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Research

Research

The Storyline is what keeps a game together and keeps giving the player something to do and progress towards. Mostly every game has some sort of story behind it, some simple and some more complicated. They are all different depending on the genre of the game and company that the game was made by.

Linear Storylines

A video game with linear gameplay will confront a player with a fixed sequence of challenges. Every player sees every challenge and sees them in the same order. Games that employ linear stories are those where the player cannot change the story line or ending of the story. Most games use a linear structure, thus making them more similar to other fiction. Many games have offered premature endings should the player fail to meet an objective, but these are usually just interruptions in a player's progress rather than actual endings.

Non Linear Storylines

A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player sees only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a different order. A nonlinear game will allow greater player freedom than a linear game. For example, a nonlinear game may permit multiple sequences to finish the game, a choice between paths to victory, or optional side-quests and subplots.

Sandbox Mode

In a game with a sandbox mode, a player may turn off or ignore game objectives, or have unlimited access to items. This can open up possibilities that were not intended by the game designer. A sandbox mode is an option in otherwise goal-oriented games and should be distinguished from open-ended games with no objectives such as SimCity. Another popular Sandbox Mode based modification is Garry's Mod, also known as Gmod for Half Life 2. It has a variety of different uses, the main being the sandbox gamemode, allowing you to do whatever you want with everyday, normal items, or just have a firefight with your friends.

In Role-Playing Games

Branching Non Linear storylines are also often used in role-playing video games to an extent. A successful recent example is Bioware's Mass Effect, where the player's decisions have an impact on the gameplay. The game has a complex morality that is measured in Paragon and Renegade. A good action will not make up for an evil one. Therefore, being nice occasionally will not stop people from fearing a killer or remove the reputation of an unsympathetic heel, but nor will the occasional brutal action significantly damage the reputation of an otherwise upstanding soldier.

My Opinions

Linear

Personally i think that Linear storylines are quite boring. I like to have the choice of how i kill a boss or how i arrive at a destination i need to get to. However some linear storyline games can be quite impressive because they can put alot more detail into cinematics and encounters that they know the player willcome accross.

Non Linear

In my eyes Non Linear storylines are the better choice in games. I think the way that you have so many choices of how you complete your mission and where you go to do it gives you much more freedom and gives a much more enjoyable gaming experience as a whole. Not only that but i think its great how you have the choice to stop doing the missions and go and relax in the world of the game.

Info taken from :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear_gameplay

Plot / Short Story

Plot

Main Character has a dark past, which she doesn’t know about.

Main Character is left as an orphan and later adopted.

Main Character is treated as a slave.

Main Character develops a very negative personality and self esteem.

Main Character tries to kill herself but fails.

Main Character decides to escape on her 15^th Birthday.

Main Character gets chased by fake parents.

Main Character has to develop disguise skills and hiding skills.

Main Character meets a few friends along the way and a boy.

Main Character is shown the secret garden by the boy.

Main Character decides to head to her old house.

Main Character finds out that the house is a wreck and burnt down.

Main Character searched through the wreck and finds a safe.

Main Character opens the safe to find a letter from her parents.

Main Character is caught by the evil fake parents.

Main Character is separated from her friends and the boy.

Main Character is saved by her new friends and the boy

Main Character makes a new life with the boy in a secret garden.

Detailed Version:

Kiara was adopted. But in her case this was not a good thing. She had a dark past behind her that she didn’t know about. It had been kept a secret by her original parents and never told to her or her adoptive parents. She was adopted when she was 2 and had been treated like a slave ever since. She was fed minimal amounts and made to do every chore and job that anyone had to do; if she refused she would be punished.

As the years went by she began to develop a very negative personality and her self-esteem was lowered to nothing. Her “fake” parents never sent her to school so she never really had any friends. Because of this, she was forced to create her own made up world that she could escape to at night in her mind.

The depression and sadness became so bad that when she was 12 years old she tried to hang herself from her own bedroom light. She failed to do this as the light came loose from the ceiling resulting in large damages to the ceiling and even more punishment from the evil adoptive parents.

All of the pain and sadness carried on for a few more years until her 15^th Birthday arrived. She decided that was the day to make her move. She set up an escape route in the day and waited till the night to use it. She ran away the night she turned 15 but had her evil adoptive parents hot on her tail the next day.

She had been kept at home and rarely taken out for 15 years so had a very long time to perfect her hiding skills but she had no idea where to go. She spent the first day running from the adoptive parents through the countryside, until she came across a boy sat in a field. They spent the rest of the day together and connected very well, ending up becoming good friends over night.

Over the next few days he showed her around the area, many places where she could hide and sometimes they had to use them to hide from the evil parents. He also introduced her to his friends who she got on very well with. They all worked together to make her feel happy and boost her self-esteem.

All was going well until one or two days after. The evil parents had gained the help of the police, acting like they were loving parents who just missed their little girl. The police did a better job at finding Kiara and managed to track her down. They took her away from the boy and his friends and made her go back to live with the evil parents. The parents were so furious at her the bullying and punishment became ten times worse. She hadn’t seen the boy or her friends in days and became very depressed again, for the fact that she had all of that then suddenly lost it all in a flash.

After a few days to her surprise, she began to receive small notes from the boy that informed her how her friends and him were planning to rescue her and take her away. Her confidence began to build and she started standing up to the evil parents, although it just led to more beating and punishment. The fact that she knew she would be rescued kept her strong and kept a small part of happiness in her.

Almost a week past and she heard a knock at her window when she was in bed. She opened her curtain to say the boy hanging from the drainpipe with a big rock in his hand. She put her face to the window and heard him say to her that it was time to escape. She quickly gathered her things in a bag and backed away from the window. He smashed the window with the rock, grabbed her and swiftly took her away into the darkness.

He didn’t waste any time in showing her the secret garden. It was a magical place full of everything she needed to live a happy cheerful life. They spent around 2 weeks there, only leaving to see her new found friends. They then found out that the parents had given up and stopped looking for her.

It took months, but eventually the sadness and depression was getting better. She began to forget the bad past she had and started to focus on the good she had at the moment in time and the future she was going to have. She was saved. Her life was getting better.

Exercise 4

Character Profile Sheet



Character Name: Kiara

Full Name: Kiara Akiri

Nick Name(s): Kiri

Gender: Female

Age: 14

Birthday/year: 27^th April 1997

Marital Status: Single

Spouse: None

Hair: Black / Raven

Eyes: Bright Blue

Origin: Japanese / English

Language(s): English / Japanese


Height: 5’3

Weight/Body Structure/Distinguishing Marks/Traits:

6-7 Stone

Skinny Small

Scar Cheek

Ethnicity Asian / White

Parents /Guardians: None

Siblings: None

Friends/Allies: Pet Ferret

Enemies: Kidnappers

Beliefs/Religion: None

Career/Past Careers: None

Dreams/Life Goals: To Escape and be free, then start a new life with a new family.

Hobbies: Singing

Likes: Sandwiches, Milk, Music, Stars

Loves: Cookies

Dislikes: Fizzy Drinks

Loathes: Cold Nights

Fears: Wild Dogs

Strengths: Strong will power and Determination

Weaknesses: Loneliness


Good Qualities: Kind, cute, happy, friendly

Bad Habits: Over thinking things too much, running away from situations


Turn Ons:

Turn Offs:

Talents: Singing, running, hiding

Special Skills: She can blend into backgrounds well and pretend to be someone else

Temperament: She is very shy around people so doesn’t make friends very easily. She can also be very nervous in certain situations that could have a big effect in her life. She always has sad moments; remembering back to the past and thinking what she will do next to make her future better.


Background: When Kiara was very young she lost both of her parents to a house fire, she was adopted by an evil group of people who treated her as a slave and abused the privilege of having her in their home. As she grew up with this group she developed a very sad personality and her confidence was knocked down to nothing on many occasions.

When she became 14 she thought to herself that she was old enough to handle herself, and wanted to get away from the horrible life she was living in and start a new one. She ran away, meeting a Ferret along the way called Gushi. She didn’t know where she was going but wanted to head for a big city where she could find a nice family who could help her restart her life and turn her into a normal little girl.

Not long after she ran away, the group found out and throughout the story they are pursuing her to take her back to the slave life that she was trapped in before.

On her travels trying to to find the big city, she has a few encounters with the evil group where she has to yet again escape, sometimes gaining aid from others and temporary friends she meets. She never knows whether she will find the big city or have a better life in the future, but she must try and put aside her sadness and keep hope, with the help of Gushi, when she feels down.

Exercise 3

Dilemma / News Headline

“Real life: I was only born because my mother was raped”

Kiara had a dark past to her, which she had only just found out, in the form of a letter left from her dad. Before the fire, her dad had written a letter and placed it in a metal safe which had survived the wreck. The first place Kiara went to when she had escaped was the remains of the burnt down house. She wanted to see if there was anything there that would remind her of the past she had before being adopted. She spent nights and days of no sleep so she could get there as quick as she could, she was so desperate for some relief and happiness to be returned into her mind.

When she finally got to the house, she began to search through all of the burn wood and wallpaper; she found many things such as parts of photos and clothes, which she gathered up into a bag. By this time she was smiling, but there was one thing shiny from beneath the mess that had caught her eye. In a struggle she tried to free the shiny object from below the destruction. Doing so, she managed to cut her hand. It was bleeding quite heavily but she was so eager to get to the object it did not faze her. She finally managed to unearth the shiny box, but was greeted with a though of confusion on what was inside and how to even open it.

For a good thirty minutes she sat in the rubble trying to smash it open with various objects she could find around her, but nothing was working, in frustration she pushed it over with her foot. Then she saw it, on the bottom of the Metallic box was a engraved notice reading “Press here”. She pressed lightly on below where the notice was placed, and sure enough the box proceeded to open. It was like an oversized puzzle, twisting and jerking as it gradually opened itself.

A look of shock and excitement appeared on Kiara’s face as the box opened revealing the contents. Inside to her surprise was an envelope sat there on its own. She picked it up and started to gently tear it open. The envelope was open and she could see a small batch of money and a folded piece of paper. She put the money to one side and unfolded the paper. It was a letter. She glanced to the bottom quickly and a tear suddenly came to her eye. She immediately dropped the letter and let out a cry of extreme sadness.

The letter was from her dead Father…

Exercise 2

Creative Dream Story:

It was a late dark night at the time of the h appening, the wind gave a bitter chill to the end of my fingertips and the silentness of the area was deafeningly quiet.

We had been waiting for the prime moment to take the style of ninjas and climb into the physical adventure course that was my old school. The gate was shaky, and an obvious setback, but was the only possible way in. it made a loud painful creak as we began to make our way over the top. The tension was unbearable as we waited to see if we had been noticed. It was fine; we were in the all clear. The school was dark and eerie as we ventured our way into the middle of the courtyard. All of the windows but one were completely black and desolate inside. This one window was shining out as if it was a beacon drawing us towards it.

Could someone possibly be working, at this time of the night? We had to investigate further to relief ourselves from the made up fate we had in our heads.

Exercise 1

25 Adjectives:

Black

White

Horrific

Strange

Scary

Old

Hot

Fiery

Fake

Contrast

Tragic

Furious

Crowded

Clean-shaven

Smokey

Urban

Environmental

Hectic

Calm

Shiny

25 Adverbs:

Sat Calmly

Looking Strangely

Sat Peacefully

Sat miserably

Looking Happy

Thinking Indefinitely

Smiling Happily

Sitting Casually