First Experemints with Film

     After some playing with film and idea's it was clear that the film will need to show some sort of movement to help show that it is "jumping". I want to avoid filming someone or something that moves through the scenes as it is role of the view to move through the scenes if they want to. Progression is put in the hands of the view and it would seem less so if you followed a character. Instead some object in the landscape must be moving.

    This has lead to the idea of a narrative revolving around an approaching storm. The content of clouds,waves,rain and snow shows movement and will fit with the time given for filming. Below is a clip showing a rough edit for one scene as it develops and becomes more complex.

 

Example of Content

    Here is an example of how the content will be displayed. Playing 9 videos at once is very slow however i will experiment with mixing photos and videos. That way there will be less lag, and the content can be better quality The jumpy video does fit with the soundtrack so there may be a way to control it and make it work.

Dynamic Screen

     I have created a dynamic letterbox effect for my developed environment. I am planning on adding film to the 9 sections and want them to keep the aspect ratio of 16:9. All the content that goes inside these sections will be moves and shaped when the screen is moved.

     Fullscreen  

     The main propose of this is to control the content when in fullscreen mode. This is so that the application will work with a projector in any resolution. It will prevent the content from clipping or stretching.  

     Dynamic Content 

The content will also be dynaic, changing size to fit the screen. Below is an example of the map.

Optimization

I have optimized the code so that lines are never drawn in the same place. This has increased the number of visible lines and made the old style of map usable. On the most detailed scenes some lines are missing as there is a 100 line limit. Hopefully this wont be a problem more of the map will be reviled as you progress through and make decisions.

Sound

     Here is an example of the different sounds I have created for each scene. As the sound progresses it develops and changes in relation to the changing narrative. Becoming longer and more complex until the final choice is made and the whole sound track is revealed.  





     The jumpy loops will be uses in the visuals as well. Using video of gif's that become longer and more complex as the narrative progresses.

Recording Narratives

 Both show examples where every option is available. The user is free to explore the story as they like. The first example shows the selection of only button number 5. To prevent to many lines being drawn the program shows the "spread" closest to the user and shows the general direction they can go after.(optimized in later post)

The second Example shows a more complex sequence of buttons. It shows how the initial choices are reworked to make the final narrative.

453643754546854536557597645345427545

4                                              5

3                     6                       4

3          7         5           4          5

 4    6    8    5    4    5    3    6    5  

5 7 5 9 7 6 4 5 3 4 5 4 2 7 5 4 5 

 

Recording the narrative

Every decision the user makes can be recorded and storied. This sequence of decisions could be view as the individual narrative that each user creates. The decisions they make effect what elements can be seen and what is revealed to them. below are some examples of narratives.


 -------------------------------------------

This is the narrative in order it is created. Below is a diagram of the refining structure.

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This is how the narrative developed over time

5                              4 --- first pass
4              3              4 --- second pass
2      4      3      5      2 --- third pass
3  2  4  2  4  4  5  1  2 --- forth pass
52152314542751213 --- fifth pass- this is the final and most detailed version of the narrative

---------------------------------------------

444454556546575874554744583666672655

4                             4
4             4              5
4      5      5      6     5
4  6  5  7  5  8  7  4 5
54744583666672655

---------------------------------------------

435243426214232452534332234164643256

4                              3
5              2              4
3      4      2      6      2
1  4  2  3  2  4  5  2  5
34332234164643256

---------------------------------------------

User defined Narrative and feedback

    Here are some examples of the narrative maps created and displayed as the user progresses through the story. They are initially created with random algorithms and the refined and shaped by the user. Every choice they make shapes the future renditions of the narrative. Because it has random elements there is also a possibility to come to dead ends or "boring" narratives.

     Feedback

       This is one of the types of feedback given to the user. The idea is to show as much of the inner workings of the code as possible. This will hopefully emphasize the feelings of been observed and recorded. It will be interesting to observe how the user reacts to the feedback and how it changes there decisions. 

Refining Decisions

     When we are planning a situation we never think it through once or in chronological order. We revise and refine our idea's and jump back and forth in the order of events. It is this thought process that I want to display as a narrative where the user defines the decisions made and then refines them.

     By looping the narrative and adding more choices on each try more and more detail will be added to the scenes. As the narrative loops more scenes are also introduced. Eventually all the disconnected scenes will merge together to make a short film defined by the user.

     The possible outcomes become out of control very quickly, and it is easier to create processes to control the information. I am going to try to create a template that can be duplicated to control the scenes.

Narrative Idea's

Non-linear story and Self-aware Narrative   

     I am interesting in exploring a narrative that isn't linear or follows conventions. I had an idea about a character that was aware of the plot and the users goal was to lead them through and out of the livecode environment. In reality the character would be a scripted part of the story and it would have had as great an impact.

User is Aware of the Narrative

    I decided to keep the idea of a narrative that was aware of itself but put the user in main characters position. Giving the user as much feedback to make them aware they are in control of the story. Feedback will be any variables that are recorded in livecode. For example mouse position, buttons pressed and location in the narrative.

Mapping Scenes

     One of the main forms of feedback will be a map of the scenes, and narrative. I had an inital play with the idea in livecode and quickly found that to make the map scene by scene requires a lot of work. Instead I am working on code to draw it for me.

     Thinking about how the maps are draw lead my to the idea of mapping the position of different locations vertical and different times horizontally. The user could travel to different locations at different times.


^
|
|
|
Location
|
|
|
0(past)----------------------------------------Time(present)------------------------------------------>(future)

Cause and Effect

     The idea of a map of locations and times from left to right gave me an interesting idea about cause and effect. see Causality . The idea was that changing something in one time would effect all times after.

      The user could find an item in one location and use it in all the locations to the right(future).

    

Instances

Decision making - how we can perceive future problems and how the actually turn out can be completely different.

We get to focused on the small details of a problem and it looses its context. Like in the video below, each segment is like the individual problems but in the end all the scenes flow together.

Livecode

      In livecode we work with stacks and cards to create a explorable environment. My idea is to make each card a location like the jumpy scenes shown below. Similar to a vine or gif showing a small segment of time, and visual information.

Narratives and Gameplay

    Here are some examples of narrative that are interesting in some way. My initial thought are to keep the graphics and game-play fairly simple and to make a more complex narrative and story.

     In "The Stanley Parable" the narrative is very interesting, where your actions are recorded by a unnamed narrator. Eventually you get the chose to contradict his predictions and change the whole story. You quickly get confused and never really know whats going on or who to trust.

http://www.stanleyparable.com/

     Memento is a well used example of a nonlinear narrative,where the story is not reviled in chronological order. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/

      Similar to "The Stanley Parable" the character progresses through the story as it is narrated by some unknown entity.

http://www.mikebithellgames.com/thomaswasalone/

     Here are some examples of gameplay styles that are interesting or relevant to the project. I am thinking of including some puzzles or challenges but keeping them simple and easy to complete.

     "5 Days A Stranger" was one of the first point and click style games I played. I enjoyed it greatly and got sucked into the story, however I was unable to solve many of the puzzles which was very frustrating.

http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/5days/

      Here is an example of a modern point and click game that has been very successful. The puzzles could be just as difficult but better user design helps make them easier to solve.

http://www.thelastdoor.com/ 

     In "Journey" the narrative is very linear and the gameplay is simple, but the experience is a very engaging story. The puzzles are enough to make you think but not to hard to slow down the game.

http://thatgamecompany.com/games/journey/

     In "Dear Esther" the player fines them self awake on an unknown island. Exploring the island progresses the story, however unlike a conventional game there are no puzzles or challenges to halt the players progression.

http://dear-esther.com/

     "Device6" is an interesting mix of image and text. A normal book becomes a interactive journey.

http://simogo.com/games/device6/