During module 1 we worked on a video project. The assignment was to make an interactive video using the Ximpel program and editing software. The content of the video had to be creative and engaging, but other than that there was a lot of freedom. Together with my project group, Anil Özen, Sanne Bouman, Marko Sikma and Lucas van Ovost, we thought of the idea to create something like the game Stanley Parable. In this game, you follow Stanley, a normal working guy who does the same thing every day without any complaint, who one day isn’t told what to do anymore. The whole game Stanley does not speak, but instead everything is narrated by somebody else who comments on the things Stanley does. In our video, we followed the same concept with a different storyline and a slightly more sarcastic narrator who often comments on what the protagonist is doing.
One day somebody, always seen from camera perspective, as if you really are the person experiencing everything, wakes up. The narrator tells some of the protagonist’s story, that he/she has been in love with a girl for quite some time, and gives some extra thought on the choices the player makes. The protagonist ends up going on a date with the crush, but one way or another the date ends miserably. The narrator, however, has a proposal: Would you like to reset? Here the Reset function is introduced, which will be used more often during the video (if the player makes the “right” decisions, towards the True ending). If the player chooses yes, the day starts over, but different. The narrator warns the player, there could be consequences. And there defenitely are: the crush has turned into a girlfriend. But soon the player discovers that the girl isn’t at all the best girlfriend, she is way too clingy and it wouldn’t surprise you if she would kill you for even looking at another girl. After being confronted with this, the player once again is offered the option to reset. During the third cycle, the girl has turned into a creepy stalker who won’t leave the protagonist alone. The protagonist tries to reset, but the narrator reminds the player that it’s not up to them to reset. The fourth and last cycle shows the protagonist in a world where he/she no longer exists. There are no more choices left, and thus, the protagonist no longer exists.
For the project I was the narrator, so I recorded the separate audio files and imported them to the drive we made for the project. I also made the flowcharts that were required for the assignment. Overall the project was a lot of fun to do, and the communication and teamwork went well.
