Interactive Storybook

Week 1 Update

Sophie Student

   The Interactive Storybook Studio is where the Interactive Storybookers (Kedaar, Saba, Sebastian, Gabrielle, Crystal, Sophie, Harper, and Klara) are all working together to make the app of their imagination. This week, they brainstormed,storyboarded, and created the assets. The Interactive Storybookers accomplished a lot this week, but still have a lot more to go before their app is ready for the final presentation next Friday.

    On Monday, The Interactive Storybookers learned what they are going to do for the next 2 weeks. They also looked for inspiration from other video game and apps. Throughout the day, they talked about different ideas of what their app could be and about all the different types of games there are. Monday was a very productive day for the Interactive Storybookers.

    On Tuesday, the Interactive Storybookers drew self-portraits, scanned them and played with them on Photoshop. We also learned certain tools within Photoshop to help make the portraits even better.

    All day Wednesday, the Interactive Storybookers did some intense brainstorming. This included different ideas and elements to the app of their imagination. They were very productive on Wednesday. In the afternoon, they began to storyboard all the main scenes for the story.  The story is called "After the Fog" and depicts a young girl names "Vera" who suddenly appears in Clone World and is trying to figure out how she got there, why everyone is a clone, and what her mission is.

    On Thursday, the Interactive Storybookers continued with storyboarding and also began to create some assets in the afternoon.  Assets are the main digital elements that will be used in the game design process such as characters, backgrounds, and objects.  The assets are being designed using watercolor mixed with digital techniques.

    Finally on Friday, the last day of week 1, the Interactive Storybookers worked steadily to create all the assets for their narrative-game.  The Interactive Storybookers are very excitecd to see how their interactive storybook app turns out and are equally excited about the design process for creating that app!

After the Fog Script

Saba Ghole

After 01_Intro Scene

All you remember seeing was fog sliding around you, creeping into the deepest recesses of your mind. But then there was that flash of gnarled branches intertwining against a darkening sky. You search your brain for any hint of what the image might mean, but you find that the farther you attempt to delve into your memories, the bleaker your endeavor seems. Somehow, there is a gray wall of nothing just past your memories of the fog. When you try to push any farther, your mind is swallowed by the nothingness, lost. But this feeling of being lost is not new to you, for the world around you seems to be a barren, gray place as well. Surrounding you is row after row of gray, stone buildings. The fog has receded from the empty street and cold sidewalk, but not far. It still lingers near the tops of the buildings, as if waiting to return and make you even ore lost again.  With no idea what to do in this strange place, you begin to walk. Maybe if you find this forest, or just someone to explain and help make your head stop spinning, you wont feel as lost anymore. At least, that’s what you hope.

 

Before 02_Scene 1 Ajabu City

Your footsteps echo as you walk down the street. Just as you begin to wonder if you are the only being in this strange world, you see white figures looming in the distance. They are approaching you quickly, but you can barely make out their outlines still. Soon, a sea of pale beings surrounds you. Yet, they seem oblivious to your presence.

 

During 02_Scene 1 Ajabu City 0:19 sec

You feel more lost than ever. You try calling out to the white beings but none of them respond. As you look around to see if there is anyone else to help you, you realize that you can only see one person. But there are so many of them. You cannot tell who you just called out to and who you bumped into. Your head is spinning more than ever.

You continue to make your way through the sea of beings when you see a strange sight.  There seems to be a pair of arms floating in your direction. Yet you see no body. Intrigued by anything that could be different in this bland world, you make your way over to the arms and find yourself facing another creature. Yet this one is different than the first beings you encountered. It has no head or body, yet you can clearly see the rest of its features. 

 

During 02_Scene 1 Ajabu City 0:28 sec

“h-hello, I w-was wondering if you could help me.” you stutter.

“see that which is not there” the creature says in a strangelymonotone voice.

“what do you mean, how can you see something that is gone?” you respond.

“see that which is not there” it repeats.

“wha-“ you begin. But suddenly images start to click together in your mind. Of the hundreds of beings you passed, the one in front of you is the only one with features. It all is beginning to make sense. They ignored you and bumped into you because they had no way of knowing you even existed. You realize that because they have no senses they have no sense of awareness. The only word that comes to your mind to describe these creatures is “clone”.

 

During 02_Scene 1 Ajabu City 0:45 sec

You bring yourself back to now, but you realize that in the time you were thinking, the creature with the senses has disappeared. With your new realization, you begin walking down the street again. As you are walking, you start to realize that it is not only the creatures that are all the same, but the buildings and landscape as well. As you are gazing down the endless stretch of concrete sidewalk, you see something yellow on the ground. Curious, you stop to look at it more closely. It seems to have an aura of light and power surrounding it. It is a round stone, but there is a strange symbol carved into it. You have no idea what it means, what anything in this world means. But this seems to be asking you to keep it. You pick up the stone and continue on your way.

 

Before 03_City Game Sequence

Suddenly, the fog looming in the sky begins descending towards you. The only thing you know is that you do not want to be swallowed by it again. You do the only rational thing to do when fog is coming towards you. You run.

You are breathing hard as you hear your feet begin to crunch over fallen leaves. Glancing over your shoulder, you can see the ominous fog slowing. It doesn’t seem to be advancing as quickly anymore. As your sprint slows to a walk, you realize your head is spinning. All you know is that now you are far enough from the city that the fog won’t catch you. You keep walking though, for you never know what might be coming in this strange world. You pass a worn sign, its letters so faded you can barely read them. The words “Pyramind Forest” are still legible on the crumbling wood. You have no idea what these words mean, or what anything means for that matter. You flash back to the hundreds of nameless, faceless creatures you brushed by as you tried to run away from the fog. Your mind searches for some explanation of these clones, but all you can find is that one, different creature. Even though they helped a bit, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop your mind from racing. The only way to go now is forward. You enter the forest. 

 

Before 04_Forest Animation

Inside the forest, darkness surrounds you. The gnarled branches are so close together that it blocks almost all the light from the forest floor. You suddenly flash back to the image you saw just before the fog swallowed everything. The dark forest you saw then looks almost identical to the trees and foliage surrounding you now. But what does it mean? The darkness seems to be inching closer towards you. You can barely see anything. As you turn around, your eyes fall on a ladder propped up against a tree. Hoping that it will be lighter higher up, you quickly fumble up the ladder and into a canopy of branches.

You start walking along the bark of the larger branches, not knowing where you are going. As you make your way along, you notice something resting on one of the branches. You walk over and investigate it. It is another colorful, round stone, and like the one from the city, it has a strange symbol on it. But what does it mean?

 

Before 05_Meeting ThoughtMan

A floating figure looms in the distance. As it comes closer, you squint your eyes, not sure whether or not to believe what you are seeing. A giant brain with wings is coming towards you. At least, that’s what you think it is. Soon enough, the brain is hovering right in front of you. You can almost see the thoughts running through the caverns of its mind.

“Hello?” you say. But the figure doesn’t respond.

As you look at it, its pulsing brain seems to swallow you. The forest around you dims as your mind is pulled through a vortex of thoughts. Then, an image of a board with oval-shaped holes sharpens in front of you. Suddenly images of the round stones with symbols you found swirl around. It made sense now. These symbols were somehow significant. You have to put them back together again. But how will you know how to? And why is it so important?

The world suddenly stops spinning and you can feel you feet planted solidly on the ground. You are in the forest canopy again, and the giant brain is gone. Where it was floating, you now see a neat row of three of the round stone pieces. You pick them up and keep walking.

 

Before 06_Meeting EmotionMan

You look at the pieces you collected and realize you have found ten, the same number of slots there were on the board the brain showed you. You look around, wondering what you are supposed to do now. You have no idea how to put the pieces together because you have no idea what they mean. As you turn around frantically, a strange feeling of calm settles over you. For the first time in this world, you feel happy and content. But quickly your confusion bursts through the warm layer of happiness and you feel even more lost. You feel a presence behind you and turn around. A giant mass of color and energy is pulsing in front of you. As you keep staring at it, its colors shift and change. You reach out to touch it, but your hand seems to never be able to reach the colors. It is as if they aren’t tangible, that they are simply the idea of color and not color itself. The floating mass starts to come closer to you until it engulfs you in a wave of color and somehow, emotions. You feel happy because your journey is almost over, sad for the clones, angry that you were put in this situation, lonely for you seem to be the only one in this world that does not know what to do. Within the swirl of colors, you see  a vision.

You see the city below and the mindless clones moving without purpose from one spot to the next. But as you zoom closer, something about the clones starts to change. What were once lifeless figures morph into violently bright and pulsing creatures. Inside their chests are beating hearts identical to the one that was standing before you moments ago. It seems like their bodies are cages to something wild that longs from for freedom. (What would be their faces give none of this away). All of a sudden you see yourself. You have all the puzzle pieces and are distributing them out to the clones. As symbols land on a clone the heart inside them expands and a mouth appears on their faces. The mouths open wide as if to sigh a release of pain. The image and colors swirling around you begin to fade. The pulsating heart is gone, but you know what you need to do now.

 

Before 07_Puzzle Pieces; Changing City

As you enter the city, you pull out your puzzle pieces. Remembering your vision, you take one and try throwing it at a clone. Yet, it bounces right off. Discouraged an confused, you go to retrieve it but you see it landed at the base of a building. Where it landed you can see color blossoming.  You take your other pieces and begin flinging them around. Wherever they land, the buildings begin to change shape and become colorful. The sky lightens and the fog starts to dissipate. Soon, you are standing in the middle of a beautiful city full of amazing architecture and beauty.

As you stare in wonder, the puzzle pieces you threw float into the air and come towards you again. You know what to do now.