Art 173 Virtual Performance (vperf) Plot Notes

 

NOTE: This doc is superseded by the writer’s team rough draft and subsequent docs.

 

You are invited to a wedding. You find out from the groom that the bride for some reason has fled the scene, and went into a surreal world on the other side of the “looking glass”. You need to locate the bride and get her to come back to the wedding. The groom is also looking and is a role player now in the virtual world that Alice has gone into. Via information links (diary, notes, things said by other people, etc) in the v-world you begin to understand the bride’s issues with the groom and the wedding. You journey through several spaces meeting object characters and the groom. Eventual you end up in the wedding in the virtual world with Alice and ?

 

Groom (represents realist) is a role player (a class avatar actor)

Alice (represents dreamer) is represented though the story pieces she has left around.

Additional Characters – object characters with sound or web links

 

Create a conflict between groom and bride

Interactors naturally choose sides.

 

Interactors go thru journey that affects the wedding outcome.

 

 

Navagation

 

Invitation

  |

Webpage explaining the prestory

  |

First room (with the groom)

  |

Second room ( alices issues)

  |

Third room

  |

Wedding room  (large chat space)

 

 

 The space(s) is based on Surreal “Alice in Wonderland”

            Archetypal storyline and characters to develop from.

            Set design and narrative use alice as a point of departure

 

A journey plot style where the community (interactors) move through the narrative landscape meeting characters and dealing with conflicts along the way. Wanting to get to the end of the journey.

 

* each space should have:

      a) something entertaining to do

      b) a level 1 clue or issue

      c) a level 2 clue or issue

* room ideas:

      * Mad Hatter

      * Chess Board

      * Oracle (where interactors take the place of the Oracle; need to

        get someone to take your place before you leave; then get your

        picture and a quote in the oracle photo book)

 

What's important to remember when designing the story:

* keep it pleasant and enjoyable so that interactors don't leave; there's

  no such thing as a "captive audience"

* have a goal they care about; pertinent to their lives in some way

* have a main conversing space (the wedding room)

* have reasons to hang out in some of the rooms

* keep rooms alive without actors (ie talking sprites)

* mythology; sense of past

* a wow moment at the end

* a chance to leave something behind; an imprint (ie a hall of fame)

 

Story tools:

* use objects as actors (they talk to interactors)

* an invisible character

* register interactors upon entry so that we can use their info later

* spotlight individuals in some way

* use the interactors html field in their bio

* bulletin board html page

* photoalbum html page

 

Deep themes (how we dignify the story):

* realist versus dreamer

* identity

* privacy

* meaning of life

* double identity (physical and online)

* what is reality?

** value of escapism -- the story as a mirror

 

 

 

Alice in wonderland links:

 

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/People/rgs/alice-ftitle.html - original story

 

http://www.typographica.com/alice/ - original story in original page format w/ ill.

 

http://www.sabian.org/alice.htm - through the looking glass

 

http://www.bugtown.com/alice/  - other drawings

 

http://www.the-office.com/bedtime-story/alice-background.htm - background info of alice w/ images

 

http://www.exit109.com/~dnn/alice/ - other illustrators