Week 3: Choose your own adventure
As I’m working on weekly sprints, I normally write the retrospective from the previous sprint on Mondays. But this time, last sprint had more than 7 days so that’s why I’m writing the retrospective today -even though it’s Wednesday. However, I will keep using the term “week” for the title as it is more descriptive than “sprint”. After all, I’d like to measure the progress in weeks.
So the last sprint started with a follow up session with the program tutors. I shared with them the first results from the interviews, despite I still had a couple of interviews pending -which I completed during the week. The next step was distilling all that information I got from you and the result was the report I shared with you last night.
Nevertheless, the main goal for the sprint was to gather some of the ideas I had for the story, play with it a little bit, and articulate a few blurbs that I could share with you. The short survey I published last week was just an experiment to get some feedback before presenting you these ideas.
Every input I receive from you is like a little gem to me!
📋 Next (this) week: I’ve been sticking to the plan so far, but time has come to make the first amend. The idea for this sprint was to get your feedback and start working on the story. However, I’ve decided to postpone it a little bit as I’ve been accepted to another program at Uppsala University: Interactive Storytelling –starting next week 😍. Thus, I will carry on with both courses in parallel from now on -this is why I’ve decided to postpone the plan for this week as I’d like to continue working on the story under the umbrella of that course. In the meantime, I will start setting up Unity and Adventure Creator, something that I had planned for December, but it’s totally fine doing it now.
So here are the blurbs (titles are provisional). Below, you can choose your favourite options.
🏕 The Campsite
A short story of a group of friends going camping in the woods. The plot begins with the arrival at the campsite, setting up the tent, exploring the surroundings in search of firewood, a source of water in a nearby river, etc. Night falls and strange noises interrupt them in the middle of dinner. Later, late at night and while sleeping inside the tent, they will realize that something else is going on.
💡 The Lighthouse
The lamp from the lighthouse has stopped working and a couple of police officers have been sent to the tower to find out what happened. As in a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie’s story, they will find a dead body in the lighthouse, a mystery that has to be resolved if they want to turn on the lamp again.
🐪 The Desert
A writer wants to experience the solitude of the desert as a source of inspiration for his/her next novel. The story begins arriving in a jeep at the gates of the desert, where the adventurer – accompanied by a mysterious guide – will begin a journey to the desert camp on a camel ride. Everything seems normal until he/she realizes that the guide (and the camel) has left him/her completely alone. Lost, the writer will have to find out what is happening. This will be an inner journey of self-discovery.
🚂 The Train
The player will embark in a long and unusual trip by train. It will take several nights to reach the final destination, and one important lesson to learn every single day of the trip. Expect a surprise on every stop.
💾 Play the prototype and follow the development of The Campsite on itch.io!
💬 Join The Campsite on Discord.
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Judging by the samples provided, at first glance and without knowing what’s exactly in your mind, I’d say the most promising one is that of the train (curiously the shortest). If delivered, promises of a multiplicity of both surprises and lessons along the way seem something convincing enough (as opposed to the other proposals, which seem focused on solving just one big mystery).
Regarding the rest of the proposals, while all of them are to take place in enticing scenarios (the woods, a lighthouse, the desert…), they also seem poised to tell us a stereotypical story: some scare at night, a murder in a lonely melancholic place, a voyage of self-discovery in a faraway setting. This is not necessarily a bad thing: if you finally decide to go any of those ways being conscious of them being commonplace, some hard storytelling work could turn things in your favor, as long as you play your cards well.
What I mean is that starting out from a stereotypical setting can be a very good thing, provided that afterwards you’ll be able to offer unexpected elements or twists that will blow the gamers’ minds. Such an ideal situation simultaneously makes the user feel comfortable in a familiar (often much-loved) environment, while being taken through unexpected stimulating surprises.
Thank you for your helpful comments David and for taking the time to point out important things to consider. I’m glad you like the train option as this is the type of game that I’m most willing to explore and feel most connected to. However, I am aware of the complexity that a story like this can entail, as well as the mastery necessary to create something along these lines and not die trying. As this will be the first game of its kind that I will make, I thought maybe it would be wise to go for a proven formula (and easier for me, considering my limited storytelling experience) like The Campsite or The Lighthouse. This way, I can focus on learning the entire process and avoid trying too hard on a specific area that I don’t yet have under control. Despite that, I would never go for something too predictable of course (I guess it’s not easy either), since I would like to make this twist on the story at a certain point.
Sad to arrive late to the voting, but my vote probably would’ve gone for The Campsite! I think it could fit for a first story, furthermore with the nostalgia it can provoke for lots of us who loved camping when we were children, and the “magic” of a forest at night, with a bonfire, the sounds of animals, the darkness, the shadows and shapes in the dark… imagination plays a huge role in this type of stories, for sure!
I agree Luis! I think it’s a good scenario for a short story as it can be contained in a small world while taking the most of the player’s imagination. In addition, this component of nostalgia that you mentioned, and our innate connection with nature it’s in the roots of every adventurer. I feel quite comfortable with this option for a first game.
Dear voters. The polls are still open for voting regardless of the progress of the project. Please feel free to vote unless the poll is officially closed, which you will see on the poll status. Your opinion is highly appreciated.