Interactive Narrative Games
Project Overview
Leelo is a small narrative demo created with Twine. We submitted a proposal that explained our game's inspiration and how we would hypothetically prepare this game for a venue. The demo is approximately 5-10 minutes long, therefore this is only the first chapter.
If you're interested, please reach out to me to play the demo!
Project Background
Leelo is an interactive narrative I've created using Twine that we would submit for a publication like Interactive Fiction Competition. Twine is an open-source tool for creating interactive fiction using web pages. Since the length of the narrative may vary, my target interaction time was approximately between 5-10 minutes.
I submitted a short proposal for the piece based on an example from What is Your Quest? (Salter). I developed Leelo through working sessions and kept a detailed change log that was uploaded to D2L when I had updates. The change log described all changes made to Leelo.
Programs used: Microsoft Excel, Notion, Twine
Project Goals
- Create an interactive narrative using Twine.
- Make the target interaction time 5-10 minutes.
- Write an engaging narrative for players in interactive storytelling.
Method
Although this is a demo, I developed the narrative for Leelo to a certain extent for an idea of the story. When I was developing the protagonist, Leelo, I used questions from a previous assignment to answer questions. This included information about their motivation, major flaws, supporting characters, and antagonists.
After I developed the characters, I used the 9-Step Plot Dot for the story. This is a method I generally use because it allows me to go a bit more in-depth on the story development. Additionally, the story would feature many battles that Leelo would face, internally or externally. This plotting structure also differs from the games I play because there's no formal narrative structure. For example, as an avid Muse Dash player, there's lore for characters and elfins like Rin and Marija. They show a little bit of information about these characters through art or short lore to give the audience a general idea of their personalities and motivations. However, there isn't a story mode in the game.
To keep track of the changes I made to my Twee story, I used a change log template on Microsoft Excel. These updates included my experience using Twine for the first time and troubleshooting problems. Furthermore, I would update on changes in the story and provide recommendations for my future self!
The first chapter passages of Leelo in Twine.
Key Takeaways
Creating Leelo was a challenge. Not only was there a limited time on this assignment, but I had to develop a way to create an engaging story for an audience that I had to imagine. It was enjoyable because I was given the opportunity to create another story and learn a new tool, Twine. I would love to collaborate on another story with someone once I get more comfortable with using Twine.
Some of the changes I would make are my time management and the story structure on Twine. Although I had limited time, I had trouble stopping working on the project when I know I'd spent way too long on it. Furthermore, I want to organize the passages more because it definitely isn't the best way of organization.