Last time out we turned real stories into games. Time to go the other way around. In order to do this, we’ll be taking the idea of a spec. Roughly speaking, a spec is just a script for an existing television show written by a writer who wants some job in television. With that in mind:
Instructions:
1. Choose a game. This could be a stand-alone game or a franchise. Your first task is to write a sequal/prequel/etc to this game.
2. Obviously, we don’t have time to write an entire script. So talk about how your ideas fit into the already existing mythology. What interesting things are you doing to the characters? Analyze why the origional game uses the story it does. You may introduce one or two new mechanics, but they must be SMALL mechanics. If you choose to do so, explain what the change brings to your story, how they fit into the already estasblished mechanics, etc. Are you making any changes in terms of the way the story is told? In general, just go wild.
3. Now, for the hard part - make a clone. Strip out all the elements of plot and character. Starting from scratch, whip up a new story. Talk about how it fits into the mechanics and how the mechanics enhances the story. Again, have fun with this.
Expectations:
1. Length: As long as it takes you to describe everything relevent and explain anything interesting.
2. Quality: No cliché plots! Be creative here.
3. Actual Difference: Your changes should be more than a reskinning of the models.
4. Details. Flesh out anything that isn’t obvious. Also things that are obvious but fun to fill in.
5. Explanations: Give rationales to why you think any choice you make is a good choice. If you feel it’s obvious, you don’t have to explain it. But you will need at least some rationale for both parts.
This lab project is due Friday, February 16, 2007 by 11:59pm (midnight) on CMS.