Regarding narrative, I understood from the beginning of the project and in the project proposal that I would mostly be using the narratives provided by the folklore itself. However, I decided to compile and analyse photos of box art for games that give a short synopsis of the game's narrative, and considered creating a short narrative draft of my own in this style. I wanted to see how the box could convey a game's narrative using a limited but exciting synopsis. This was also an interesting experiment as I could see how the description includes the player strongly alongside the game context and story, e.g. for the box cover of 'Until Dawn' (2016) the basic narrative is portrayed as well as the line "You'll have to make split-second decisions that will mean life or death, for each member of the group." This line alone interweaves the player's role into the roles of the characters in the story, as well as giving away the genre of the game. Other game descriptions, such as 'Tomb Raider' (2015) give the impression of the types of combat that the protagonist and player will face, "... in order to survive and escape from lethal predators that stalk her every move." This could be referring to people, animals, or something else entirely. It doesn't give too much of the game away, however, and leaves us with a feeling of suspense. Horror games in particular, such as 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' (2010) and 'Silent Hill 4: The Room' (2004) focus on the need to survive, in particular how the player's movements and options will effect the fate of the protagonist amongst malevolent creatures. Whilst illustrating the story, the blurb implies that a tactical approach must be taken by the player in order to survive in the game. Many other instances were used, such as the Uncharted series which features tag lines and exciting vocabulary, adding suspense towards the end that makes you want to play the game.
Therefore I attempted to write a short narrative draft in the style of action-adventure and horror box descriptions, which I thought would help to provide a stronger context for my game characters, almost as if I were pitching the game to a player:
"In the Caribbean islands of
today an historian, a skeptical descendent of a spiritual family, attempts to
find the origins of West Indian folklore and myth. Journeying into the depths
of the bamboo forests at night, the lonely shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the
cold caverns and rivers dotted around the land and the archeological sites, the
adventurer discovers something chilling that they wish they had not found.
Disturbing traditional Obeah and Yoruba ruins and artefacts deep within the
island awakens malevolent spirits and beasts, which are released into the wild
and cities. These fearsome creatures, full of spite and malice, serve only
themselves and seek the undoing of their disruptive guest and the meddling with
the world of the living. Through the use of methods as described in the
folklore and through rituals, the adventurer must learn how to avoid harm and
kill these creatures to restore spiritual peace to the islands. In order to
survive, one must learn their enemies’ weaknesses and fight when necessary. And
when the foe is truly as sinister as this, running and hiding is essential."
Evaluation
In some places, I feel as if the basic narrative could be improved and the description made more succinct. However, I feel as if I achieved a balance between expressing the basics of the narrative and describing the role of the protagonist and player. I could create a stronger draft towards the end of the project to cement the context of the characters.
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