Forms of story telling
Ever since the Stone Age, story telling has always been an effective way to tell stories, and cave paintings were used to warn their children of the dangers of the outside as well as their experiences. Because this was such an effective way to cooperate the form of story telling, games such as the cave and many others have added paintings on walls or carving in walls to generate a unique way to tell a story.
Other forms of story telling which includes oral tradition, fables , myths and legends have also been an effective way which people through generation have used to tell stories.
For example with Oral tradition, things like horror stories around a camp fire may be cliche as you’ve seen it many times in movies and games, however it is by no doubt an effective way to cooperate story telling. Ghost stories and murder stories as well as urban legends like big foot are a few of many in which people have told around camp fires. There are so many variety of stories that have been told around campfires that it is a juicy way for entertainment medias such as movies or games to use this form of story telling into their products. An example of a horror game which uses this form of story telling is the campfire legends the hookman.
There are different forms of myths and legends. The main characters in myths are usually god and goddesses as well as monsters such as the hydra and half human half animal like characters or animals that contains other animal features. These stories are usually fantasy. legends however are usually based around real people but are written in a way to make that person sound brave or courageous such as st George who has been told through time that was responsible for slaying the dragon. Both of these are a folklore genre
Fables are a form of story telling that is used through generation to teach and get a particular message across. In the modern day world you would usually either have been told by your parents or by reading books. An example of a famous fable story is the boy who cried wolf which is a moral lesson not to ”cry wolf.” If you play a practical joke on somebody, they won’t believe you when something really bad happens; you will lose their trust.
Books, TV and films
Stories slowly began to develop into the form of writing. Famous writers like Shakespeare began using words to write stories that has now become global in plays and theaters as well as schools which teaches Shakespeare’s ways of writing. Of course in the modern day famous authors such as Jk Rowling with her Harry Potter books have become such a huge impact to story telling as well, and with the help of modern technology, her books have been transformed into a live action moving film that became such a huge success to the point where it will encourage some people of different ages to begin reading books.
Computer games
Computer games uses all kinds of perspectives to create an effective story. They would take inspiration from existing stories, tales, legends, different time periods and other medias which they would often then modify the theme to create a much more exciting experience for their chosen audience; For example, It could be that they’ve chosen a cowboy theme using real life situations and stories told during this time period however, they may have modified it to a more futuristic atmosphere. It could be that the main protagonist having a cyborg arm and a floating motorbike the shape of a horse. It doesn’t really matter as long as it’s unique, unexpected and exciting.
Story telling is effective, because of this it really changes the thought process of game companies to be more creative and brave with their choices. When it comes to story telling, game companies have to make sure it suits their audience’s expectations. If the game have an amazing story line, the game is more likely to do a lot better than those that maybe don’t. Consumers really enjoy a good experience, and if the story of the game makes them feel like they’re in the game, going on all these adventures, feeling connected to the characters within the game it will and most definitely make the gaming experience a lot more effective and memorable.
Power point presentation
Ratchet and clank is a fun three three-dimensional platform third person shooter, action-adventure video game. The game features a science fiction setting and span a variety of genres, mostly focused on third-person action-adventure and shooting, with elements of platforming, racing, and puzzle solving.
Ratchet, the main protagonist sets out on an adventure in this science fiction universe where he visits many planets throughout the galaxy such as the Solana Galaxy, Bogon Galaxy, and Polaris Galaxy.
The witcher 3 is a action role-playing game with a third-person perspective. It is based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski.
The game is set in the Continent, a fantasy world surrounded by parallel dimensions and extra-dimensional worlds. Humans, elves, dwarves, monsters and other creatures co-exist on the Continent, but non-humans are often persecuted for their differences.
the main protagonist, Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher, who is looking for his missing adopted daughter on the run from the Wild Hunt: unworldly force determine to capture and use her powers.
I’m going to make a power point presentation on the witcher 3’s cinematic as I feel I can talk more about the settings in a short amount of time and what’s going on and how the music, the environments and art affects the whole scene.
Presentation evaluation
After doing my presentation and getting feedback, The thing that I need to work more on is being more confidence. I often stutter and lose track to where I am at. If i did that in a professional environment, this will give a bad impression like I do not know what I am doing. I often had to stare at the screen, instead of looking towards my audience. To resolve this, I need to write down What I am going to say on a piece of paper first and practice instead of wiring everything down in the PowerPoint presentation. I also explained too much about what’s happening, and what the viewer can already see. To make my presentation better, I need to focus on why They might have done what they did instead of analysing what can already been easily seen. The things that I can focus more are the music, the environment, location and how the character comes across to us.
What is a digital novel?
Digital novel, also known as digital fiction is a fiction written from a digital device such as computer or phone. digital novels can often be found in web or app-based platforms such as webtoon. Digital novels can be anything from realistic or cartoon such as anime. Digital novels look like comic strips. The story often focuses on the drawing but adds a it of text to showcase what is going on within the pictures to tell a story. Unlike comic strips, what I’ve noticed is that digital novels are often in colour.
Examples of digital novels:
While I was searching through digital novels, what I realise is that most seems to be cartoon like. I’ve also noticed that some were from an existing video game such as the example on the bottom right. If i was going to do a digital novel to make my opening of my story, I think I prefer doing a novel with a more cartoon style like the one in the top right. I choose this style because I feel that If i was to go for a or realistic style like I have done in the past, this will definitely take too long and I do not want to miss the deadline.
What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is a graphic organiser in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualising a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. Walt Disney used to use the form of story boarding for their animations in the past. Storyboard can either be in the form on paper or digital. There are lots of examples of digital story board on YouTube.
The difference between a storyboard and digital novel in my opinion is that digital novels allows you more freedom to create your story whereas storyboards look more like a step by step. Although storyboards can come all sorts of forms, the common storyboard lacks that freedom. Everything is just in rows of boxes.
Paper story board:
Often now with paper storyboard, They’ll be either put in a neater version digitized or put into animation. What I like about doing a story board on paper is that it’s much quicker and rough. This can also makes things a lot easier and saves time when putting it into digital as it becomes quicker.
Digital storyboard:
There are two forms of digital storyboard:
- Rows- These are often used to create a very short story. Often they’re simplified and can come in all sorts of art styles. These story boards are still and often 2D.
2. Moving- These are often put into some sort of slideshow o premier or other similar programs. Moving storyboards often have music and they act like an animation. These can be more 3D and also can come in a variety of art styles.
If I was to do a storyboard, I feel that I can show off my abilities even more however, I feel that with the time that I have, this may not be the best idea. Although storyboards can be rough sketched also and quick, Having to put them in premier and find a fitting music can be difficult.
Evaluation
From researching an analysing the two medias, I feel that the digital novel would be the best option for me. I think this because It allows me more freedom, and I can go however I want with it as long as it fits the criteria. I’ve been really inspired with the style of digital novels and since I’ve never done it before, I feel that this can really be a good experience for me whereas I have done moving story board before in the past. From the research, I want to create a more fictional story, and I also feel that making it in the form of a digital novel is my best option.
Initial Ideas for story:
mindmap
Idea 1
There will be two main characters. Both young high school students. They’re childhood friends and have always stuck together through hard times. Without realising the two felt more for each other than just being friends, but they would not accept their feelings for each other.
They both have no parents and were raised up in a orphanage. The files of their parents were non existing because they’re not from this world.
Hana, she possesses the power of light. Her purity and beauty is the heart of another world which they both came from. She was a princess of the largest kingdom, but born as a deity. Her power is heavily wanted by the evil to gain supreme power over the entire world of their home land.
Ken is the opposite. He possesses the power of evil, the most evil power in the land however his heart was born kind. The role of Ken originally was to kill Hana however on their births, a strange mysterious light took them both and they vanished from the land, taking them both in the same growing orphanage on earth where they begin to start their lives together until time will come to take them back to their original destiny.
Opening story:
While walking pass the now abandoned museum one day, a teenage boy named Ken heard a voice calling his name from the inside. The voices carried on speaking to him in his dreams to come “save me”. The boy grew fed up and started acting weird in school. After asking very worrying questions, one of the boy’s best friend Hana began to become curious about his behaviour and began following him home one day. The two young High school students were about to stumble upon something which they regretted. The fate of these young souls were very unfortunate.
“At 12 midnight, the time of the break in” responded Hana to herself, “I’m glad I’ve managed to quick take a picture of his plan while following him home, I will never know what he was up to then!”
Hana plans on waiting for him outside the museum and will follow ken inside once he shows up.
Ken explores the museum and Hana followed. Ken began acting weirder and weirder. Hana becomes very worried asking herself whether he developed some kind of mental illness until she also too could hear a voice as they were met with a statue of an unusual artifact. As Ken began cautiously touching the artifact, a glow around his hand appears and soon enough a little light comes out and dances around giggling until it comes face to face with Hana. Ken spots her and was shocked to see her here. Before he got the chance to ask Hana any questions the light strikes Hana in the heart. The entire room began to light up and glow. The floor beneath Hana began to shatter like glass and a strange hand drags her into the void. Scared, she screams asking for Ken’s help but as he ran towards her she was already gone.
Thinking that Ken have lost his friend, a strange book floats towards him asking him questions and whether he’s willing to do anything to save his friend. With a determine response of yes, Ken takes his hand and touches the book as it began to glow. Not before long he finds himself in an unknown land with unusual creatures.
What will Ken do now?
Idea 2
Earth is now ruled by robots after a war clash between robots and human. Humanity was defeated and had to surrender, but the robots used human’s life as a game. They created a replicate of earth , but modified to have magic powers and terrifying mythical creatures and others. The world is designed to be like an MMO. You can level up and choose your class. There are 6 classes. Mage, assassin, warrior, tamer, gunslinger, and priest. However in the world there’s no limitation to how much power you can gain. The only limitation is oneself to explode from not being able to control their powers.
Ken, an assassin class and his 5 friends, each from the other classes plans on escaping and taking down the robot world. The one good thing is that their powers even in the real life world stays with them forever. If they get strong enough they feel that they can take back their world and live a peaceful life.
These young heroes will become legends. Their story will pass through generations, but as of right now, it is still only the beginning for these young heroes.
Opening story:
In this world, if you’re weak you cannot survive. Every single mistake can mean death. Our destiny depends on our abilities to survive, it is the cruel fate of humanity.
This world was designed by high intelligence, It is a duplicate of the modern Earth however modified. In this world, anything could happen.
There are magic, there are quests, there are mythical creatures which you could not find in the real world . Children born in this giant prison were born to suffer, that’s life now. This is a real life MMO but if you die, you cannot revive.
In the outside world, the world is ruled by Robots. They promise us freedom if we managed to escape. They promise us a chance to live peacefully in the normal world. But would they? Escaping is a possibility, but survival outside this prison, that’s something they definitely lied to us about but people with hope seemed to believe them. Those fools!
My name is Ken, and this is my crew and today we’re going to escape. Fuck this place, we’re going to kill those dam robots in the process and take back our world! No one, absolutely no one a can get in our way now, we’re fucking sick of this dam life. We’re going to learn their secrets. So bring it on you metal crackheads! We’ll gladly play your games.
Idea 3
Ken was born a prince which will one day rule the empire however this prince was very much Naive and evil. The worse candidate to rule such a powerful empire. Although it doesn’t seem like it, Ken is in fact a highly intelligent individual however because he was spoilt by his rich and luxurious life, he was far from ready to become the future king.
One day while riding in the summer on his white horse, he came across an old lady. Asking for help, Ken refused with rudeness and mock the old lady. The old lady laughed and cursed the prince. He woke up in the pouring rain, but when he tried getting back to the palace nobody recognised him and he was force to live all by himself without help in the outside world.
He meets a family he took him in, they were very poor but they were very kind. The daughter of the family was very beautiful and kind however she was not kind to the now forgotten prince as his behaviour forces her to despise the man. With no choice but to accept he’s there, she slowly began to teach him the way of life and showing him the tragedy of the world and how people lived their lives when they’re so poor.
One day an army attack the village and the castle. Their kingdom have lost and the royal family all slayed along with his new family except for the daughter who took him by the arms and ran. The person that led the attack was an evil neighbour king. He showed the prince of how evil a man can be and this made him feel guilt and anger. As his heart began to slowly change, he sets of on an adventure to get stronger in order to take back his kingdom and to save his people.
He meets the old lady again who explains what happened and teaches him how to fight and use magic. She asked him that if she restores the memory of others about him being a prince, will he take this chance to become a good king. With no resistance. he gets down on her knees and asks her to help him take back his kingdom and save his people. She grins and gave the memories back then vanishes with the quote “we will meet again, I hope you succeed”.
This is the beginning of the young prince’s story as he sets off again in his journey. Will he be able to restore back his kingdom?
Evaluation
I feel like I can make my first idea a really good and more exciting opening in a short amount of time however I feel that the story would be a lot better with my second idea if it were to be a full novel. My third idea is too long and it seems to cliche so I feel that it wouldn’t be the better option although it does come across as a story to be more educational which is good.
After reading through my ideas, I feel that my first idea would be the best option although at first I was keen on my second idea. I can get a really good cliff hanger for the opening if I chose this and I feel that the viewer would prefer this story if I make it sound more exciting in a way that it would be more enjoyable.
Character and creatures sketches
Final outcome
Process
Evaluation
Digital Design portfolio 