Understanding the story:
-Period: Post apocaliptic future. ( The apocalypse is long forgotten, thus initially it appears as if the story takes place in the past since the technology is less developed.)
-Duration: About half a year or so. (The antagonist has lived for thousands of years, thus in her story has a longer duration, but those parts are just exposition.)
-Location: Rebuilt civilizations in a post apocalyptic Earth. The story starts in "Unsunken lands" (the islands) but progresses through other reborn civilizations and eventually reaches to the far away civilization of the "goddess".
-Level of conflict: A small group of people fight a goddess. Their actions affect the world in a serious way, however the conflict itself is mostly between a small group of people.
-----------------------
-The setup: An isolated village is visited by "magicians". They offer shelter, but once it is refused, the village is swarmed by creatures and abominations.
The protagonist wants to return to her village, take part in glider racers and work on her contraptions. Since the village is swarmed by creatures, they have to move, and their new home is far from perfect, forcing her to having to deal with problems in this new settlement. She needs to find the root of this problem (the creatures) and get rid of it if she wants to go back to her regular life.
-Conflict: The protagonist has to fight these creatures that are invading her home. She also needs to deal with other things in order for the villagers to settle to their new home such as pirates, natives and gathering resources etc. .
The main conflict is between the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagnost lived in a village that valued technology a lot, almost religiously, because they relied heavily on it for survival. However, the antagonist believes technology is too powerful of a thing to allow everyone to have acess to it, thus she believes she needs to keep everyone ignorant and fool them into believing that it is magic instead, outside of their grasp. When she finds out that there are other survivors that has built civilizations outside of her own, she attempts to scare them into joining her. She is unaware that part of the people who formed the civilization knows that her "magic" is actually advanced technology from pre-apocalyptic times, so they refuse. She has lived through apocalypse that was caused because people had built devastating technological weapons, so she has a fair point.
-Resolution: The backstory of the antogonist and thus the world in it's current state is revealed. Up to this point, it wasn't exactly clear wether the story took place or in the future. "Magic" was not explained to be pre-apocalyptic technology. The source of the creatures was not defined either.
Antoher twist is the nature of the antogonist. When the protagonist finds out that the "goddess" is the source of the invading creatures, she attempts to take her down. However, it is revealed that she is way more powerful than she had anticipated. She has uploaded her consciousness into the "cloud" allowing her to control different bodies that she had built. She basically is a god at this point, and this revelation is the lowest point in the story, as the protagonist feels hopeless. The player is likely to be given a choice. For the sake of the story analysis, the option to join the antagonist is ignored. Eventually the protagonist finds a way to take the powers of the antagonist away from her.
Story Analysis - Arch Plot Structure:
0-Setup: The island village. We are introduced to this world and it's technology etc.
1-Inciding incident: Outsiders visit the village, their offer is refused and the village is swarmed by creatures. The villagers need to move away... During the conflict the protagonist realises her "power".
2-Complications: The protagonist figures out more about the world and becomes more powerful.
3-Crisis: The antagonist is revealed to be very powerful.
4-Climax: After failing to defeat her earlier, the protagonist figures out a way to do so. It is the hardest battle up to this point.
5-The antagonist is defeated. The creatures that swarmed the city are gone. Everything is back to it's peaceful state with the protagonist now knowing more about the world and herself.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
Story Breakdown. Alpha.
The debate: Does humanity need a ruler in order to stop them from going too far with technology and killing each other? Is it better to be happy then to have knowledge?
Controlling idea: No they don't. Have faith in humanity. They can survive. Keeping people ignorant is not ok.
Protagonist:
Antagonist:
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Rough plot to my personal videogame story thing "Unsunken Lands"
Before you read: This is the first time ever this story is written down. Only the major parts are clear and the majority of the plot is missing. All of the names and some of the events are likely to change. The plot is written for a video game, thus large chunks of the story will be fleshed out once (if ever) the game is better defined mechanically. Although considered, the idea of multiple paths and branching storylines is dismissed for the sake of clarity. I am also not a native english speaker, thus my writing is bound to be filled with errors. Please keep these in mind if you decide to read through.
Unsunken Lands
Act 1- World Building
The story begins in “unsunken lands” an island group. Here lives the survivors of the “the great calamity” that erased a big portion of the human population generations ago. This information is yet to be revealed at this time though… The inhabitants of this land have developed technology to ease their lives. People value technological progress above a lot of things, since they rely on it to survive.
One of these people is Eva “the ever-living”. She believes she is given this nickname as a reference to her cheerful personality. She is very enthusiastic about her gliders which she builds and rides on her own. In the initial part of the story, the glider plays an important role since it introduces how mobility works in this game (before introducing combat). Eva is given some chores by her father, who is crippled, thus she has to do most of the running around. As she travels through the village to get everything done, the player has a chance to figure out the shopping/talking system of the game.
During her time in the village, she comes across talks of bizarre creatures that had emerged from the waters and are threatening the villagers. One of the most respectable members of the village (yet to be named) had been doing battle with these creatures. Eva looks up to him as a heroic figure however does not consider herself to be as powerful as him, therefore she does not consider helping him. Besides, she would rather get back to her glider.
After she is done with her chores, she gets to join her friends to practice gliding. They are all preparing for an upcoming race. She is regarded as the best glider in the village and she wishes to show this by winning the race…
Act 2- The Outsiders
The next morning, a strange flying machine lands near the village, which quickly becomes the centre of all attention. People with robes and bizarre jewellery comes out of the machine. They introduce themselves as the “Hand of the Goddess” and offer shelter against these creatures that had been invading the shores. They perform “magic” in order to convince the villagers. There is a divide amongst the villagers, some claim that there is no doubt that these outsiders are divine figures and that it would be foolish to refuse their offer, while some were not convinced that they should submit themselves to this religion. The village elders refuse the offer, and thus the strangers leave.
When Eva asks her father about the situation he tells her what he knows. That these outsiders are all brainwashed servants of this so called “goddess” and their magic is nothing but advanced technology. He brings her an “artefact”, and tells her that these technological masterpieces are scattered all over the islands and possess similar “magical” qualities. However, he and a group of others had examined these for generations and found ways to use them. Their tools are not advanced enough to reverse engineer them all the way through, but they are convinced that these “magical” items are indeed technological. He also brings her a “rifle”. He tells her the stories of war and horror that left him crippled, and his obsession to create a non-lethal protection system to survive. He presents her this rifle that he had augmented using a relic he found. He claims that the projectiles do not harm but merely knock out. When Eva suggests joining the “hero” in his battle against the invading creatures, he refuses. He does not want to see her daughter doing battle, as he is scarred enough form it.
Act 3- The Death
Those amongst the villagers that were convinced by these strangers were not pleased with the decision of the village elders. Some started screaming in the streets of an impending doom that had been unleashed upon them due to their actions. A state of terror engulfed many. And soon all. The creatures were indeed invading the village. Outnumbered and underprepared, the villagers had to leave. Not only the village but the entire island. Luckily, most villagers had access to “sky galleons” that would carry them from one island to the next thus they could safely travel without having to try their chances with the creature infested seas.
On her to the sky ship (incidentally her father was paranoid enough to build the house inside one), Eva is confronted by one of the “doomsayers”. The doomsayer has acquired a gun, and in it’s maddened state, directs it at Eva as revenge (her father was amongst those who refused the “offer”). Her father attempts to save her, but his crippled leg won’t allow him to interfere in time. Eva is shot, and darkness engulfs her.
Act 4- The “everliving”
Eva wakes up. Much to her surprise, she is alive and there are no wounds to speak of. She is inside the sky ship that is on it’s way to their new home. Eva asks her father, curious about what had happened. Her father replies… Apparently, Eva is infused with “magic”. Her father dismisses the idea of “magic” of course and explains it as “an aura composed of microscopic components, designed to shield the bearer from any harm”. Eva has had a near-death experience during her infancy, yet she survived, thus she was nicknamed “the everliving”. Her father wasn’t sure if it was mere luck or not back then but now he was convinced. He explains to her that this ability is much like the relics he had shown her, and were probably devised by scientists with advanced technology as protection. Even though they can protect against lethal blows, receiving them in quick succession could render the armor useless. She is not truly immortal, just much more durable than any human being.
With her new powers revealed, Eva is determined to help fight the creatures, uncover and destroy their unrelenting source.
Act 5-… Everything until climax.
This part consists of, not in order; Eva helping the villagers settle, help settle disputes with the “natives”, uncover new artefacts and unlock new powers, help settle disputes with “pirates”, fight with those who had submitted themselves to the “goddess”.
The middle portion of the game. Probably the majority of it. At the end of this part, she learns that these creatures are “conjured” by the “goddess” to scare the villagers into submission. She and the villagers are not happy, and decide to face this “goddess” and put an end to her reign.
Act 6- The goddess
Eva is much more powerful at this point. She, her father, and some more friends travel to find the goddess. Once they do, Eva prepares to take the “goddess” down. At this point the enemies get much more difficult since they possess similar abilities to what Eva has. They have been given “magical powers” by the goddess too, which means they have advanced weaponry. Eva is separated from her allies during her battles, and must face the “goddess” alone.
The “goddess” is unalarmed by her presence. She appears to be a giant, metal looking being. The “goddess” speaks to her in a kind manner, almost as if she was her mother. She explains to her that the power she possesses is likely tied to her DNA, and that she herself had worked on this technology thus it is highly likely that they are genetically related. Eva is still furious about what the “goddess” had done to her village, thus she challenges her.
This is the semi-boss fight in the game, and should be the hardest fight to this point.
Upon defeating the “goddess”, Eva is taunted by her voice, and then shortly faced by more of her. Apparently, the big metal body she had taken down was but one of many other vessels the goddess controls. Her consciousness is not even present in the room. Eva has no way of taking her down.
The goddess stops battling Eva and asks her to “look out to her empire”. She claims that the empire she had created is harmonious and peaceful, far from dangers that her village faces. She also claims that she was only able to achieve creating this society by banning all technology and advancement, to be used by none other but herself. If the common-folk was allowed to make progress, this would inevitably lead them to another “great calamity”. She reveals that the relics and magic that exists around them are pieces left from the world as it once was. It is revealed that this story takes place far in the future (according to us, the reader/player), where humanity achieved “godhood” through technology but ended up destroying itself with it. She had foreseen this “calamity” and devised a bastion to shelter a large but selected group of people. After the majority of the human population was wiped, she emerged with her people to rebuild the world. She had to betray her fellow scientists in order to remain as the only human being on earth that has access to the highest level of technology possible. This power also rendered her immortal, allowing her to rule her empire through generations.
The goddess gives Eva a second chance. To lay down her powers and become a part of her harmonious society. Her father and friends too would join. They would have to get their memories wiped in order to fit in, as ignorance was the only way to achieve happiness.
Act 7- The fall
(At this point the player will have the chance to accept the goddess’s offer. This would cause the player to wake up as an inhabitant of her empire, happy but oblivious. But for the sake of the story, we will assume her to refuse it.)
Eva refuses the offer and plunges herself down from her castles tower. Most of her powers were taken away, thus she has to rely on her glider to make it down. She is separated from her allies (who had not followed her to face the goddess) and has to make it out of the empire unharmed.
On her way out of the empire, Eva witnesses the people. Technology can be seen scattered across it, however, nobody seems to know how it works, thus they all accept it as “magic”. Even those capable of manipulating them accept them as “gifts of the goddess” and nothing but “magic”. Unlike her village that heavily relies on technology and advancement to survive, these people are shielded by their all-powerful goddess thus they have no such need.
Eva has to blend in. The tools she needs to rebuild her powers are present, but she has to acquire them without alarming the inhabitants. Majority of the inhabitants are overly happy and somewhat silly, making it easier to blend in. The speech system is a big part of the challenge unlike before, and the powers are scarce, forcing the player to rely on their prior knowledge to find out what they need to go further. For instance, a certain type of bullet she needs might be found in the form of a “magic fire” and so on.
Act 8 - Reunited
After some hardships, Eva finally finds her allies. They think long and hard, and travel all over the world to locate where the “goddess” stores her consciousness. (Yes, the gameplay-heavy sections where the player must gather more power are very undefined because the gameplay mechanics are not very well defined either.)
Act 9 - The real showdown.
They finally locate the real “goddess”. It is heavily guarded, thus this is the most challenging part of the entire game. Throughout the way, the goddess still attempts to convince Eva to stop. She had done what had to be done to make humanity happy, she had even sacrificed her own by becoming something very distant to it.
Eva refuses her notions. Points out that Eva and her people had survived without her rules or protection. She claims that even without a strict order, humanity has the power to prevail. She defeats the “goddess” and unplugs her consciousness from the “system”. Her metal vessels and conjured creatures are no longer functional.
Act 10- Mending
Eva, and her allies reveal to the inhabitants of the empire the truth behind their existence, and encourage them to find ways to survive in this new world. They offer help, and some of them decide to stay. Eva, her father and the remaining allies head back home.
As the creatures disappeared and the entire inhabitants of all islands united (they had to in order to fight the creatures off up to this point), the villagers are happier then ever. Eva is regarded to be far beyond their previous hero, who Eva once admired now looked up to her. Eva returns to her ambitions of gliding and prepares for the upcoming race, meanwhile putting her new powers to good use…
The End.
Unsunken Lands
Act 1- World Building
The story begins in “unsunken lands” an island group. Here lives the survivors of the “the great calamity” that erased a big portion of the human population generations ago. This information is yet to be revealed at this time though… The inhabitants of this land have developed technology to ease their lives. People value technological progress above a lot of things, since they rely on it to survive.
One of these people is Eva “the ever-living”. She believes she is given this nickname as a reference to her cheerful personality. She is very enthusiastic about her gliders which she builds and rides on her own. In the initial part of the story, the glider plays an important role since it introduces how mobility works in this game (before introducing combat). Eva is given some chores by her father, who is crippled, thus she has to do most of the running around. As she travels through the village to get everything done, the player has a chance to figure out the shopping/talking system of the game.
During her time in the village, she comes across talks of bizarre creatures that had emerged from the waters and are threatening the villagers. One of the most respectable members of the village (yet to be named) had been doing battle with these creatures. Eva looks up to him as a heroic figure however does not consider herself to be as powerful as him, therefore she does not consider helping him. Besides, she would rather get back to her glider.
After she is done with her chores, she gets to join her friends to practice gliding. They are all preparing for an upcoming race. She is regarded as the best glider in the village and she wishes to show this by winning the race…
Act 2- The Outsiders
The next morning, a strange flying machine lands near the village, which quickly becomes the centre of all attention. People with robes and bizarre jewellery comes out of the machine. They introduce themselves as the “Hand of the Goddess” and offer shelter against these creatures that had been invading the shores. They perform “magic” in order to convince the villagers. There is a divide amongst the villagers, some claim that there is no doubt that these outsiders are divine figures and that it would be foolish to refuse their offer, while some were not convinced that they should submit themselves to this religion. The village elders refuse the offer, and thus the strangers leave.
When Eva asks her father about the situation he tells her what he knows. That these outsiders are all brainwashed servants of this so called “goddess” and their magic is nothing but advanced technology. He brings her an “artefact”, and tells her that these technological masterpieces are scattered all over the islands and possess similar “magical” qualities. However, he and a group of others had examined these for generations and found ways to use them. Their tools are not advanced enough to reverse engineer them all the way through, but they are convinced that these “magical” items are indeed technological. He also brings her a “rifle”. He tells her the stories of war and horror that left him crippled, and his obsession to create a non-lethal protection system to survive. He presents her this rifle that he had augmented using a relic he found. He claims that the projectiles do not harm but merely knock out. When Eva suggests joining the “hero” in his battle against the invading creatures, he refuses. He does not want to see her daughter doing battle, as he is scarred enough form it.
Act 3- The Death
Those amongst the villagers that were convinced by these strangers were not pleased with the decision of the village elders. Some started screaming in the streets of an impending doom that had been unleashed upon them due to their actions. A state of terror engulfed many. And soon all. The creatures were indeed invading the village. Outnumbered and underprepared, the villagers had to leave. Not only the village but the entire island. Luckily, most villagers had access to “sky galleons” that would carry them from one island to the next thus they could safely travel without having to try their chances with the creature infested seas.
On her to the sky ship (incidentally her father was paranoid enough to build the house inside one), Eva is confronted by one of the “doomsayers”. The doomsayer has acquired a gun, and in it’s maddened state, directs it at Eva as revenge (her father was amongst those who refused the “offer”). Her father attempts to save her, but his crippled leg won’t allow him to interfere in time. Eva is shot, and darkness engulfs her.
Act 4- The “everliving”
Eva wakes up. Much to her surprise, she is alive and there are no wounds to speak of. She is inside the sky ship that is on it’s way to their new home. Eva asks her father, curious about what had happened. Her father replies… Apparently, Eva is infused with “magic”. Her father dismisses the idea of “magic” of course and explains it as “an aura composed of microscopic components, designed to shield the bearer from any harm”. Eva has had a near-death experience during her infancy, yet she survived, thus she was nicknamed “the everliving”. Her father wasn’t sure if it was mere luck or not back then but now he was convinced. He explains to her that this ability is much like the relics he had shown her, and were probably devised by scientists with advanced technology as protection. Even though they can protect against lethal blows, receiving them in quick succession could render the armor useless. She is not truly immortal, just much more durable than any human being.
With her new powers revealed, Eva is determined to help fight the creatures, uncover and destroy their unrelenting source.
Act 5-… Everything until climax.
This part consists of, not in order; Eva helping the villagers settle, help settle disputes with the “natives”, uncover new artefacts and unlock new powers, help settle disputes with “pirates”, fight with those who had submitted themselves to the “goddess”.
The middle portion of the game. Probably the majority of it. At the end of this part, she learns that these creatures are “conjured” by the “goddess” to scare the villagers into submission. She and the villagers are not happy, and decide to face this “goddess” and put an end to her reign.
Act 6- The goddess
Eva is much more powerful at this point. She, her father, and some more friends travel to find the goddess. Once they do, Eva prepares to take the “goddess” down. At this point the enemies get much more difficult since they possess similar abilities to what Eva has. They have been given “magical powers” by the goddess too, which means they have advanced weaponry. Eva is separated from her allies during her battles, and must face the “goddess” alone.
The “goddess” is unalarmed by her presence. She appears to be a giant, metal looking being. The “goddess” speaks to her in a kind manner, almost as if she was her mother. She explains to her that the power she possesses is likely tied to her DNA, and that she herself had worked on this technology thus it is highly likely that they are genetically related. Eva is still furious about what the “goddess” had done to her village, thus she challenges her.
This is the semi-boss fight in the game, and should be the hardest fight to this point.
Upon defeating the “goddess”, Eva is taunted by her voice, and then shortly faced by more of her. Apparently, the big metal body she had taken down was but one of many other vessels the goddess controls. Her consciousness is not even present in the room. Eva has no way of taking her down.
The goddess stops battling Eva and asks her to “look out to her empire”. She claims that the empire she had created is harmonious and peaceful, far from dangers that her village faces. She also claims that she was only able to achieve creating this society by banning all technology and advancement, to be used by none other but herself. If the common-folk was allowed to make progress, this would inevitably lead them to another “great calamity”. She reveals that the relics and magic that exists around them are pieces left from the world as it once was. It is revealed that this story takes place far in the future (according to us, the reader/player), where humanity achieved “godhood” through technology but ended up destroying itself with it. She had foreseen this “calamity” and devised a bastion to shelter a large but selected group of people. After the majority of the human population was wiped, she emerged with her people to rebuild the world. She had to betray her fellow scientists in order to remain as the only human being on earth that has access to the highest level of technology possible. This power also rendered her immortal, allowing her to rule her empire through generations.
The goddess gives Eva a second chance. To lay down her powers and become a part of her harmonious society. Her father and friends too would join. They would have to get their memories wiped in order to fit in, as ignorance was the only way to achieve happiness.
Act 7- The fall
(At this point the player will have the chance to accept the goddess’s offer. This would cause the player to wake up as an inhabitant of her empire, happy but oblivious. But for the sake of the story, we will assume her to refuse it.)
Eva refuses the offer and plunges herself down from her castles tower. Most of her powers were taken away, thus she has to rely on her glider to make it down. She is separated from her allies (who had not followed her to face the goddess) and has to make it out of the empire unharmed.
On her way out of the empire, Eva witnesses the people. Technology can be seen scattered across it, however, nobody seems to know how it works, thus they all accept it as “magic”. Even those capable of manipulating them accept them as “gifts of the goddess” and nothing but “magic”. Unlike her village that heavily relies on technology and advancement to survive, these people are shielded by their all-powerful goddess thus they have no such need.
Eva has to blend in. The tools she needs to rebuild her powers are present, but she has to acquire them without alarming the inhabitants. Majority of the inhabitants are overly happy and somewhat silly, making it easier to blend in. The speech system is a big part of the challenge unlike before, and the powers are scarce, forcing the player to rely on their prior knowledge to find out what they need to go further. For instance, a certain type of bullet she needs might be found in the form of a “magic fire” and so on.
Act 8 - Reunited
After some hardships, Eva finally finds her allies. They think long and hard, and travel all over the world to locate where the “goddess” stores her consciousness. (Yes, the gameplay-heavy sections where the player must gather more power are very undefined because the gameplay mechanics are not very well defined either.)
Act 9 - The real showdown.
They finally locate the real “goddess”. It is heavily guarded, thus this is the most challenging part of the entire game. Throughout the way, the goddess still attempts to convince Eva to stop. She had done what had to be done to make humanity happy, she had even sacrificed her own by becoming something very distant to it.
Eva refuses her notions. Points out that Eva and her people had survived without her rules or protection. She claims that even without a strict order, humanity has the power to prevail. She defeats the “goddess” and unplugs her consciousness from the “system”. Her metal vessels and conjured creatures are no longer functional.
Act 10- Mending
Eva, and her allies reveal to the inhabitants of the empire the truth behind their existence, and encourage them to find ways to survive in this new world. They offer help, and some of them decide to stay. Eva, her father and the remaining allies head back home.
As the creatures disappeared and the entire inhabitants of all islands united (they had to in order to fight the creatures off up to this point), the villagers are happier then ever. Eva is regarded to be far beyond their previous hero, who Eva once admired now looked up to her. Eva returns to her ambitions of gliding and prepares for the upcoming race, meanwhile putting her new powers to good use…
The End.
Monday, September 21, 2015
More thumbnails.
1-She seems to have a hunched back, feels too restful.
2- Feels too restful due to her body forming a horizontal lina
3-He is too upright, doesn't feel restful enough
5-Does not feel unwelcoming enough because of the bright BG
6-The village feels more like it is in ruins. Apply design principles
7-Apply design principles to make the girl look more hopeless.
9-She does not look curious because she is hanging back. Bring her up front
10-Make her look more brave (?)
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
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