Unit 70 narrative

Unit 72 Research into story game development

Different forms of telling stories

Cave paintings 

Cave paintings are one of the earliest forms of storytelling, before languages and writing, paintings on cave walls told stories of times long ago, they could either be  warnings, events that happened in the past, or simple stories  made up for entertainment.

Oral tradition

Telling stories through word of mouth was the next development in storytelling, As languages came around, and people gathered together in large groups, stories were being passed on much faster.. Oral tradition was used in many ways, from stories being passed on from groups to groups, adapting to ways that are even still used today such as campfire stories.it is still very much used widely today.

Fable

A fable is a short simple story most often included animals that is told to teach a form of moral lesson often told to children. Fable’s started off possibly before text storytelling was around, but has however stayed through the ages.

Myth

A myth is a story that is often about the creation of the world e.g. about Gods/Goddesses or mythical characters. Myths originate from Ancient Greek times also, and although they have no truth to them, they are an opinion by someone on the creation of this world. An example of stories would be The Minotaur, or Medusa.

Film/tv

Film and tv is the most recent form of storytelling used. Its a visual and audio form of storytelling. It allowed things to be filmed, to create a story and shown later to a large audience.tv came later when technology developed, tv’s were made which allowed people to be able to watch films and shows from home. tv is also a visual and audio based form.tv differs from films as it is nearly always an ongoing story that never plans to have an ending, but a constant series of events. Examples of this are soap operas.

Approaches to stories

Three act structure is a very old method or rule for story telling since its just proven to be so simple and gives effective results at conveying a series of events. It will begin with a start (obviously) that will typically lay the foundations down for the location of the story, character backgrounds etc. Middle or obstacle is usually the point where a character or hero will be given a problem that they have to overcome or seek ways as to how to get over the obstacle. The end is the climax and summary, where the hero has come to a final clash with his problem/obstacle and the tension is dissipated into a final message or moral (usually).

The hero’s journey is a more complicated rule structure to the three acts and can be typically listed as stages:

THE ORDINARY WORLD.  The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.  Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.

 REFUSAL OF THE CALL.  The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly.  Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

MEETING WITH THE MENTOR.  The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.  Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD.  At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES.  The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

APPROACH.  The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

THE ORDEAL.  Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear.  Out of the moment of death comes a new life.

THE REWARD.  The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.  There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

THE ROAD BACK.  About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home.  Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

THE RESURRECTION.  At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.  He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.  By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR.  The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.


Game genre's and story


Roleplaying games

this genre can fall under many different sub categories like mmo's and typical single player scenarios. a role playing game thrives on story development to keep the player entertained. they achieve this by applying a non linear story path, a main story that has many side routes for the player to take which either arrive at the same point or can change the outcome ending for the game entirely. this is the main reason RPG's are so effective since it offers massive replay value for players trying to play the story differently each time to try and get all the different outcomes and see how they play out.
moving onto mmorpg's (massively multiplayer online role playing game) now these stories work slightly different to single player RPG's where by the you have a main linear story still and some extra side story stuff to work on but the real story comes from the players own experiences of the world and how they can effect or change it depending on how they play. in some special cases a player can effect he main story of the mmo by acting out in a massive way, a perfect example would ccp's EVE online. where the story, market are all effected by the players and dynamically change in real time producing a constant new experience.



First person shooters

this genre of gaming in modern times is tending to lean towards a less story orientated experience and rather solely surrounded around multiplayer aspects, which still has a story applied but it is personal to the player and his experiences define it. but aside from that first person shooters do still attempt a single player story that the player has to go through. these stories are much more linear than RPG's since most of the time the genre is very "corridor based" meaning the player has a set fixed path with pre scripted events/obstacles for him to jump over to achieve the end goal containing the climax of the linear story.
however in some particular first person shooters they have variations for instance with borderlands the game, this game is an fps however plays out like an rpg in terms of hw the story is much more focused and more opportunities to complete side story stuff. but since fps games are very action based it tends to lead towards a player community that wont really play for the story and instead have their own experiences. borderlands (and others like it) are a unique experience amongst the fps genre.



Third person shooters

Now third person shooters play out a little differently to first person shooters in terms of how more of the character is in view e.g you can see facial expressions, clothing, animations. these types of games lean towards more of a story based game due to these factors because the use of facial expressions is used to relate to the player and possibly make them feel sympathetic to their cause more since their expressions of emotion react to the world in real time. clothing is also used in some regards to relate to the player and is used to tell a story in itself by how it changes throughout the game e.g tomb raider, lara's clothing will become more dirty and gritty depending on where she is and whats she's doing, this adds to the tension where by it emphasises the desperation and struggle the protagonist has to endure.
animations of the character are also used to reach out to players for example the protagonist begins a fight and is still fast and appears healthy in movement but then is injured in the fight by the time it ends, afterwards the character could be limping or holding a wound adding again to that sense of desperation and struggle making the player feel empathetic towards.
its for these reasons that the story itself is strictly of the protagonist in game rather than the immersive experience of an fps so thereby not having any opportunity for a personal story to form but instead playing out a set scene. both types are effective.



Racing games

story doesn't necessarily apply to these types of games and progression is rather achieved by achievement by completing a series of races that gain access to tougher challenges e.g tournaments, also by upgrades that could be applied to a car. so if there is any story to be had hear it would only be from a personal perspective of the player and his own experiences and ups and downs he's gone through to reach where he is at currently.
some games however like always have differences where story is much more developed and races revolve around a developing and changing story, whereby you have to win a race to access the next part of the story giving more incentive for the player to try hard and win the race. stories that apply to these games are usually if not always linear based with most of the time no real side story stuff either. which to be honest suits the game genre, cars follow a road/path so why shouldn't the story?


Emotional themes

Emotions are used alot in the characters in the stories for games. How the character feels about something effects how the player feels. This is good if not a necessity for players to really connect to the story line and characters to keep them interested in the game.

It also should be noted that games that strive to achieve a more phot realistic looking representation of character faces and locations can connect more deeply to a player since the emotions expressed are shown with more clarity and give a sense of realism or immersion.


Writing strategies

Taking notes

Jotting down ideas and phrases as they occur to you. Free yourself from paragraphs and sentences for the moment using flow charts, arrows, boxes, outlines, even pictures.

Brainstorming

Is a process where in a short space of time you fire down idea onto a piece of paper which don’t necessarily have any context to your chosen story theme, its literally just to spark inspiration and get the cogs moving so to speak, and some of these ideas you can then look at and develop further into possibly more improved ones.

Freewriting is another little way to aid someone in inspiration, although it may not have any real input into your main story its simply just a short exercise to spark deeper thoughts for your story ideas to train your brain (warming up) into that way of thinking.

Piecework

Piecework is where you have the main fundamentals in place for the story however some sections are incomplete or just to “stale” so piecework is a strategy where you look at other sections of your story e.g middle or end and work to develop those, in the hopeful attempt to spark your sub conscious to produce new ideas about your beginning so that when you develop your middle and end you can go back to the start and introduce those new ideas.

Story background (initial)

Tension graph and plot structure

CHARACTER PROFILE TEMPLATE'S



Character Name: Kara

Full Name: Kara Garland

Nick Name(s): lu

Gender: female

Age: 19

Birthday/year: 5/7/1994

Marital Status: none

Spouse: none

Hair: messy, purple in colour

Eyes: blue grey, slightly droopy

Language(s): english

Height: 5, 8

Weight/Body Structure/Distinguishing Marks/Traits: average height, slim, dress type is alternate and stands out, birthmark of a triangle on her upper left shoulder

Ethnicity: white british

Parents /Guardians: Samuel garland and Olivia garland

Friends/Allies: josh garland, amy dear, tracy packham

Enemies: josh garland (later on) Olivia garland

Beliefs/Religion: timetravel, spiritual beliefs, life on other worlds

Career/Past Careers: student in art, career in a clotheshop

Dreams/Life Goals: to witness the other side to a parallel universe

Hobbies: singing, dancing, guitar, painting and music

Likes: close friends, discovering new things

Loves: going out socially, ideas of time and space

Dislikes: smoking, rejection

Loathes: rejection

Fears: the dark and quietness

Strengths: creative, persuasive in manner of speech, charismatic

Weaknesses: vain

Good Qualities: sees the world always in a positive light

Bad Habits: bottles depression, leading to outbursts

Talents:

Temperament: sometimes violent mood swings, temperamental, on edge

Story draft

Mirror image

Space, the idea of infinite worlds all running parallel with all different possibilities or outcomes for each. With these infinite worlds some run very closely to each other and similarities can cause… “Glitches” or what you may know as déjà vu, ever had that feeling that you’ve experienced something before? A place you’ve visited, a smell you’ve smelt or a feeling you’ve felt but cant explain it? You maybe subject to two realities overlapping with each other. Now whenever again you experience “déjà vu” try considering your experiencing what a copy of yourself is experiencing in another world, the copy that did something different to you, made a different choice and for it is living differently to you. So next time try simply waving up in the air and say hello to your alternate you, for he/she may be doing the same back or even nodding, as the outcomes are different remember.

Our story begins with a young teenager, josh; not the most outgoing of sorts, in fact if at any opportunity would confine himself to his room watching the world go by through his window. Josh would start his day just like any other, wakes up in the morning, gets himself dressed, eats breakfast and puts his coat and bag and leaves for college, never complaining about the mundaneness of it all, no in fact josh found comfort in this unchanging environment. Days continued like this for quite some time with always the same outcome but as the we know some worlds run rather closely to each other as josh will soon find out and will change his life forever.

Beginning of the week, a Monday, fourth day of June and exactly one day before josh’s birthday. With this in mind still nothing would phase josh no alterations to his routine even with the building excitement of his soonly upcoming birthday. Josh woke up, still groggy and blurry eyed from his previous early morning bedtime. He gathered himself and made for the bathroom, and hopped in the shower. Stepping out josh dressed himself with the clothes he had brought in and made for the mirror, which was steamed over still at the time. He wiped away the mist and leaned down to wash his face… standing back up josh noticed something in the mirror, something he had never seen before, a vase, slim and sleek in shape and was a dark green in color but appeared to be blotchy, like it had been homemade, it rested on the windowsill just to the side of him. Josh looked over to the side, part of his heart sunk a little as he did for the dark green vase was not there, his eyes darted back towards the mirror only to see vase had too disappeared. Josh rubbed his eyes and still the same the vase had gone, desperate to seek a reason or explanation he thought to himself it was nothing more than the fact of too many late nights catching up with him, after coming to this agreement his blood returned to a normal temperature and things made sense again, on with the day…

Dressed and fresh josh set out for college, it was a daytrip today, to the Rashin’s science of today institute, josh was excited for it for he had always been fascinated science, it was in his blood. Arriving at college josh made his way to the car park where his class were lined up and walking onto the bus, panicked by the scene josh quickened his walking pace and made his way onto the bus. The bus began its journey and josh formed his usual position and expression of straight faced and wide eyed at the window, he would stay like that for the entire two hours. Driving down the motorway josh still sat looking out filled with wander about the world, watching the cars drive by and tried figuring out the science behind them, however his thoughts were startled by the notice of his classmates getting fidgety and looking around behind. Josh ached his neck to turn behind him and also saw what was stirring everyone up, another college bus was driving up behind and coming up alongside, josh put his head down to avoid all the eyes that would soon pass him. The opposite bus to the left came fully into view now, driving parallel to josh’s bus. Josh panicked at the fact that the bus had not driven by yet and had adjusted its speed to the same as his bus. Worried for being seen as weird josh put his head up, he noticed his classmates were standing up and trying to wave over at the opposite bus. Josh glanced over and simply saw nothing of the other people in the bus he only saw his own class waving back at him, again he dismissed the ludacracy of it by seeing it as a mirror image due to the suns light. However he continued to look back and saw a difference in the reflection when his eyes rested on where he was sat, expecting to his own mirror image, a girl with purple hair instead sat in his place.  Josh moved his head back and forward to see if it was just an illusion with reflection but nothing had changed, josh rushed through his mind desperately seeking an answer from his own knowledge but before long the bus to the left speeded up and drove by and lead the front of josh’s bus. Confusion plagued josh’s mind since, he kept going back to the same idea of glitches in reflection but why couldn’t he see the other classmates on that bus as it drove by? Surely a glitch in reflection has limits with perspective? He thought maybe there were still some ideas of laws of science he has yet to understand.

Before long though the bus that had driven by turned off a junction up ahead and to josh’s surprise his bus also did the same, were they headed for the same place as us? Josh pondered to himself.

Arriving at the main car park for rashin’s science of today building his bus parked up, with the same bus that was ahead parking behind. Josh thought to himself “ill prove that I’m right that it was nothing more than a illusion by looking out for a girl with purple hair” josh smiled in his plan.

 Stepping out josh eagerly glanced at the other bus noticing all the other passengers getting off one by one, however his positive outlook with his plan soon fell to worry when he saw that everyone had gotten off and no girl with purple hair, “could it still be my tired hallucinations from this morning with the vase?” josh pained his mind by rushing his head with thoughts and possible reasons. He was interrupted by his teacher leading his class into the building.

Josh at his class had headed inside the Rashin building, a very large open aired building lined with huge panes of windows and glossy floors. They had arrived at the main reception desk and once his teach had everyone accounted for he stated “be back by twelve for lunch” and with that everyone darted off in different directions leaving josh at reception, josh was alone now but he liked being alone, no pressure with social interaction he always thought.

Heading for the space age department josh still couldn’t shake the thoughts of that girl with the purple hair, why was she there? Who was she? And why didn’t she get off the bus. Josh pondered this for a few minutes before noticing something odd with his bag, he was walking down one small corridor which was lined with big windows with view of the car park, josh had looked at his reflection and saw that his bag strap was not the shade of blue it always was and in fact instead appeared to be of a purple shade, again he looked down to see his bag strap was still the same old blue and looking back up the purple had vanished. Josh’s blood began to run cold with fear for he had no explanation since he had ruled out hallucinations, all of these occurrences seemed all too real, with that he ran to the nearest toilets which were just up ahead at the end of the corridor, slipping on the slick floor josh fell to his knees. This created quite a scene, for people were rushing to his aid however josh in a blind panic stood back up and pushed his way past and rushed into the toilets.

Josh firmly walked up to one of the mirrors and demanded “show me!”, nothing  happened… he rubbed the mirror with his sleeve but again nothing changed the mirror still showed his own reflection to exact detail of how it was in josh’s eyes. He threw his bag to the ground and started to breathe heavily, he splashed his face with water to try and calm himself. With one big breath out he looked up at the mirror again however this time something had changed and was different… josh’s hands were not his own in the mirror they were of someone else’s, he could tell this by the purple varnish on the nails. Holding one hand up against the mirror he looked… in a sudden and startling motion his hand in the reflection waved at him, josh gasped and immediately took a step back towards the bathroom cubicle door, he clenched his hands to see if he was still in control. Josh’s eyes again fixed onto the mirror without a blink for it had begun to steam up like someone was panting on it from the other side, a finger then had appeared and began to write… My name is Kara. Josh still frozen in bewilderment stared at the message that had been laid before him. The mist begun to slowly vanish leaving just a very stiff wide-eyed josh in the reflection. Collecting himself he walked towards the mirror and gently rested his hand on the mirror, with that a dis-embodied voice came through into josh’s mind startling him ,

“he….llo”

 the voice was unclear but as josh listened it began to gain clarity and josh able to make out a few words

 “hello?.... what is your name?”

the voice was of a higher tone and sounded like it belonged to a woman judging from the name that had previously been written down too. Josh hesitated for awhile and began to ache out a few words…

“My name… my name is… josh”

 his voice as quiet as a pin drop,

“how did you get here?”

the voice replied, coming through quite clearly now,

 “i.. Don’t know what’s happening”

josh had plucked up some confidence now,

 “I’ve been seeing you in my reflection all day”

the voice stated. Feeling a surge of confidence and a desperation to make sense of it all josh began to enquire

“is your name…Kara?”,

“yes it is, I told you didn’t i?”

the voice replied,

“yeah… I noticed” looking back up where the message had appeared….

Interactive story (Mirror image)

Link to story:

http://play.textadventures.co.uk/Play.aspx?id=qk228229_eyf6uvrg-c8eq

Game story test (Mirror image)