Cinematic Production - Scripts 04

Week 2 - Day 2

Out of all five of our ideas, we decided to choose Oscar's story idea as our group production. We've bounced some ideas around so, rather than ending the scene on a comedic note, it gives a bigger impact. Here's my take on his original script:

--

INT. BEDROOM. 
EXT. LATE MORNING.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: CHARACTER SETTING UP AN AUDIO BOOK FOR MEDITATION. SETS THE CASE DOWN, SHOWING OFF THE COVER. (COVER SAYS: MEDITATION FOR BEGINNERS.)

PROFILE SHOT: CHARACTER SITS ON THE FLOOR AND TRIES TO GET COMFORTABLE AS AUDIO BOOK PLAYS.

MEDITATION VOICE OVER AND SOOTHING MUSIC STARTS.

VOICE OVER: Hello, and welcome, to this guided meditation. Find a comfortable position, sitting or lying down and make sure you will not be disturbed for the next hour or so.

TIME LAPSE (EXT. MID-DAY): CHARACTER IS NOW LEANING BACK ON THEIR ARMS, MOUTH OPEN, LOOKING BORED.

VOICE OVER: Allow your mind to enter a space of deep relaxation. Take slow deep breaths, inhaling to the bottom of your stomach. As you inhale, inhale all positive energy, and as you exhale, exhale all negativity from your being. Feel your muscles and body relax with every breath.

TIME LAPSE (EXT. MID AFTERNOON): CHARACTER IS NOW LYING DOWN ON THE BED. POSTURE STILL AND RELAXED.

PROFILE SHOT: THE CHARACTER IS BREATHING DEEPLY, IN AND OUT. CAMERA SLOWLY PANS DOWN THE BODY UNTIL WE REACH THE TOES.

VOICE OVER: With your mind, slowly scan your body. As you scan up through your body,from your toes to the top of your head, feel your physical body being erased and released into the universe. Feel yourself become detached from your physical body, revealing your spiritual self.

AS VOICE OVER CONTINUES, A BLUE GLOW BEGINS TO TAKE OVER THE BODY. CAMERA PANS UP THE BODY AS IT PROGRESSES.

PROFILE WIDE SHOT: THE GLOW TAKES OVER THE ENTIRE BODY AND A PARTICLE SIMULATION ESCAPES IN ONE DEEP EXHALE. CAMERA PANS UP AS THE PARTICLES GO UPWARDS, LEAVING THE ROOM.

ENVIRONMENT SHIFT: FROM BEDROOM TO SPIRIT WORLD.

NEW ESTABLISHING SHOT: WIDE EXPANSE OF LAND, SERENE, CALM COLORS. FULL OF CREATURES SMALL AND ROUND, QUIET.

TRACKING SHOT: FOLLOW THE CREATURES OVERHEAD. EXPLORE THE NEW SCENERY.

AUDIO BOOK SUDDENLY STOPS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE. SILENCE. AND THEN A SLOW RISE OF A SIREN.

THE ENVIRONMENT SHIFTS FROM TRANQUIL TO SINISTER. THE CREATURES SIMULTANEOUSLY TURN THEIR BEADY EYES TOWARDS THE CHARACTER.

CREATURES LUNGE TOWARDS THE CHARACTER. CHARACTER WAKES WITH A GASP.

INT. BEDROOM.

EXT. LATE AFTERNOON.

NO AUDIO EXCEPT FOR LOUD BREATHING OF THE CHARACTER.

OVER THE HEAD SHOT: CHARACTER PICKS UP AUDIO BOOK AND FLIPS IT SO THE COVER IS HIDDEN.

SCENE FADE TO BLACK.

--

The aim of this script change was to go from a bored mood, to a serene mood, to one of deep fear. We threw some ideas around that the human psyche can be pretty screwed up, so we thought that might be one of the reasons why we lose our "inner cool". I wanted the scene to end on a more sinister feeling, a complete emotional shift from when we started off. I'm hoping the script came across clearly enough, but it's open to changes and we won't be confirming anything until next Monday at our next submission hand-in.

We'll be using today and tomorrow to make our own changes again, if need be, and then gather around once more on Thursday to discuss it further. I'm very excited to be a part of this project and I hope it all goes well!

GO TEAM, GO!

WE CAN DO IT!!!

--

EDIT:

Also, I think in one of the shots, as the body glows blue, JUST BEFORE THE PARTICLE SIMULATION POPS OUT OF THE MOUTH, the eyes will open to reveal a gold glow. NOT THE CHARACTER but the spirit of the character instead.

Cinematic Production - Production Schedules 01

Week 2 - Day 2

So, this is the second week into our group projects and what we're supposed to be doing is figure out our game plan, i.e. our production schedules. I've made one according to the possibility that my story idea gets picked while also taking into consideration preferences of other people. The schedule, with a good mix of 2D and 3D, will be as follows:

I thought it'll be better to get the designs, rough backgrounds and rough animations done during the first term, refine and think over it during the holidays AND THEN GET STRAIGHT INTO IT for the second term. That way we can focus more on clean-ups and fix-ups if need be when we do a layout test.

I've also decided to dedicate only a couple of days in week 10 for any re-shooting we might need. The schedule can be shifted around easily to accommodate for this change without adding too much strain on our workloads. (One would hope...)

Hamish is the head of our 3D department but Adrian is also great with Maya so I'm putting those two together to collaborate with each other on that front while the rest of us tackle the 2D side of things. We all know bits and pieces of Maya, more or less, so we can still contribute if either Hamish or Adrian asks for it, vice versa.

--

Up in the next post, our team's production schedule!!

Cinematic Production - Scripts 03

Week 2 - Day 1

Okay, so no new changes to VERSION 2 of the script BUT!! I do have some concept designs of the dads - before and after being zombified. We have 4 types - the business dad, the stick-thin dad, the short asian dad and the bulky dad. I'm happy with how most of them turned out and I tried playing with a different style of drawing; more blocky, slightly less streamline. I'm not sure how it'll translate to 3D but I'll work on turnarounds if my story idea is picked as a group project. If not, I can always work on these in my spare time just for kicks...BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW I NEED MORE PRACTICE WITH TURNAROUNDS...

The pose for the zombified stick-thin dad is the funniest, by far...Such derp~

I think I might've screwed up with a bit of the proportions for most, if not all, of the concept designs. Especially the legs on that zombified short asian dad. Ugh. Such shame! DISHONOR ON MY COW!!

...

I may or may not update this post later on with more changes.

Interactive Narrative - Gameplay 03

Week 1 - Day 5

This nice thing about Castlevania, starting off, is that if you leave the title screen alone long enough, you eventually get a preview of what the game is about. Isn't that nice?? It's nicer than what Metroid and Legend of Zelda gave me...or maybe it's because I didn't quite give them enough time? Maybe I'm supposed to wait a minute or longer instead of just 30-something seconds. Oh wells.

And, JOY OF JOYS! We get a story!! That's excellent...

Well, kind of. We just see our character coming up to a gate in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. That's about it...and then we're thrown right into the dungeon. Yay. But it's still better than nothing.

From what I gathered in the preview, there's going to be lots of monsters running about and we're gonna have to whip them into shape and hope everything goes well.

Okay, first rule of playing this game; HIT EVERYTHING. Some of the "decorations" can drop items and power-ups! Which is awesome. I'm hoping this'll make the game easier so that I don't DIE within 30 seconds.

MORE HEALTH! MORE POWERRR!!! AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!

--

I'm dying!!!

I die...

--

I didn't even get very far but that was only my first run of it and, compared to Metroid and Legend of Zelda, I might as well as halfway done!!! XD (Har-har, I so funny...)

--

MANY MORE DEATHS LATER...

Stage 5 SUCKS. So friggin' hard. Raging so much. I don't wike it.

--

Quick Q & A for Castlevania. (Here, have some more serious business.)

1. How would you describe the genre of the game? How is this evident in level design, storytelling and gameplay? 

It's an adventure/action game that's not too dissimilar to the likes of Metroid and Legend of Zelda. (Maybe that's the theme. Ah-hah! I get it...) The progress into the game is very linear; just keep moving forward. You're still able to go back to collect items or power-ups if need be after you die but the monsters also respawn very frequently so it might just be up to you to decide if going back for extra items is worth the potential loss of HP or to just go with the bare minimum of what you've got to get to the next stage. Stages 01 to 04 is easy enough but 05 is horrible...(I won't describe to you how much I raged but Tea knows all the details.)

Story-telling wise, it's not very clear either. We did have a beginning sequence of our character coming up to a closed gate with a castle looming in the distance. But that's it. There is no more to this beginning sequence than that. We're then thrown right into the world of Castlevania, although we do have a pretty chill map where we're able to knock off decorations in order to pick up items and power-ups for use. It's also time-based, which forces you to not only be quick about getting to the next main stage, but also to be smart about NOT CONSTANTLY DYING.

Gameplay is simple enough to grasp; you're mostly jumping and hitting and moving forward. Your only obstacles are the monsters within the games and a boss at the end of a certain stage. I met the first one in stage 04. That pretty much concluded that particular section of the map.

2. How does your chosen game(s) tell its story? Is it successful? 

Did Castlevania tell me a story? Yes, albeit a short exposition that involves my character staring at the castle in the distance, under the bright yellow crescent moon and partial clouds. It would've been helpful to know more because, as it is, I think I'm a treasure/vampire hunter killing monsters and collecting money and hearts and weapon upgrades from breaking walls, whipping at candle sticks and jumping over wolves. It reminds me a little bit of Indiana Jones? But Indiana would leave after he picked up the jewel from the boss in stage 04 instead of CONTINUING ON. But that might be just me.

3. Does your game encourage exploration? How does this affect the pace/meaning/structure of the narrative?

Lots of exploration to be had. Although, not quite? There are moments where you must backtrack to make sure your whip is in good enough shape that you can kill the boss easily but at the same time, you can CHOOSE to go without the upgrades if you are so bold. The pace has to be quick due to the time-based nature of the game but there's more than enough time on the timer to allow you to explore the stages fully but also complete it within 300 seconds, which is nice. As for structure? It mostly feels like I'm immersing myself in a Van Helsing movie, although a much older version than the one starring Hugh Jackson and Kate Beckinsale. Although there are a lot more ghosts/zombies and "creatures of the deep" within the game than the movie has.

--

That's all for this week's gameplays! Tune in next time when I try to have a go with Facade, Her Story and/or Never alone...

(Always alone...)

Cinematic Production - Scripts 02

Week 1 - Day 5

Here is the second version of the script. It looks good, so far, but this may or may not change in the future...

--

VERSION 2

EXT. SUNSET SKY, BLOOD-RED AND OMINOUS. EXTREME WIDE SHOT(?)

PANS DOWN TO A GRASSY FIELD LITTERED WITH RUBBISH AND A DILAPIDATED FENCE.

PANS TO THE RIGHT AND WE SEE A SHADOWED FIGURE RUNNING THROUGH A PATH.

CLOSE UP FRONT VIEW: RUNNING FEET OF A LITTLE GIRL.

SCENE CHANGE TO: ANOTHER SHADOWED FIGURED, LOOKING SINISTER, SLOW AND LUMBERING.

CUT BACK TO LITTLE GIRL: CAMERA PANS UP UNTIL WE SEE HER ARMS PUMPING HER FORWARD.

CUT BACK TO ZOMBIE FIGURE: WE HEAR HIM GROANING AS HE MOVES FORWARD.

CUT BACK TO LITTLE GIRL: CAMERA PANS UP TO HER SHOULDER AND THE BOTTOM HALF OF HER FACE.

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT: WE SEE HER SLOW TO A SKIP AND REACHING OUT WITH ONE HAND.

CLOSE UP OF A GNARLED HAND, OPENING SLIGHTLY TO ACCEPT THE LITTLE GIRL'S HAND.

CLOSE UP OF DAUGHTER'S FACE FROM FATHER'S POV.

DAUGHTER: Thanks for waiting for me, dad.

TWO SHOT: THE FATHER KISSES THE TOP OF HER HEAD AND, TOGETHER, THEY WALK OFF INTO THE SUNSET. 

--

The main driving force behind this story idea is the relationship between father and daughter. You know about the saying of "nature vs nurture"? We're taking that concept and turning it around because, as we all know, zombies are mindless flesh eating monsters BUT! The father is able to cling onto his paternal instincts and continue using them to help and keep his daughter safe. Right there is nurture OVER nature, where the father is able to triumph over his baser urges!! Hoorrah~

BUT the question remains: how do we show this in just a few scenes?

The beginning of the scene will start off sinister and ominous, portraying the little girl as the vulnerable human against the flesh-rendering zombie. This sets the tone and genre as horror but as the scene progresses it slowly shifts and the plot twists into a high-drama family moment when she grabs hold of the zombie's festering hand and treats him with, not disgust, but familial love while the zombie, fighting against his first and natural instincts, does nothing more than moan and groan. This all happens within the last ten seconds or less of the shot, bringing about a good conclusion to what seemed like a cliche zombie scene.

--

The background is most likely going to be a field somewhere accessible in Auckland. Maybe Mt Eden, or One Tree Hill, or even Keith Hay Park. I'm not big on using Albert Park because it's a high-foot-traffic area. I want the space to look rural, or as close to it as possible. Hopefully without cows or sheep around because we want everything to look...not totally desolated, but EMPTY. The little girl will be live-action, IF WE CAN FIND SOMEONE TO FILL THIS ROLE and the zombie is going to be entirely in 3D. I'll put up a concept to how he's going to look in a different post...later. I'll need to make a mood board for the environments, too. If we can't find an actress then we'll turn her into a 2D animation, otherwise, the 2D aspect will come from extra pieces of prop like, a broken down fence, birds/butterflies, etc...This is also open to change.

--

So, the concept behind the design for the zombie will be somewhere between...Plants VS Zombies with a mix of Ben and Ed.

Ta-daaa, this is the preliminary look for what the zombie-father may possibly look like.

Just based on a quick look through, Mt Eden and One Tree Hill looks a lot more visually appealing because of all the different hills and textures and bumps along side the volcanoes. The background of the city can be easily edited until it's just a sky without the cityscape. The nice thing about these two parks is that they're both big and varied enough that each scene won't look flat or unappealing. Keith Hay Park is big but the landscape is too flat and the grass is always trimmed and showed too much "human interaction" where I wanted something more natural as opposed to a man-made environment. Mt Eden and One Tree Hill are viable options for filming the scene.

Ethan suggests, if I do end up using One Tree Hill, we can make the monument fall down (BUT NOT ACTUALLY FOR REAL) so it gives something like a more post-apocolyptic look. This is GREAT! I think it might be something that can be done in 2D rather than 3D. Although, time-permitting, we can make it into a 3D prop.

Mt Eden has a similar look to One Tree Hill so either one of these two are ALL OKAY WITH ME. PLUS, it's closer and cheaper to get to than One Tree Hill.

Keith Hay Park is a no-go for me. I don't like how flat it looks. How unnatural it'll make the scene turn out, especially if it's supposed to be a rural/farm land kind of environment.

--

This are the concepts I've thrown up so far. This may or may not change depending...ON MANY THINGS.

Cinematic Production - Scripts 01

Week 1 - Day 4

For this particular paper, we are put into groups to work with. I'll be working with Adrian, Hamish, Oscar and Tea~ Huzzah! Although, this is not confirmed and won't be finalized until Monday. This may or may not change.

Anyway, so I've come up with a few ideas that'll combined 2D/3D and live-action together to make a SHORT 30-40 second clip.

• A father-turned-zombie does his best to protect his little girl from the rest of the horde. (Phoenix and Taylor both think this reminds them of Warm Bodies. I ought to watch this movie soon...)
• It's a post-apocalyptic world where 2 people from 2 different groups stumble upon each other while scavenging for supplies and they both fall in love. (It's very Romeo and Juliet-esque but I've yet to figure out what the 3D aspect is going to be...)
• Dragons and humans have always been at war but 1 dragon strives out to prove to his brethren that not all humans are thieves for their gold or their heads for trophies. (It's a kind of mix between "How to train your dragon" and "Dragonheart" put together.)
• A hermit crab wakes up in the middle of a scorching hot day to realize his family is gone, and they stole his shell!! (Curses, Tea!!!) He now travels in search of them with a substitute made out of a half coconut shell and seaweed. (The human aspect will mostly be in the background while the hermit crab is 3D. I've yet to figure out the 2D aspect of this...
• A pair of old shoes are hanging by their laces along an electrical wire. One is afraid of heights and the other is left making promises to the other it can't keep. (Live-action is definitely a neighborhood with cars and pedestrians walking about. The 3D will come from the shoes with their mouths and laces animated to act as mouths and eyes. The 2D will most likely be the rain or other natural weather changes.)

Out of all of these ideas, I'm more interested in the first one with the father-daughter zombie story. It's a mixture of family and horror but the little girl can add a cute aspect to it. Here are some variations of the same idea but hashed out differently.

• We start off with the father bent over the arm, horrified at the zombie bite festering away. In mere hours, he's a changed man but he's able to retain sense memory of protecting his daughter so he fights off the horse. At the end of the day, both the father and daughter sit on the rooftop to continue their ritual of watching the sunset. The little girl kisses his cheek and her father leans down to return it. (This can go two ways: either the father kisses the top of her head as he usually does, or his zombie nature wins out and he bites her. Of course, we don't actually see the bite - the camera catches him leaning down, groaning, and with his mouth wide open.) DUN-DUN-DUNNNN...
• There's a little girl cowering in the corner of a dilapidated room. A zombie enters the scene and lunges in attack but another zombie intercepts and fights it off. The first zombie is defeated and the little girl makes a run for it, holding the hand of the other zombie who turns out to be her father, trying his best to hold off his zombie-nature.
• A little girl is running and there's a zombie in the distance. It looks like she's running away, pumping her arms and legs to get the best distance as possible while the zombie lumbers along. The little girl is reaching out and she slows to a skip, holding onto the zombie's hand who kisses the top of her head. (This is a horror-esque scenario that turns into something cute. It's family-oriented and shows that, even in death, one can triumph.)

I think I might go for the third scenario because it's different. I can easily imagine what my script will turn out to be, although I'm not sure how many seconds it'll span across. As long as it's over 30 seconds and less than 40, then we're all good. By Monday, we'll be able to get a good enough idea of which of our original scripts will be turn into a live-action/animation! MUCH EXCITE!

--

The story goes like this:

VERSION 1

EXT. SUNSET SKY, BLOOD-RED AND OMINOUS. EXTREME WIDE SHOT(?)

PANS DOWN TO A GRASSY FIELD LITTERED WITH RUBBISH AND A DILAPIDATED FENCE.

PANS TO THE RIGHT AND WE SEE A SHADOWED FIGURE RUNNING THROUGH A PATH.

CLOSE UP SIDE/PROFILE VIEW: RUNNING FEET OF A LITTLE GIRL.

SCENE CHANGE TO: ANOTHER SHADOWED FIGURED, LOOKING SINISTER, SLOW AND LUMBERING.

CUT BACK TO LITTLE GIRL: CAMERA PANS UP UNTIL WE SEE HER ARMS PUMPING HER FORWARD.

CUT BACK TO ZOMBIE FIGURE: WE HEAR HIM GROANING AS HE MOVES FORWARD.

CUT BACK TO LITTLE GIRL: CAMERA PANS UP TO HER SHOULDER AND THE BOTTOM HALF OF HER FACE.

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT: WE SEE HER SLOW TO A SKIP AND REACHING OUT WITH ONE HAND.

CLOSE UP OF A GNARLED HAND, OPENING SLIGHTLY TO ACCEPT THE LITTLE GIRL'S HAND.

CLOSE UP OF DAUGHTER'S FACE FROM FATHER'S POV.

TWO SHOT: THE FATHER KISSES THE TOP OF HER HEAD AND, TOGETHER, THEY WALK OFF INTO THE SUNSET. 

--

There's a horrible lack of dialogue in this first version. I might change it to include something from the daughter's end, but the zombie's going to mostly be moaning and groaning so we're fine on that front.

I might go through a couple of script changes tomorrow once I get the others to have a read-through of it and see what can be added or taken away.

HOW TO DIALOGUE?

--

VERSION 2, after some consultation with Tea, will involve a slight camera change. Originally, I wanted to show a side view of the little girl running because it looks better visually, but then there'd be confusion with when the zombie is also included. As in, if she's running towards the left, and the zombie is ALSO coming from the left, then it'll look like she's being chased, but if I keep the scene with the girl still running towards the left but flip the zombie until he's facing the right, then it'll look like she's running towards him and I DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE THIS UNTIL MUCH LATER IN THE SCENE. Anyway, as Tea suggested, we'll change the camera shot until it looks like she's running towards the camera so it's not obvious which way she's going. It's less visually appealing (FOR ME, maybe less so for others?). The father-zombie can come from either side and it wouldn't matter. WE DON'T WANT TO CONFUSE THE AUDIENCE or give away information until it's necessary.

THANK YOU, TEA!! <3

I've also added a single line of dialogue from the daughter shortly after we see a close-up of her face, which will be:

DAUGHTER: Thanks for waiting for me, dad.

I'm hoping this will add something of an "aww" moment within the script because who doesn't like "aww" moments? (Don't answer that.)

--

This concludes the main changes within the current script.

More iterations may appear in the future...

Interactive Narrative - Gameplay 02

Week 1 - Day 4

Okay, so, just at a first glance, Legend of Zelda is, currently, a lot like Metroid. I was kind of hoping that it'll at least start off with some kind of story to let me know what I'm actually supposed to be doing but alas. I guess maybe I have to go somewhere to unlock a cutscene? Anyway, here goes my first run of the game.

Like most RPG/adventure games, I get to pick my own name! But I'm going to stick with using Link because I'm unoriginal (and a stickler for being faithful to the character) and I have 3 hearts. I'm going to immediately assume that it's game over when I've run out of them. Hopefully, like with most Mario games, I have the option to regain them come a certain point.

The cave looked a bit ominous so I decided to go to the left, ONLY TO STUMBLE ACROSS A HEARD OF MONSTERS. NOOOOOOO!! It's a lot like with Metroid where you're not THUNKED into the beginning of the map with only one clear route; you have plenty of choices to pick from. The obvious way to go would be the cave but if you're a coward like me, you'd pick the path of the least resistance...

Which is OBVIOUSLY NOT THIS WAY. So I went back to the previous map and went down the cave and got me a sword from an old man. I don't even know how long that old man has been there for, waiting and waiting for somebody to come down those steps to find him...but then HE DISAPPEARED!! Is his only role in this game to arm me with a sword? Such a sad existence!! If you push the A button, you THROW the sword like a LASER. That's friggin' amazing (and also weird but we won't go into schematics here...)

Moving on...

--

1 DEATH LATER

--

Okay, so I got overly ambitious with trying to kill every monster in the map, but at least I know when to leave things well enough alone now; I know when I'm beat...

Let's try again...but BETTER...

(On another note, monsters do not respawn if you ever wanna backtrack to a previous map. Very nice.)

--

ANOTHER DEATH LATER (where the music sounds suspiciously like the battle theme in pokemon...)

--

Obviously, I didn't learn my previous lesson all that well...

The nice thing about this game is that you can continue after you die with the things in your inventory and the crystals you picked up without losing them. The downside of that is you'll go back to the very first map you appeared in. A bit annoying, but not bad considering the benefits!

It'll be handy if they provided a map so I knew WHERE TO GO, otherwise I'm kind of just...bumbling around hoping for the best. Although, if I go to the left of the map enough times to find another cave, I do get told to find an old man at the graveyard. Spooky...

I'm assuming that this game relies a lot of visual memory so you know where to go. I don't see the option of a map so unless you actually take note of where you're supposed to go, you'll most likely just end up going around in circles.

I feel like drawing myself a map to keep a track of where I am.

--

DRAWING MAPS ARE SO HARD. I DIEEEEEEEEE. I ALWAYS DIEEEEE. I'M ALWAYS LOSTTT!!! Oh mah gaahhhhh...I always die before I can get very far into the game...this is so hard. DX Whyyyyyyyyy...

--

Quick Q & A for Legend of Zelda. (Time for some more serious business.)

1. How would you describe the genre of the game? How is this evident in level design, storytelling and gameplay? 

Legend of Zelda is an adventure/role playing game. While the world itself is simply designed, the objectives within each map is clearly defined. It reminds me a lot of Pokemon where the moment you try to venture into the tall grass and vast outdoors, you are stopped and given a pokemon to help your journey along. In Legend of Zelda's case, you're free to go about as many maps as you want but you are weaponless and more likely to die than not. You're required to go into the cave, putting your faith in a shadowy place, in hopes it'll turn to your benefit which, indeed, it does. The storytelling is not immediately clear but the gameplay is easy enough to follow through - just keep going until you hit your next destination.

2. How does your chosen game(s) tell its story? Is it successful? 

Much like it was with Metroid, I'm not sure what the story for the Legend of Zelda is actually about. I know enough backstory passed from word of mouth from other players but, in my own personal experience with the game, I am utterly lost. This seems to be an ongoing theme but I'm hoping the next game I play will be more forthcoming with the story details. At the very least, enough to give us a basic idea of what we're doing.

3. Does your game encourage exploration? How does this affect the pace/meaning/structure of the narrative?

There are so many routes to pick from and, if you're able to keep yourself alive for long enough, you're more than able to explore through each map and defeat the monsters within them. Like with most RPG games, you are forced to explore the maps to get a general overview of what's to come. In the case of the Legend of Zelda, you're placed in a world full of monsters and your only way forward is to arm yourself and fight. How many fights or maps you have to go through (without a guide) is entirely up to the player. If the player so chooses, they can simply take their time with the maps, exploring every nook and cranny to their liking. It should not affect the storyline in any way as the amount of time you play the game is not counted by the second or the minute. You can spend as little or as long as you want and you'll still possibly get the same result in the end.

--

Well, all in all, I actually like playing Legend of Zelda a lot more than Metroid...(sorry, Samus). I'll be trying to play Castlevania next time and, apparently, it's going to be hard...I'm not looking forward to that. XD

Interactive Narrative - Gameplay 01

Week 1 - Day 3

Gaming! I haven't played all that many games outside of my current obsession: Guild Wars 2 and Avengers Academy. Yes, this totally says a lot about me...But anyway, this week we have a choice of playing Metroid, Legend of Zelda, or Castlevania. I'm gonna be totally honest with you; I've only ever heard of the Legend of Zelda out of the three mentioned, and YES, I will also totally admit that I thought the guy plastered all over the front of the game covers was actually called Zelda. This is wrong...His name is Link...(Don't be a doof like me...)

Right, so we're gonna jump into playing Metroid first, just because it's on the top of the list. I have NO CLUE what the game is about so I'm going in completely blind. It's an adventure game that looks a lot like Mario and Pokemon and that sounds pretty awesome so I'm gonna go ahead and try for at least a couple of hours of actual game-play before moving on to rescuing Zelda.

Now, first impressions. THIS IS SO RETRO. Really reminds me of Mario and growing up in the mid 90's with these kind of games. I'm an 80's kid but I didn't actually get to start playing around with games until I moved to New Zealand when I was about...8ish years old. The music is also funky. I wike it.

So, 5 seconds into the game, I am lost. Yay...I couldn't quite figure out the keys of how to play it...I know the arrows work and enter but that's it! I actually thought I died when I hit the START button because everything stopped moving. Little did I know, I simply paused the game...

I changed the keys to the ASDW format and the A and B buttons to something else but, uh...I only confused myself a bit more and that wasn't cool. I'm gonna have to change it again because I JUST DIED...Far out, this brings back memories of frustration.

What does this password even do? Can I continue from where I last was? Is this like a save point? There's only one way to find out...BACK INTO THE FRAY.

--

4 DEATHS LATER

--

Okay, so I figured out how to DUCK! You push the down button twice...Yay...

I honestly couldn't figure it out and I didn't actually manage to get past that first couple of rooms without dying. Stupid monsters...

Also, the character reminds me a lot of Samus from those Mario battle games. (After a quick google, it turns out it IS ACTUALLY SAMUS. Wow, I suck.)

--

Quick Q & A for Metroid. (Time for some serious business.)

1. How would you describe the genre of the game? How is this evident in level design, storytelling and gameplay? 

This is an action/adventure game where the goal is to go from one end of the dungeon to another until it is completed. Along the way, you can defeat monsters, pick up items, and open doors by shooting at them. The design is very simple and the world is very flat and 2-dimensional; typical of most games within this generation. Take Super Mario for example.

It's not overly complicated; the only way forward is...well, forward. There is only one route in which you can lead your character to the end of the room/dungeon and it's impossible to get lost. Winning the dungeon and completing it is an entirely different subject. Getting to the next part contributes to the storytelling and narrative, although it would certainly help if the game started off with some actual exposition. I'm not a big fan of exposition but going in blind is just very silly, and asking us to die a many violent death.

The game-play itself is easy enough - you have your arrow keys, you have your A and B buttons as well as your SELECT AND START buttons. Each key does it's own thing and it's easy enough to figure out which is which. Of course, making sure you shoot at the monster rather than jump towards them is another matter. The endgame is easy enough to figure out, but I still don't know how Samus' particular story actually starts. This is something that either the game within the website is missing, or it was left out either by accident or purposely. In any case, I'm a confused game player.

2. How does your chosen game(s) tell its story? Is it successful? 

Currently, I don't feel that it's very explanatory. As soon as I clicked ENTER, I was thrown into the game without any backstory. I'm in a cave and I don't know why or how I got there. I have a gun and there are monsters all around me and they are definitely not the friendly type like Yoshi is for Mario. Most of the games I've played will at least tell you a little bit of what's going on but for Metroid, I am completely blank as to what I'm supposed to do, where I'm supposed to go, and what my objective is for being where I am. In terms of exposition, the game mostly failed, although that would be either of our faults (maybe the game on the website didn't load properly and the starting story is missing or I rushed the STARTING MENU SCREEN too much).

With Mario, you KNOW WHY we're traversing the world, squashing mushrooms, kicking turtles back into their shells or throwing fireballs at man-eating flowers - it's all for the sake of rescuing Princess Peach! But with Metroid? I have absolutely no clue where I am or why I'm there. I simply...am.

3. Does your game encourage exploration? How does this affect the pace/meaning/structure of the narrative?

Yes, indeed it does. It wasn't evident at the beginning of my play-through, but after the first few attempts at trying to understand the mechanics behind the game, it became easier to stop thinking about which keys and buttons to push and more on the question of; what will happen if I go to the left instead of the right? The answer was that I found a sphere or perhaps a power-up on the left side of the first map I was thrown into. I'm not sure what it does for my character but it shows that exploring the map does help, in some way.

The fact that you don't immediately spawn at the beginning of the map says a lot; you need to think about exploring; you can't simply shoot and keep moving forward and hope for the best. Exploring opens up new possibilities (and items?) for your character to use and take advantage of as well as the use of strategy. It's not like with Mario where the only thing you can do is go from point A to Z.

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Thanks for tuning into my play-through of Metroid. Catch you all next time when we try to attempt Legend of Zelda!!