Example

Logline (animation): A gentle giant rabbit, bullied by three mischievous rodents, sets aside his peaceful nature to teach them a lesson they will never forget.

Synopsis (animation): Big Buck Bunny is a ten-minute 3D comedy short. On a sunny morning, Big Buck Bunny, a huge and kind-hearted rabbit, steps out of his burrow to enjoy the forest and admire the butterflies. Three bullies, Frank the flying squirrel and his sidekicks Rinky and Gimera, amuse themselves by pelting forest creatures with fruit, nuts and rocks. When they knock two butterflies out of the sky and then attack Bunny himself, the rabbit decides enough is enough. He builds a series of clever traps and deals with Rinky and Gimera one at a time. Frank, unaware, glides towards Bunny and sets off the final trap. In the end, a satisfied Bunny watches a butterfly fly past towing Frank on a string like a kite. The film is about standing up to bullies, told through slapstick comedy with no dialogue.

Big white cartoon rabbit standing in a sunny forest
Figure 2 – Big Buck Bunny in the forest. A good synopsis tells the reader who the story is about, what goes wrong and how it ends.

Elevator pitch (game): “Every year, thousands of baby leatherback turtles hatch on Grande Riviere beach in Trinidad, and only a tiny fraction survive to become adults. Hatchling Dash is a colourful mobile arcade game for ages six and up where you guide one tiny turtle from its nest to the ocean, dodging crabs, seabirds and plastic litter, then swim through three reef levels to reach the feeding grounds. Each level teaches a real fact about turtle conservation, and players can unlock a clean-up mode where they remove litter to help future hatchlings. We are looking for feedback on our first playable level. Can I show you?”

Watch this short TED video to learn how to build a pitch around your audience:

Exercise

  1. Write a logline for a film, cartoon or game you know well. Check that it names the main character, the goal and the obstacle.
  2. Create a synopsis (150–300 words) for an original animation based on a culturally relevant theme from your community, such as a festival, a folk tale or an environmental issue.
  3. Rewrite your idea as a game synopsis. Add the player’s role, the core gameplay, the number of levels or chapters and how the story ends.
  4. Turn one of your synopses into a 45-second elevator pitch using the five-step formula. Record yourself on a phone and time it.
  5. Swap pitches with a partner. Give each other one strength and one improvement, then revise.

Next: Story Arcs Explained: Five-Point, Eight-Point and Three-Act Structures for Games and Animation

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 3: Story and Character Development – Specific Objective 1 (“create a synopsis for a game or animation”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Big buck bunny poster big.jpg – Blender Foundation (peach.blender.org) – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Big Buck Bunny – forest.jpg – Blender Foundation / Project Peach – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

Story Development and Scriptwriting for Animation and Games: Storyboards, Story Arcs and Characters

Aven Brisail5 Comments

Great animation and games start with a great story. Story development is the process of turning a simple idea into a complete story with characters, a plot and a setting. A script is the written version of that story: it describes what happens and what the characters say, so the whole team can build it.

Steps in story development

  1. Idea (premise) – a one-sentence summary. For example: “A shy steelpan player must win a competition to save her community centre.”
  2. Research – learn about the setting, the culture and anything else your story needs.
  3. Characters – decide who the main character (protagonist) is, what they want, and who or what stands in their way (the antagonist).
  4. Outline – list the main events from beginning to end.
  5. Script – write the scenes, actions and dialogue.
  6. Storyboard – draw the key shots in order.
  7. Review and revise – share it, get feedback and improve it.

Basic storyboarding

A storyboard is a sequence of drawings, like a comic strip, that shows each shot of an animation or each key moment of a game’s story. Under each frame you add notes about action, dialogue, sound and camera movement. Stick figures are fine: a storyboard is for planning, not for final art. See also: Storyboards – Professional Video Creation (Part 1).

Hand-drawn storyboard sheet with sketched frames and notes
Figure 1 – A hand-drawn storyboard (notes in Spanish). Each frame is labelled with its scene and shot number, and the shot type and action are written underneath.

The story arc

A story arc is the shape of a story from beginning to end. A common version, often drawn as a mountain, has five parts:

  1. Exposition – introduces the characters, setting and normal life.
  2. Rising action – a problem appears and things get more difficult.
  3. Climax – the most exciting or important moment, the turning point.
  4. Falling action – the results of the climax play out.
  5. Resolution – the problem is solved and a new normal begins.
Diagram of a story arc shaped like a mountain
Figure 2 – A “plot mountain” diagram of a story arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

Creative writing concepts

  • Show, don’t tell – in a visual medium, show a character’s feelings through actions and expressions instead of explaining them.
  • Conflict – every story needs a problem. No conflict, no story.
  • Theme – the big idea behind the story, such as friendship or courage.
  • Point of view and voice – whose eyes do we see the story through, and how do they speak?

Character development

Character development means creating believable characters and showing how they change during the story (their character arc). A simple character profile lists the character’s name, age, appearance, personality, goal, fear and strengths and weaknesses. Artists then draw a model sheet showing the character from different angles so everyone draws them the same way.

Character model sheet showing front, side and back views
Figure 3 – A character model sheet from the open movie Sintel, showing the same character from several angles.

Script format: animation vs games

Animation scriptGame script
Follows one fixed order of scenes, from start to finish.Can branch: the player’s choices may lead to different scenes and endings.
Written in screenplay format: scene heading (e.g. EXT. BEACH – DAY), action lines, character name and dialogue.Often written in spreadsheets or special tools, with an ID for each line, the character, the dialogue and the condition that triggers it.
Action lines describe movement and expressions in detail because everything must be drawn or animated.Includes cutscenes, in-game dialogue, short reactions (sometimes called “barks”), tutorial text and item descriptions.
One script leads to one storyboard and one finished film.Must work together with the gameplay, level design and programming.

A short animation script might look like this:

EXT. BEACH – SUNSET
MAYA (12) drags a heavy steelpan across the sand. She stops and wipes her forehead.
MAYA: One more practice. Just one.

For more on scripts, see The Video Script – Professional Video Creation (Part 4).

Example

Premise: “A young turtle must clean her polluted reef before the big storm.” Exposition: the turtle’s happy home. Rising action: plastic appears and fish get trapped. Climax: she frees the largest fish from a net as the storm arrives. Falling action: the fish help her. Resolution: the reef is clean. In the game version, the player could choose whether to fight the net or find a clever way around it, leading to two different scenes.

Watch the video below from Pixar in a Box by Khan Academy to learn more about story structure:

Exercise

  1. List the steps of story development in order.
  2. Write a one-sentence premise for a short animation, then plan it with the five parts of a story arc.
  3. Create a character profile and a simple three-view model sheet for your main character.
  4. Draw a six-frame storyboard for the opening of your story and write a half-page script for the same scene in screenplay format.

Next: Environment Design for Game Genres and Creating Digital Artwork: Scanning, Clean-Up and Free Software

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 2: Drawing and Layout – Specific Objective 8 (“identify the steps used for story development”); Specific Objective 9 (“apply concepts to design a script for animation and game design”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Storyboard – Iván López Fuente.jpg – Iván López Fuente – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Plotmountain.jpg – Kaede4 – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)

Character Sintel-model-sheet.png – David Revoy / Blender Foundation – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.