I’m starting to think that the middle part of a story isn’t as significant, in terms of audience satisfaction, as maybe we make it out to be. It’s all about the Setup and the Payoff. In between, the Conflict must be what delays achieving the Payoff. That isn’t to say that the meat of the story is put together isn’t important, but that in order for the story to feel “worthwhile,” the Setup and Payoff must feel like bookends to the journey in between. Continue reading
The Seven Minute RomCom
1 page = 1 minute. It’s film. Its generalised.
Page 1: The Setup. End with “I wish” somewhere in there, whether spoken or shown (it’s film.)
Page 2: The Meeting. Make sure they’re opposites, yet the same.
Page 3: The Withdrawal. Something (or someone) gets in the way…
Page 4: Together but Not. That thing is always in the way.
Page 5: You Complete Me. No one gets me like you!
Page 6: Complete Abandonment. Forget it, sever all ties!
Page 7: The Transformation. The wish comes true, for both of them.
Add a wild woman, slightly dorky, and a restless emotional man… done.
A different Journey
For about the last year, I’ve been rolling a narrative concept around in my head; something akin to Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, yet less (for lack of a less loaded word) masculine.
I remember one of my university lecturers referring to The Hero’s Journey as “the masculine coming-of-age tale,” and became fascinated with this concept ever since. The theory was, these days, in western society, we don’t have a real ceremony for when a boy becomes a man, so we look to stories that echo older “leave a boy, return as a man” rituals.
The boy is reluctant to become a man, but the village knows he is mature, and sees what is within him; so he is sent out.
Now, this doesn’t mean that this monomyth only appeals to boys and men, because within each of us there is both masculine and feminine energy or personality. Additionally, as part of a community whether there are both men and women, we are predisposed to recognise and celebrate each other’s triumph into maturity.
However, as someone who had a childhood fascination with fairy tales and who grew up to star in pantomime versions of Sinbad the Sailor, Cinderella, and Snow White, I started feeling that there was something fundamentally different in these stories: something that was the same as the Disney Princess movies and the 90s RomComs I rewatched to indulge my late-20s nostalgia. In RomComs, it is the most hidden, but in Disney animated films it seems utterly transparent. Think of the songs and you’ll see the difference:
- “Some Day My Prince Will Come“/”I’m Wishing” – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” – Cinderella
- “Part of Your World” – The Little Mermaid
- “Belle (Little Town)” – Beauty and the Beast
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” – The Lion King
- “Out There” – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- “True Love’s Kiss” – Enchanted
- “When Will My Life Begin?” – Rapunzel
- “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” – Frozen
…do you see the connection? These heroes aren’t reluctant to go on their journey- they want to go, but they are blocked.
Public Domain Jam May 2014
Behold! My somewhat-complete text-based RPG made in Twine for the Public Domain Jam May 2014 🙂
No, I’m not dead
…I’m busy!
It has now been just under nine months since I started as an Assistant Producer at Gameloft in Auckland. In that time, I’ve had two visits from my family, one from Baz’s, and I’ve been to GDC. Time has FLOWN by. Plus, the game I’ve been working on since I arrived is…still in development, so there’s rarely downtime from looking after the local team and communicating with remote teams! Hopefully it will be announced/released soon so that I can stop keeping secrets from all my friends and family. “No, it’s not My Little Pony. Yes, that IS one of the games my studio made and looks after.”
Meanwhile, other updates:
- (Non game news) Despite eating badly when I arrived (and then again in America), my health is under control, but I’m still planning on visiting some new doctors/nutritionists that came highly recommended.
- (Game news) I am working on an entry to Public Domain Jam! I am FINALLY realising my seven-year dream of a Pride and Prejudice RPG!
- (Research news) There have been some amazing articles coming out recently on the effect of games on PTSD. Some I disagree violently and furiously with, others make me incredibly excited and inspired.
Look out for posts on those bottom two bulletpoints some time soon.
And why do I mention bullet point 1? Because when I’m not well, I don’t have energy for Life Outside Work. So now I am, I do.
Immersive Theatre and Games
For years, I’ve been thinking about a form of theatre we explored while at uni, but I couldn’t remember the name of it. Every time I tried to find it, I’d fail. Finally, I have found some amazing videos of the company that we must have been told about, PunchDrunk, working with MIT Media Lab to create a digital/real crossover version of their “Macbeth” inspired immersive theatre production, “Sleep No More.”
Some of the tech they’ve come up with is amazing! So, SO clever. Make sure you watch BOTH videos, as they contain very different content, and explain both about immersive theatre as well as their transmedia integration techniques.
Immersive theatre, as a concept, fascinated me from the moment I heard about it. I started thinking of it in terms of games, where most often you get a set of scripted events that are triggered when you get to a certain point in the game. It can be as heavy-handed as a separate cutscene, or better integrated into the game itself. I thought about games where it feels like the world exists without you, because the scripted events happen so seamlessly that they appear unrelated, and its up to you to actually make meaning. It made me really want to somehow design a game that works like one of these immersive theatre pieces, and use as much of the technique and theories developed through plays to build a new type of gameplay experience. So far, it looks like our world design project might end up snowballing into my opportunity to explore these ideas!
Villains and Unlikeable Characters
I’ve been thinking about unlikeable characters: the villains, antagonists, and characters that just walk around doing more harm than good, or those that start sounding like they have no redeeming features. Firstly, these characters have purpose. Without them, there would be no conflict, and everyone would just be fine and dandy and agree to disagree on things. But the question is: how do I make sure that these characters aren’t one-dimensional “drama-bots”?
I’ll preface this by saying that I’ve played quite a few villains in plays. So when I think about my character, or I begin to work on a bad character, I try to think about them as having real motivation behind their “evilness.” Whatever they are doing, they need to believe that it is, somehow, the right thing. They need to be justified in their bad behaviour, no matter how selfish and irrational it may appear to others. If this is a major character, then significant backstory is required. A minor character? Then motivation is generally enough, but you could choose one random event or a moment when it became their driving force.
Using the example from the picture: (spoiler?) Continue reading
World Design Tuesday
I’ve been spending time every Tuesday or so with fellow “narrative-driven” game designer Anthony of Handwritten Games, mostly discussing views on games, game development, and writing, as well as workshopping our individual projects. But last week, I suggested we do an activity together. Turns out, this has ended up being a project which we’re both pretty pumped about. Granted, it’s becoming pretty ambitious if it gets to the point of actually being a game, but at the least, we’re designing what we think is a pretty cool world. Stay tuned for updates!
(Image is my own, taken in Slovakia on June 16 2005)
Easter Eggs after Easter
I had a bit of an “Aha! Moment,” and this is probably obvious to a lot of people, but I’m going to write about it anyway, because its quite important to me and my growth as a designer.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what makes the games, films and stories I’ve liked so memorable. For me (and I’m not saying this is the same for everyone), its usually the world, the characters. I don’t necessarily want to escape to there, but I enjoy visiting and spending time there. I used to re-read “The Great Gatsby” and stop before the end, because I didn’t want that world in its present form to die. I love Tragedy (if you haven’t guessed by now), but I love being in that world more.
Then, I started thinking about what elements of games, in particular, made those worlds and characters memorable, rather than just being a setting for which some story/set of game mechanics takes place. And it is almost always those little moments of surprise and delight when you figure something out naturally, where you have a little success. It might not even be anything to do with the gameplay, but its a moment when it feels like that world both exists without you, and yet entirely for you.
In “Seductive Interaction Design,” Stephen Anderson describes how the use of Easter Eggs can delight and emotionally bond the user. Well, I usually think of Easter Eggs as being something that breaks your immersion with a joke or side-reference, but I think I’ve been wrong about this, and that they work exactly the same way in games, bonding the user to the world and the characters.
Post the 4th
HA!
I accepted the challenge to post four times in one day. Well, really, I posted twice and was told that doing so was making other bloggers look bad, so I challenged myself to post a third time… and then I decided that if I did, I would post a FOURTH dedicated purely to a friend of mine,
JOSEPH BENJAMIN HEWITT THE FOURTH
Or as he should have been christened, “Valentino.”
Jo-Jo was born on St Valentine’s Day. Since then, he has been working his magic with the ladies, mostly through learning magic tricks and growing his hair long, as well as doing photography and dropping in on his mother’s modelling classes to meet girls (if this isn’t strictly true, I WANT IT TO BE). I like seeing photos of him with long hair, as every time he shows me one, he says, “I really needed to get my hair cut.”
Joseph is also lucky/talented/awesome enough to have a lifelong career as a game developer, known for his work at Westwood Studios, Auran, Interzone Games (teehee), and Jet Set Games.
You can visit his blog here and his twitter here.
Valentino, I am still waiting to be your Magician’s Assistant.
Ellen Jurik 
