Author’s Statement

For my final project I chose to do a blog style story inside of a Twine game. I tried to incorporate as many elements of Alexander’s five storytelling themes as possible. For the serial structure aspect of the game I decided to have two different main line endings that end on cliffhangers, thus providing the possibility to go back and make more endings or add on to the story in a completely different way. I incorporated personal presence in my story by allowing the players of the game to chose different options and interact with the main character through the formate of the Twine game. I also incorporated a few links to different websites as well as one to a Twitter I created for the character of Brad Stephenson and a search story in the middle. If players wanted to they could go to that Twitter and have a direct correspondence with the main character himself, and I would reply depending on what they asked. The combination of the Twitter and the Twine game along with the blog style format that I wrote the game in provide the theme of multiple proscenia, allowing players to visit different websites and interact with the game beyond just the base level. The Twitter aspect of the narrative also helps to incorporate the theme of social framework as players could interact and share the story of Brad Stephenson through that platform. The platform affordances that I used for the story were the formate of the Twine game as well as the Twitter profile for the main character. Through these I am able to lead the story in a way that I like, but at the same time allowing players of the game to have the freedom of making their own decisions within the game that might affect the outcome of the game or the story that they experience. Through using these storytelling themes I was hoping that the audience of the game would take away a fun and unique experience and a story that they may not have seen before.

This story is very loosely based and influenced on the Twitter profile I wrote about early in the semester, @TheSunVanished. @TheSunVanished was a narrative social media story that took place on Twitter and started in 2018 and continues to this day. The story takes place in the first person view of a character who is navigating his way through a post apocalyptic world where the sun has disappeared. This was originally shared by the author in hopes of becoming an interesting narrative to follow along with and by all accounts, with over 500,000 Twitter followers today it has certainly accomplished that. I am not sure if the author originally intended for his creation to go viral, but it certainly has. Although it may not seem like it I based some of the narrative for my story off of this one, partially through the fact that my story follows the plot of one main character in a first person point of view. I also created a Twitter profile for my character with hopes that it could grow into something bigger if people became interested in the story. Loosely with the story of @TheSunVanished I also wanted to make my story a mystery that people have to figure out as they go along. Although I based some of my project off of this there are some key differences between these two works. One of the main differences is the fact that @TheSunVanished takes place entirely on Twitter and my narrative takes place on Twine, YouTube, and Twitter. Another key difference is that the main plot of my story takes place in Twine and offers players a specific set of choices while the creator of @TheSunVanished uses Twitter which allowed audience members to retweet, comment, and participate in polls while my story only has the option of clicking one narrative pathway or another. The last difference is that my story is written in the format of a blogger and the background for the story is given in the first part of my Twine game. Meanwhile @TheSunVanished gives no background to the story and details of this are only revealed as the story goes along. In light of the similarities and differences between the two works I feel as if my story does a better job of incorporating the idea of multiple proscenia as I have used Twine, along with YouTube and Twitter to create the story and @TheSunVanished only uses Twitter.

Another work of digital network narrative that loosely influenced this project was one that we discussed in class and this is the story of Ted’s Caving Page. Ted’s Caving Page was a digital network narrative that came early on in the conception of such works and was created in 2001, as a way of telling a horror story through the internet. Although Ted’s Caving Page came very early along as far as the idea of digital networked narratives go, it was very influential in the way I set up my project. Ted’s story is also written in a blog like format, which I based my own story upon. The way that Ted’s story progresses is similar to mine in the way he provides links, much like I did. The horror and mystery aspects of both stories are similar, as well as the way I chose to write imitates Ted’s Caving Page quite a bit. However, some differences occur due to the fact that my story was created in Twine allowing me to have multiple storylines and endings while Ted’s Caving Page only has one. I was also able to do a lot more with my story in a technology sense, due to the fact that I created my story nearly twenty years after Ted’s Caving Page came out. In light of the similarities and difference between Ted’s Caving Page and my own story I feel as if my story does a better job of allowing users the idea of personal presence. With no disrespect to the creator of Ted’s Caving Page, it is simply that with being created in 2001 his technical affordances were limited.

Boomer Search Story

Here is a link to the search story I created. My goals with this search story were to create a humorous and feel good story about an older father trying to connect with his teenage sons. The inspiration for this story came from a Tik Tok that I had watched and which I included part of at the end of the search story. I paid close attention to trying to make it as realistic as possible in a humorous way by using “stereotypes” of older folks. For example, I started the story on Google, but decided to search “yahoo.com” as my first search. I also typed the entire search story very slowly using only my index finger, which is something my dad himself does when he types. I added a sad background track to the beginning of the story to simulate the idea that the father feels like he cannot connect with his kids who keep calling him a “boomer.” However, the video ends in a lighthearted and happy fashion, with the Tik Tok of the dad dancing with his sons and the happy expression on his face throughout the whole situation.

Ash Vlogs

Ash Vlogs is a very creative, unique, and well put together alternate reality game (ARG) that was put together starting in 2018, and has continued to this day. Without giving away too many spoilers the story revolves around a young woman named “Ash” who has recently started a Youtube channel to vlog about her seemingly normal personal life, however things soon take a turn for the worse and the story grows into a much creepier darker mystery full of twists and turns. Due to the more mature nature that the Ash Vlogs content eventually grows into, a murder mystery story, I feel as if the intended audience for this ARG is more upper teenaged and adult players and viewers; this ARG was most certainly not intended for young audiences as it does get dark at certain times. With that being said, the ARG was definitely intended for people who enjoyed mystery and possibly already played ARG’s as keeping up with this story also takes a lot of time and effort in itself and the casual viewer may get lost or grow bored with it pretty easily. However, the deeper mystery behind the story, overall good production of the narrative, good acting by all characters involved helped Ash Vlogs to become one of the most well known and arguable successful ARG’s on the internet.

The Ash Vlogs series has almost all of the storytelling themes that Bryan Alexander describes in his book The New Digital Storytelling. The Ash Vlogs series has played out over multiple years and contains many different episodes and videos intertwined across multiple social media platforms. Through this, Ash Vlogs has been able to master the theme of a serial structure. If it were not for the success at perfecting this theme, Ash Vlogs would not still be around to this day, over 2 years after it was originally created. Not only this, but as I have previously mentioned, the ARG behind Ash Vlogs takes place over many different social media networks including, but not limited to: YouTube, Reddit, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. By doing this, the Ash Vlogs ARG uses the concept of multiple proscenia to its advantage and makes players of the game utilize many different avenues to figure out the story.

This ARG is also able to utilize the concepts of personal presence and social framework by allowing those playing the game to directly interact with the story and share their findings with one another. In fact, there are several different Subreddits, wikis, and Discord chats dedicated to solving the mystery behind Ash Vlogs. Not only have the creators of this story been able to utilize multiple online platforms to form their narrative, but there have also been several real world clues that players have had to find themselves. Through this the creators of the story are able to use many different platform affordances that they would not normally be able to by only using one online platform to create the story. Through the use and execution of all these ideas, the Ash Vlogs story has been able to continue for multiple years and is still successful in its own right.

Fail Badge

It pains me to be writing this blog post, however it must be done. I like to think of myself as being successful at most things in life, however with every success there must always be failure. However, failure is not always a bad thing. In fact, failure is a very good thing and overall can be more beneficial to you in the long run than success. I think that I have properly earned my fail badge for this semester due to my main shortcoming in life, which is my procrastination. As I write this post for my blog I have come to realize that I am extremely behind on my portfolio assignments for this class. In fact, I have only done a few and there are only a couple more days left of the semester, so I am doing my best to knock out as many assignments as I possibly can today and tomorrow. I could do a lot of things like I have done in the past and blame this procrastination on the current situation that we all find ourselves in with the online schooling and the COVID-19 pandemic. Or I could blame it on the fact that I am working a full time job while also trying to start my own business for after I graduate in December. However, this time I am not going to do that. In fact the only thing that has really put me in the situation is myself and my nature to procrastinate on things and the lack of motivation that I have had. It is too late at this point to make excuses and try to justify things that I know I could have controlled. I know I had the time to work on one or two portfolio assignments a week even from home. However, for the most part I chose to f*** off and be absent minded and play Minecraft and Call of Duty: Warzone with my friends. Nevertheless, the time has come where I have to put my nose to the grindstone (or really my fingers to the keyboard) and grind out the portfolio assignments that I need to pass this class. I honestly hope anyone who is reading this is genuinely motivated by my own failures and learns from the mistakes that I have made so that you do not have to make them yourself.

Design Prospectus: The Brad Stephenson Blog

A little late on this post, but here is my design prospectus for my final project.

Log Line: An investigative journalist investigates a mystery in the small town of St. Agatha, Maine. As the story progresses he finds himself being pulled deeper into the depths of the mystery.

  1. Intro to story in blog form inside of Twine
  2. Link to Twitter page of main character
  3. A conversation takes place
  4. The story divulges into two pathways that the player can choose
  5. Depending on which pathway the player takes there are multiple endings
  6. Both endings are cliffhanger endings with the possibility to make a sequel or continue the story

Project Proposal

What is the nature of the concept?

An investigative journalist uses social media and the internet to track down members of a local cult. The more he delves into the situation the more he learns and the darker the search for the truth gets.

Who is the audience for the story?

Because I believe that the story could lead down a darker path and may involve scenarios such as murder and kidnapping etc. this story is intended for a more mature audience. 

What media do you have in mind?

I plan on creating part of the story in twine with some search story videos and some social media links to intertwine with the main line of the story. I also like the idea of the journalist starting a blog regarding his investigation. 

What existing resources will you draw upon to create it (i.e., are there specific texts – video, audio, images, or even stories) that will serve as part of your narrative or a significant reference for its form?

There are not necessarily any existing media that I have found yet, possibly some 911 calls or pictures/videos from existing mysterious cases. I am drawing inspiration from season 1 of True Detective. Although the show approaches the story from the perspective of detectives, I plan on doing it from the idea of a journalist investigating the story. 

Search Story (work in progress)

For my search story I plan on doing a sort of murder mystery search story from the prospective of a possible criminal. I will be using my computers built in recording feature and will add music to create a mysterious ambiance to the story. I am currently having trouble coming up with the exact search terms, but I am currently working on writing out a list of them and what to look at on each page. It is also possible that this may turn into a sort of deep web browsing search story using the tor browser. I am still toying with this idea, but I should have more time to work on it this weekend.