How Video Games Made the Metaverse

This book offers an unflinching look at the creative and structural challenges of storytelling in interactive media. Drawing on over 30 years of industry experience, Kelly Vero explores the rich interplay between narrative, design, and technology, making the case for why story, far from being a cosmetic layer, is foundational to player engagement, emotional investment, and lasting value in games and virtual worlds. The book unpacks how narrative design works across different genres and platforms: from AAA games and sandbox titles to immersive metaverses, offering a toolkit of questions and techniques to help creators build experiences that resonate. Vero brings the reader inside the design process, examining iterative workflows, empathy versus hypothesis testing, and the importance of building for diverse, evolving user bases. She draws from case studies including The Legend of Zelda, BTS Universe Story, Final Fantasy XIV, and even Runescape's infamous party hat, showing how stories are told not just through dialogue, but also through UI, environment, mechanics, and player choice. Crucially, How Video Games Made the Metaverse: From Pixels to Portals is about building worlds that people want to live in. Whether you're a product lead, a writer, or designer, this book explores how to integrate content, interaction, and community into a unified whole. It challenges creators to abandon ego-led development and instead embrace deep user understanding as the compass for creative direction. By the end, readers will understand how to apply storytelling techniques not only to games and metaverses, but also to digital products more broadly, from loyalty programs and education platforms to virtual retail and AI companions. Vero's reflections on narrative, purpose, and legacy offer a roadmap for making digital experiences that matter, not just entertain.