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Dewa mata

[Doo-a mattah]

Japanese Word of the Week (15)

Kanashii.

Aims:Students will explore genre, symbolism and storytelling in games, movies and comics – this will introduce plot devicesObjectives:All students will be able to identify 3 key plot devices in separate genreMost students will be able to identify 3 key plot devices and describe 1 form in detailSome students will be able to identify 3 key plot devices and describe 2 forms in detail

Aims & Objectives

Computer Game Story Development

19 April 2010

Unit 72 Computer Game Story Development

Computer Game Story Development

1 Understand storytelling for games

2 Be able to produce a story for a game

3 Be able to produce game dialogue

4 Be able to reflect upon own narrative work.

Understanding Genre

• RPG• FPS• RTS• Sports• Fighting• Everything else

Understanding GenreThe FPS

• Wolfenstein • DOOM• Quake• Duke Nukem

See also: Golden-Eye, Half-Life, Unreal Tournament, Rainbow Six, Medal of Honor

Understanding GenrePlot Development

Scene setting

Action &

ConsequenceDenouement

CatalystsEstablishment

Mission: Stop Makarov’s

Reign of Terror

You (USMC) are betrayed by Shepherd and his men

SAS and USMC stop terrorist

plot and Shepherd

Nikolai informs Price of plotSub-text: CIA mission to Russia

Understanding GenreModern Warfare 2

Understanding RPGPlot Development

Objective

Action & Consequence

Choice

Trial & error

Judgement

Activity

Choose and RPG or an FPS and fill in the blanks for your chosen game.

Understanding RPGElder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Close the gates of Evil in Cyrodiil

Levelling up

Do you help Martin?

Joining guilds

Champion of Cyrodiil or

laughing stock?

Understanding Plot

Your audience wants something to happen…

• Thesis, antithesis, synthesis • Location, conditions, actions• Symbolism • Structures

Thesis, Antithesis & Synthesis

• What could happen• What won’t happen• What has happened

Understanding Plot

Activity

Can you give me 3 examples of how thesis, antithesis and synthesis takes place in your fave games?

• Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine• War• Retaliation, combat.

Locations, Conditions & Action

Understanding Plot

Symbolism

Understanding Plot

• The Matrix (see also Kaiser Soce)• X-Men (they’re normal people too)• The Farrellys

More on this later

• Three-act structure (beginning, middle, end)• Hero’s journey (12 steps)• Episodic

Structures

Understanding Plot

Introducing X-MenRepresentation

• Emotions • Characterisation • Stereotypes: e.g. gender, ethnicity

Introducing X-MenEmotional Themes

• Vengeance • Happiness • Fear • Anger • Perseverance • Heroism; valour • Hope • Competitiveness

Activity

Can you attribute any emotional themes to anything that you already know about X-Men?

o Who’s angry?o Who is that person angry with or at?o Is there a calm about a certain character?

You can base these opinions on the comic, noir, cartoon or movie series.

• Stan Lee, Jack Kirby• 1963• Echoes of life in the 1960s

Introducing X-MenThe Voice

Whose voice would be heard in the first edition (and beyond)?

Introducing X-MenThe Voice

• The voice is often yours, the writers• Influences• Hopes• Aspirations• Bias

Homework

For next week: Please watch X-Men the movie and note anything interesting about the characters. All of next week’s lesson will be on the X-Men so I’ll be asking questions about all of what we’ve learned today especially:

• Emotional themes• Representation• The Voice• The structure

Fact: Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer directed this first episode of X-Men movies. Enjoy!

Overview – What Have We Learned?

• The types of genre• Style of plot• Plots used by genre• The beginning of narrative

Have we met our outcomes?

Next Week

More X-Men! Story arcs, relationships and the painful truth.