script · an example from a real project
SALTY DOGS
Announce + Closed Playtest · trailer script
STAGE 2 · NARRATIVE · THE PLAN FOR PRODUCTION
THE JOB
We're making the Salty Dogs trailer for the Announce + Closed Playtest beat. It's packaged as an MVP - a simple hook intro, title cards, short reaction lines from the players. The player archetypes and the whole storytelling logic stay in place; we just serve them in smaller doses. Examples of videos that are NOT MVP: the Restaurats Raccoon Update or the Meowgic Announce. What we want is a well-packaged, working trailer that covers every USP it has to and carries the friendslop spirit.
Game experience
The experience in one sentence: cheerful co-op chaos on the sea floor - the four of us working out together how to drag a haul far too heavy for us on a harpoon line and get it through the tight spots, getting in each other's way and bailing each other out, howling at our shared failures; cosy messing about that gets more thrilling and more dangerous the deeper we go.
—What it gives (kinds of pleasure): togetherness (we're a team) · thinking it out together (how to drag it and get it through) · physical messing about (weight, the line, the way things move) · goofing around. Deliberately not ours: hardcore skill, serious plot.
—What the player does: hook it with the harpoon line · haul the load together · squeeze it through tight spots · bail out my friends · goof around · dive deeper and deeper.
—They come for: the mayhem and the team messing about with friends, the joy of pulling it off together (plus cute dogs and the shiver of dread that comes with the deep).
—The one feeling (the core): “we're having fun messing about and pulling it off together, even when everything goes sideways”.
Concept
—The lens: A trailer about a hopeless but lovable team of diver dogs who strip the sea floor bare, cackling all the way.
—Spirit / what it's for: “we're having a great time together” - the joy of co-op messing about, of working things out together and of failing together.
—Tone: friendslop, cute and a bit janky; a contrast of cosy turning dangerous and eerie as you go deeper (the reference point is SpongeBob).
—Voice, delivery: from inside the session itself, carried by the players' own live commentary, with no narrator - the POV of a real co-op night with friends.
—The feeling we want the viewer to have: “I want to dive and goof around like that with my friends” → add to wishlist.
The concept in one paragraph: an announce trailer that drops you straight into a co-op session - the players' own eyes, the players' own live lines - showing the cheerful mess a lovable team of diver dogs makes as they clear out the sea floor between them: warm friendslop mayhem that turns eerie the deeper they go, so the viewer wants to dive like that with their own friends and puts the game on their wishlist.
LOGLINE
Ocean. Sea. Beach. The players, as a freshly assembled team of fussy but veeeery cute diver dogs, get ready for their first dive and learn the basics of piloting a submarine. Ahead of them: collecting sea treasure, assorted junk and even fish - even dogs need money, and the sub has to be upgraded somehow. Together they dive into the shallows, going deeper and deeper into the abyss after more valuable treasure. The cosy, adorable open water gradually gives way - danger is waiting for our dogs down in the depths. Will they make it out?
The Leader
The main driver: pushes the others along, gives hints.
The Fidget
Loves testing the mechanics and stepping out of bounds; gets into trouble more than the others.
The Slow Thinker
Takes their time, wants to understand it, plays it safe.
The Gazer
Reacts loudly to the visuals, the locations, the sounds. Enjoys the atmosphere and the setting more than anyone else.
This outline was reconstructed from the finished script as a teaching example; it isn't a historical artefact of the project. On Salty Dogs the script was written before the Outline step had a shared form, so no table like this existed while the work was going on. We put it together after the fact from the script published further down this page - so you can see how the form gets filled in on material you already know. In the normal order the outline is written before the script, and that's where the structure gets tested.
WHAT THIS VIDEO IS
Salty Dogs, the trailer for the Announce + Closed Playtest beat, in MVP format: a simple hook intro, title cards, short reaction lines from the players. The lines are in English. The script page doesn't fix a running time, so the table doesn't give one either.
THE CONCEPT IN ONE SENTENCE
A trailer about a hopeless but lovable team of diver dogs who strip the sea floor bare, cackling all the way.
WHAT'S ALREADY DECIDED
—The voice comes from inside the session itself, carried by the players' own live lines, with no narrator.
—Four player archetypes: the Leader, the Fidget, the Slow Thinker, the Gazer.
—Friendslop in tone, cute and a bit janky; the cosy mood turns dangerous and eerie as the dive goes deeper.
—The action we want from the viewer: put the game on their wishlist.
# · TITLE
WHAT THIS PART IS FOR
WHAT HAPPENS
THE KEY SCENE
HOOKS
1 · Almost had it
WE WERE TOO OPTIMISTIC
Hook on a failure and state right away what the game has you doing.
Two of them haul a slug-fish through a minefield and almost get it back to the sub. The fish slips off the line and lands on a mine. The sea floor goes up in a chain explosion.
The fish slips off the line right above a mine, and both of them cut off mid-word: “Wait! WAIT!”
line physicsshared failure
2 · Meet the dogs
MEET THE CUTEST DOG-DIVERS
Show who we are: put the team together and make the viewer fall for the dogs.
The players customise their dogs and argue about breeds. They dance, noticing the animations. They jump into the sub, knock a ball around inside it, dive from the pier and start working out the controls.
In customisation they spin the dog back and forth until someone gives in: “Okay, that's kinda cute”.
cute dogscustomisationgoofing around
3 · Yellow submarine
YELLOW SUBMARINE
Introduce the sub and the point of the dive - and immediately show that nobody can drive it.
They dive in the sub and say out loud what they're after - loot. The pilot fumbles the controls and crashes; the others shout advice and react. While collecting loot they clip a mine.
Three of them try to steer the sub clear of a big rock, fail and hit it: “Slow down! NO NO NO”.
the sublootgoofing around
4 · Hauling together
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Explain the core loop: you grab the load with a line and haul it together.
They winch objects in on the line - solo, in twos, in threes and in various combinations. They help each other, get around obstacles and cash in the loot.
One of them loses his grip on the load and another catches it with his line: “Hold it! I got you, bro”.
co-opline physics
5 · Fun on the sea floor
FUN UNDER THE SEA
Open up the messing about: show that being together is also about goofing around - and that it pays for upgrades.
They hook each other with their lines and test the physics. The whole team hauls a piano and actually gets it home. They spin around in a whirlpool. With money collected, they head for the shop.
All four drag the piano and finally land it: “Pull, pull, pull. Ayyyy, nice!”
co-opline physicsgoofing around
6 · Shopping trip
GUYS, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?
Show what the saving was for: turn loot into progression.
They come ashore on the pier, where the locals and the seagulls are waiting. They buy out the whole shop, deciding on the spot whether they even need the heavy gear. It ends with the sub upgrade.
Asked whether they need the heavy weight, the team yells “YES!!!” and sweeps the counter clean.
upgradesthe world and its locals
7 · Too deep
Outro Setup + Light Horror
Break the cosy mood: turn the tone eerie and give a reason to dive deeper.
They head down into the dark depths, cramped and creepy. They look around, not sure where they've swum to. They spot the mermaid-monster and the maw in the corner. One of them swims closer out of curiosity.
The moment the team goes from carefree to fleeing: the monster growls back at their curiosity and everyone reverses at once.
the dread of the deepthe world and its locals
8 · Recap and exit
RECAP
Pick up the bright moments the story had no room for, and lead into the packshot.
A mix of moments: they haul a golden turd, drag obstacles out of the way, dance again. One drops the slug-fish and calls for help. They swim on to the next level and the video cuts to the packshot.
He drops the slug-fish, howls with laughter and calls the others: “Shit, I'm losing it, hahaha!”
co-opline physicsgoofing around
1
WE WERE TOO OPTIMISTIC
SHORT SETTING + FAST FORESHADOW INTRO
Two divers are hauling a slug-fish through a minefield. It's hard going, but they've almost reached their sub. Just a little more aaand… the fish slips off the line and lands on a mine, setting off a chain explosion.
«Ah! Okay. We got it! We got it!»
«Ha! Wait! Wait! Wait!»
«WAIT!»
Big reactions - the dogs are strugglingHarpoons, physicality, the weight of the loadThe drop-off / tight corridors
LOGO - Polden + Crossbridge Game Studios
2
MEET THE CUTEST DOG-DIVERS
ONBOARDING
The players customise their dogs, react to them, pick their favourites. Once they're done they dance, noticing the funny animations. Then they jump into the sub, play ball inside it and dive from the pier. It's the first dive; they're still working out the controls.
«Alright, let’s get it, boys!»
«What’s your favorite?»
«Chihuahua!»
«Shiba is mine»
«What do you mean? They have pugs here!»
«Now to the left! Now to the right!»
«Wait, wait, wait! (customisation)»
«Okay, that’s kinda cute.»
«Okay! Go-go-go! Let’s go! Woohoo!»
«Catch it, catch it, catch it! (inside the sub, playing ball)»
«You sure you know how to ride this thing?»
«Me? Nooo! (introducing and showing off the cool sub)»
TITLE CARD - YOU’RE A DOG-DIVER
CustomisationInside the sub, playing ballShowing off the sub
TITLE CARD - PILOT A COOL-ASS SUB
3
YELLOW SUBMARINE
FUN & GAMES - SUBMARINE
The players dive in the sub and set out what they're diving for - loot. They fumble their way through the controls and have fun with it. The pilot keeps crashing into things; the others try to help and react. At the end of the segment, while collecting loot, a player accidentally triggers a mine next to the sub.
«So, what’s our goal again?»
«LOOT, LOOT, LOOT! // Loot-loot-loot! (setting out the goal)»
«Slow down! NO NO NO NO (crashing) Slow and steady now…»
«Just don’t hit the mine, okay? Oops…»
«(a mine goes off)»
The sub in tight tunnelsTrying to steer the sub away from a big rockA mine goes off beside the sub
TITLE CARD - LOOT AND CLEAN THE OCEAN
4
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
FUN & GAMES - CORE LOOP
We show the core mechanic - physically winching objects in on the line, solo, in twos, in threes and in various combinations. The players work together, helping each other haul objects, get around obstacles and cash in the loot.
«Gotcha! Yoink! That’s mine! Push-push-push!»
«Hold it! HOLD IT! I got you, bro.»
«Woohoo! Nice, thanks!»
Hauling loot togetherSpongeBobs and kissing fishHelping the jellyfish
TITLE CARD - 4 PLAYER CO-OP CHAOS
5
FUN UNDER THE SEA
FUN & GAMES - CO-OP INTERACTIONS & FAILS
The core loop continues; here we build up how they work together and how they react to the mechanics and objects around them. They hook each other with their lines and test the physics, carry heavy objects as a whole team and pull it off, and mess about in the whirlpools. Once they've collected enough money they move on to the next level to upgrade.
«Bro! Wait, wait, wait! It works! It works! (hooking each other with the harpoon)»
«Whoah! A piano! Aaaargh! Lemme grab it. Pull, pull, pull. Ayyyy, nice! (hauling a heavy object together)»
«Ahahah! Weeee! SPIN, SPIN, SPIN, SPIN (whirlpool)»
«Next level? I think we’re gonna upgrade first (moving to the shop)»
Trying to free a stuck objectPulled into a whirlpoolHooking each other with their lines
TITLE CARD - UPGRADE YOUR GEAR
6
GUYS, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?
SHOP AND SUB UPGRADE OVERVIEW
The players come ashore on the pier, where the locals and the seagulls are already waiting. They're delighted and want to buy upgrades for the sub. They buy out the whole shop, ask whether they even need upgrade N, and get the hyped-up answer: “Obviously! We came here to buy everything.” We close the segment with the sub upgrade.
«Okay, so what we've got here?»
«Aloha, friends!»
«Guys! Do we need a heavy weight? YES!!!»
«Can we put it on the tab?»
The shopSeagulls!The locals
TITLE CARD - TO RESEARCH THE DEPTHS
7
Outro Setup + Light Horror
We move into the dark depths. Creepy and cramped. The players are taken aback, looking around and trying to work out where they've swum to. Then they spot the mermaid-monster and the maw in the corner. One of them swims closer out of curiosity, the monster growls, and the players react - laughing, flinching, shouting.
«Okay, that’s way too deep now.»
«Nah, we’re gonna be fine.»
«What’s that? No-no-no! Dude-dude-dude!»
«Get away, get away! NO NO NO!»
The depthsThe mermaidThe maw
TITLE CARD - IF YOU’RE BRAVE ENOUGH
·
RECAP
After that we show a mix of vivid gameplay moments:
—the players haul a golden turd, trying not to drop it
—they drag obstacles around and clear a path
—they dance again and notice the funny moments, as in the prologue
—one of them drops the slug-fish, can't manage it, calls for help and laughs
—We close by moving on to the next level: they swim in, and we cut to the packshot.
«Save that golden poop, golden poop! (hauling an object together)»
«Ka-chink! Nice!»
«Left, left! Right, right! (dancing)»
«Guys, guys! Shit, I’m losing it, hahaha! (the heavy object is dragging them down)»
«Now we’re gonna need a bigger boat. (outro and transition)»
SALTY DOGS