Animated Narratives - Week3

By Ashley (Chun-Yu Chen)

This work examines ideas of External Manifestation of the Internal State (EMIS). This week we learned a lot about character design this week. Tell a good story by letting the characters lead the plot, or let the story be the protagonist. When we design a character, it's important to take into account all the facts of the story and make good use of the character's characteristics. For example, if the character has wings, then it will fly.

Based on what I have learned, I picked the precise of----'A banana peels off its skin after work（or any social occasion）'. And the story is about a banana gets home and peels off his skin which is his social mask. It is finally time to relax but his boss keeps messaging him and tries to get him extra work. Bananas constantly put on and take off their skins to deal with his boss. His vulnerable internal self starts to bruise and ruins with all the exposure. This repressed relationship takes its toll on Banana, and he will eventually stop it.

I think it's a good idea to develop this story in interactive media or games. By manipulating bananas to put on and take off its skin, the audience can be more involved in the plot and empathize with bananas. It examines the idea of visualizing mental status physically. By observing the action of putting on or taking off the peel, motivation and mood of the banana can be easily revealed.

What does your character want? Relax and peel of its social mask, having personal time after work.

What is in the way of their desire? His boss tries to have him work extra time

What is the main character going to do to solve the problem? Compromise but not surrender.

Metaphor: If mental trauma is visible, it can be as serious as physical damage.

This work is related to the week3 reading material "Playing"(Juul, 2016), which mentioned that there are four conceptions of game playing, which are ‘Playing as submission’, ‘Playing as constrained’, ‘ Playing as  subversion’ and ‘Playing as creation’. The participant can control the putting on or taking off of the banana peel, through this action, the player can get some limited freedom, and at the same time, walking in the direction suggested by the creator. In addition, the participant can also experience the interaction to gain a sense of immersion, and then empathize with bananas.

By examining "Playing", I reflected ideas of adding more interactive element. Participants are bound by the limits set forth by the game rules but also acquire a certain amount of freedom and the opportunity to perform particular acts.  Thinking through this, I decided to put more attention on the process instead of the ending of the story. And tend to develop the story in games or interactive installation art.