"The most common way of adding perspective is by having the main character of your story do the talking. What this character says will then frame the main points in the story. This is because every character represents a different set of life experiences"
I totally agree with this because As a writer, or director or even viewer you know that a story can't exist with the without the characters story background. But have you ever wondered: “Why are characters important in a story?” Similarly, with a lot of the things I don't like, sometime I feel like the stories were pretty interesting ideas, but I just don't care about the story at all or anything that happens to the plot, and thus I don't really care about the story either. For me, I’d much rather read well written characters development, with them having an interesting conversation with no plot at all than read a plot with no characters!
For examples, in Euphoria, I think the story is very nudity, and very original where share the same teenager story that every show have, drugs, family issues,... But for the characters story background, It make me want to see the show more and somehow I want to engaging with the story. I believe it doesn't matter if you have the best plotline. For me, A plot, is a series of events. I guess Humans connect to other humans that make the story sometime better.
You can use common archetypes as shortcuts to establish expectations quickly about your characters, expectations you can then either meet or refute. Of course, you need to make sure these shortcuts convey the meaning you in tend with your audience. Calling someone a“soccer mom” might evoke empathy, disdain, or even confusion, depending on whom you’re talking to.
I have to disagree on this statement because sometime calling someone name with a confusing name could make the story more mystery, more cohesive with the vibe of the storyline. If we take a look at the movie Tenet, where the main character name "The Protagonist" with no backstory, no deeper motivation, and experiences no personal journey in Tenet, other than saving the world. And without naming an character, make the story more mystery and connect with the world from Naming him simply "The Protagonist" fits this general idea of a "non-specific hero".
Or another example is from The Polar Express, one of my favorite Childhood movie, where the director choose An interesting choice that there were any name of the characters given besides Billy (And he is not even antagonist, just a support character. This may have been a decision to showcase the idea that any child could go on this incredible journey and see themselves within these characters story background. Where in the movie, the main character will only say "Hey" to noticed other character. I feel like the story work because when we were a kid, we only remember the faces of your friends more. The story itself, after all, is a universal one of kindness and holiday spirits.
Every story is told from at least one point of view. In user experience stories, there is no such thing as a neutral point of view. How you present the characters, context, and events of the story is part of the point. Change the perspective, and you change the story, shaping it to either work for a specific audience or make your point more clearly.
I think this surprised me the most. Because often time, when I write an user stories, I always fall into a trap of a neutral point of view. Maybe my work mainly is from a small range of client who need a specific user that has the same habits, and same storyback ground that they have rather than a range of customer that new with the product.
We could suppose that Stefan from Black Mirror Bandersnatch, A skinny game developer, in late twenties, found a way to develop a 3d game called Death Stranding with high quality polygon model while at the time while the whole game industries only focus on 2d game due to the technology resources was very low tech. To pursue his dream, Stefan meets Colin, a very famous developer at Tuckersoft. Colin was amazed by Stefan’s talent when Stefan showed him his demo on Death Stranding. The two come to Collin flat to discuss more about the game. The pair take hallucinogens and Colin rants about secret government mind-control programs and alternate timelines. To demonstrate his theories, Colin demands Stefan choose one of them to jump off the balcony. But Stefan chose to jump with Colin, but after the jump only Stefan to found in his own game “Death Stranding”, he found a book that seemed very familiar that he has known since he was a kid, the book title "choose your own adventure".
Obstacles
Stefan is a very creative person who willing to spend his entered life on making video game, he also very ambitious on making his own game to become success. His most inspiration is from his childhood book, "choose your own adventure" a book owned by his mother then she die when he was only 5 years old. He is a passion but with the lack of love from his mom, plus with the trauma from what happened when he was 5, and the amount of stress that he has to finished the game.His world feels dark and full of mist in the future, his mind went insane with his vision become bigger and bigger, just like a balloon, when it’s too big, it will pop.
Stefan’s Goal
His passion plus his ambitious is his main motivation to set any goals for him, he sees a lot of potential in his ability. Especially when he meets Collin (a famous developer) from Tuckersoft, and Collin is like his energy drink that hype his dream, because Collin was his main inspiration, he tries to impress Collin as much as possible to the point that, he went insane with his own creation. But meeting Collin is like a faith for him to discover his truth about his own creation. Will Stefan truly understand who he is?
+ What if Stefan is the maker of the game Death Stranding
+ What if Stefan is control by the P.A.C.S program to create the world Death Stranding to predict the future of the world.
+ What if Stefan is insane while working on his own game and getting lost in the world Death Stranding is one of his
imagination products to help his own game to finished earlier.
+ What if Stefan is the maker of the game Death Stranding
His nervousness is killing him from inside, he is a bit shaking when he meets Collin, his mouth was very dry while presenting about his own creation that no one in the world at this time could have done, the world of 3d, with a very high polygon model of his own. Collin was shocked when he handed him something Stefan called “CD” and something so small called “P.A.C.S” – Programs and Control Consoles. Colin was amazed by Stefan’s talent when Stefan showed him his demo. The two come to Colin flat to discuss more about the game.
1. Sam, a Delivery man that adopt by the Americanof City President was depressed and feeling isolated due to the World of DeathStranding Occur
2. Sam feeling burden on his shoulder because he isthe only hope to reconnecting America after his mom (the president passes away).
3. Sam finally accepts the mission after White House convicted him
4. Sam feels weird because he must use a device calledBB which is a pot that carry a baby inside that pot for his mission.
5. During his journey, Sam feels hopeless on alonely world that he must carry, a lot of attack from a terrorist group attack,and especially a lot of nightmares keep hunting him down.
6. Sam feels paranoid and weird about theconnection between him, and BB pod every time he injects that device into him.
7. He understood love and connected with each otherfrom the mission, especially with his BB.
8. After learning the truth about his mission, Sam feelspain and betrayal because the whole mission was just a cover for his mom excused,and the end of the world is still happening no matter what.
9. Sam cried out when his actual dad was sacrifice whileprotect him and the president who he thought was his real mom is the murderer
10. His panic attack occurs when he is the actualreason for the Death Stranding event.
11. Withhis team support, he was again confident and full of energy to confront withthe 6th Extension at the World of the Death
12. From a person who prefer to be alone and no need to understand the connection Sam shows the feeling love, to be connected to the 6th extinction that human stillunderstand what loves and the value of what is human connection to stop fromthe ending of the world.
1. Happy getting breakfast
2. Enjoy the ride while going to Tukersoft for the pitch
3. Exchange the idea with Collin about the game
4. Getting Hallucination with Collin
5. Feeling paranoid when Collin Jump of the roof
6. Feeling like a dream because Collin never excited
7. Put all heart of the game
8. Depression because the game is not finished
9. Getting Rage because his Dad interrupt him
10. Full Bowed with his own dad after he destroyedhis computer
11. Going Crazy and kill his Dad.
1. Little Mermaid, is fascinating about human life
2. She excited for her first time rises to thesurface on her birthday celebration
3. She got upset due the price mistakenly her tothe woman at the temple
4. But she found a way to have a leg
5. Little Mermaid was happy to have a leg and dancing around the prince
6. Got really upset when the Price getting married despite he doesn’t love the princess
7. She unhappy because the prince celebrates the wedding on a boat
8. She is getting confused between choices either kill the price to break the curse or turning into a sea foam because she loves him
9. She is waiting on the sunrise, except her faith to become a sea foam but when the sun light hit, she obtain as an immortal soul, because of her selflessness.
“What does it take to write a good description of a user? To me itseems important to know and be conscious of the user as a character in thewritten scenarios. Without this it will be impossible to be involved with theuser especially when the user's experiences are far from your own [8, p. 11]and the lack of involvement will make it difficult for the writer to predictand the reader to imagine the user's actions.”
Lene shares her viewpoint and makes numerous arguments for such importance of creating rounded characters in scenarios, and the important to make the writer should understand the user and when witting, the writer should concentration users' actions and goals is insufficient, and why should we gain asolid understanding of the user.
“Looking for the rounded character will involve looking for:Multiple traits Psychology, physiology and sociology Inner needs and goals,interpersonal desires, professional ambitions.”
I believe that moving away from stereotypes as personas and creating more rounded characters is not beneficial because user scenarios but also have a variety of benefits and applications in user centered as well as user experience design. Lene concludes by stating that by describing the user as a well-rounded character based on research, we can utilize the user into the design process, assisting the design team in remembering that the design is for the user. This reminded me about this podcast from Hideo Kojima “Brain Structure”I found myself again and again on the structure of a character that need to base on Psychology, physiology, and sociology, that speaks to the importance of an character and I think it really applied to the user research. By using the thinking, we start writing a positive and productive scenario which contributes to the design process.
"Stereotypesdiffer from clichés in that the former reduce an entire class (e.g. fat people,depressed, or post office workers), and let the reader assume the rest. Incontrast, a cliché is a hackneyed phrase. A stereotype is not identical to thereal thing. Stereotypes seem to work best
I believed thatwe can all agree that cliches, stereotypes, and the like are moronic, yet someof them can be harmful to a user profile, particularly in a lot of race or evengender just by reinforcing stereotypes and beliefs that will later ruin them. Ithink to write a good user description, none of this in this case should workbecause it toxic to even think about it.
In his book The Writer's Journey, Christopher Vogler's explains the phases of the Hero's Journey and how the act should start. The graphs he included to link the stages to where they fall in a three-act play were very useful to me. Overall, the outline and explanations made sense and were aided by examples from well-known films and stories such as the movieIron Man or Spider Man. It such a useful guide for developing believable character motivation, which results in good storytelling.
“ In any good story the hero grows and changes, making a journey from one way of being to the next: from despair to hope, weakness to strength, folly to wisdom, love to hate, and back again. ”
My favorite thing about Vogler’s book is that he applies the stage of the Hero’s Journey to life itself. Like For a story to be meaningful, the protagonist must develop or evolve in certain way. Like in IronMan, he starts off as a very cocky, asshole character but later on his character feel like a hero, like an act that change his entire character.I found Vogler's text is especially useful for young and beginning writer or perhaps I would say director or even storyteller who are always looking for new and exciting ways to show and tell new audiences about storytelling. I mean that is how I perceivedIron Man in the movie, and I quite like the new Iron Man in the movie more than the comic because the hero is growth and change.
Movies are often built in three acts,which can be regarded as representing I) the hero's decision to act, 2) theaction itself, and 3) the consequences of the action.
The three-act structure is defined by the victory of thehero's journey arc, not the other way around it and I think it’s tied verystrong with the foundation of the hero story as well as the graph that Voglerdeveloped based on the idea of the circular diagram acts climaxes. And for me at its core, storytelling is more like cookingwith your sense than cooking with a recipe lol. Because cooking with recopies sometimesit can help you find the answer of hot to dissolve into a crockpot full of water, but ittakes a good cook to tell how much salt will make the meal you intend to cookin the crockpot inedible. I mean each people is different taste but then why we keep going back to the restaurant again and again. And I think storytelling or movies are the same. The story itself like a dish base on the three acts (three act like a receipts) to help viewer taste and feel the storyline but in the same time writer but more salt on how he/she feel not because they were told todo so, because they feel to do so. And I think that lead to a lot of consequences of the action which is the act three. And somehow that tied in the movie and that was so attract viewer. (I mean not all the time).
WEEK 2
World/context:
In 2028, a group of 100 people split off from society and ended up settling in an abandoned tower used to beta-test the new meta-world societies. By 2048 they have a thriving community. Their leader urges them to build “the machine” to shut down the world’s metaverse.
Character:
Our protagonist Arora is 20 years old; she is next in line to take over the cult's leadership after her father, Nathan, the cult’s current leader. Arora is learning everything she needs to know about achieving the cult's goal of destroying the metaverse from her father. Her mother, Jessica, died after mistaking the real world for the virtual one.
Metaverse/blockchain
branding:Metaverse = The United Meta
StatesBlockchain = Block Aeternum
Meta-headset = No. 392 EXO
Meta-headsetVR room = APO (Greek: far, away from) immersion room
Act I
Everyone in the People’s Natural Order had a job: gathering or building to create The Machine for their Overseer, Nathan. Once completed, it would permanently shut down the enforced metaverse, The United Meta States of America. Nathan praised them for their work often. Once the metaverse was gone, the US people would see the light and be grateful to the ones who freed them. The metaverse is darkness, he always said; after all, his wife wouldn’t have died if she didn’t mix up the virtual world and reality. Their daughter Arora was loyal to the cause and, at twenty, naive for her age, having grown up in their isolated community by the shores of Port Albion, Canada. During one of her regular material-collecting trips, she stumbled upon a No. 392 EXO Meta-headset that introduced her to the metaverse. In secret, she began to explore and quickly found that the metaverse, the law of the land since 2028, made sense. Through a blockchain system called Block Aeternum and purely digital identities, full transparency and accountability in matters of public interest could be achieved. It had been years since her implanted NFT wrist chip connected to the metaverse, but now it paired to the headset, tipping off authorities. That night, Arora was quietly taken from her room by US agents.
Act II
A disoriented Arora woke up to Agent Felix’s company.“I’m sorry for any confusion, Arora,” he said kindly, “but you’re in a safe place.”“What do you want with me?” Arora replied, eyeing him suspiciously.Both of her parents, he said, were critical proponents of the creation of The United Meta States before Jessica’s accident. In a nation craving honesty, it was a salve that no one could tamper with a transaction after it was recorded to a shared ledger.“Block Aeternum makes the world a better place,” the agent said, “and I can show you.”He explained that the People’s Natural Order was misguided; if the metaverse were destroyed, the American people would lose their identities, as all they had was their tokens on Block Aeternum. He guided Aurora into an APO 2 Immersion room, and as they walked, video footage floated around them. People were using Block Aeternum to strengthen the medical supply chain and lower the rate of death from common diseases. Wrist chips were used in airports to secure identities, and theft was down since wallets and goods had become digitized.“Everyone seems happy here,” Arora said as she observed the faces of all the people using the technology.“What you’re living in is a cult. Join forces with me, and you’ll be a hero.”“Okay,” she said after a long silence, “but no one gets hurt or arrested.”“Of course,” he replied, “we’re merely ensuring that no citizen loses their livelihood.”Arora was returned to Port Albion and claimed she got lost in the woods. Nathan, though relieved to see her safe, was suspicious. Arora got to work supplying information about the cult’s endeavor to Agent Felix. After a week, she provided enough details, and the People’s Natural Order was raided and arrested by the authorities, except for Nathan, who escaped with The Machine. Horrified but scared, Arora accepted an offer from Agent Felix to work with the metaverse task force.
Act III
During a task force surveying trip, Nathan intercepted Arora. “Let me into the headquarters tonight,” he said, “we need to finish this. It’s your duty. Think of your mother, Arora.”“I was so stupid to listen to the agent,” she said, “but I don’t know if I’m ready.”“There’s no choice. The metaverse is darkness, and we are the light.”They reached the power center that night, and Nathan activated The Machine. Though it worked successfully, a spark turned into a fire and shut off the power, leaving Nathan severely injured. Arora, realizing that only she could continue, took The Machine and escaped the building – she was now the High Overseer of the People’s Natural Order and the only hope for their ideal. Her ideal. As Arora was running out of the building, she grabbed any members of The Natural Order that she could find. All members left behind were charged as guilty of Block Aeternumcrimes resulting in life in prison since predetermined “if/when…then…” smart metaverse contract conditions were met. Even though this metaverse center was successfully shut down, it was not the only one. Arora and the People’s Natural Order wandered into the unknown, carrying The Machine with them, planning for the day they would use it again.
WEEK 3
“Designingfor extreme characters is a technique which tries to steer away from the usual
designing for a prototypical character from a target group. “
This reminded me of the big cartoony silhouettes with boxy vs triangular shapes, that don't play as large a role in realistic styles and modern stories where characters change outfits frequently. And most of the shape language occurs within the silhouette. I completely agree that extreme character is a technique that should be used instead of standard design.Because I believe that a good silhouette is influenced by shape language and proportions, but it is also influenced (arguably much more so) by composition, style, body language, framing, and other non-visual design factors.
Aesthetics and interaction are interwoven concepts, rather than separate entities
I would say that the combination of aesthetic and interaction results in an aesthetic experience. Because I'm not sure whether these terms all mean the same thing but are interchangeable, or if they all mean different things. I see the terms used in a lot of journal articles about aesthetics, but I have yet to find a concrete definition of them. The experiences are similar to when we look at a painting, read a poem aloud, listen to a symphony, and so on.
A requirement for an aesthetics of interaction is attention to the richness of a system's appearance, interaction, and potential roles.
What interested me the most is this quote from the whole reading. Because when talking about the role aesthetics normally people mentioning about the role of beauty, the tase that define the aesthetics. But in here I think what define aesthetics of interaction is attention to the richness of a system's appearance, interaction which is very unique.