Week 4 - Narrative
- Julia Toczyska
- Nov 4, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2024
Storytelling and Digital Media
We spoke about storytelling before, but what about the storytelling and digital media combo? The traditional linear approach to storytelling has been disrupted by digital media where the interaction of the end user can change the outcome and direction of the story. These are called branching narratives, or as I have previously mentioned them in week 2, "Your choice matters" narratives!
How will you build your story
Narrative
Research
Concept
Character building
Beat sheet/Treatment
Script
Hero's Journey
Story Development
While talking to my lecturer Liam, he managed to challenged my whole concept as a whole. One flaw he managed to spot is the fact that the main character, the player, has no personality or any back story whatsoever. The idea was, that the main character was going to be a self insert, leaving it up to the player to decide what the main character means to them. Looking back at it now, I realise that there is a lot of lost potential here... So let's go back to the drawing board! (not loosing my sanity at all)
So, who is my character?
After some back and forth brainstorming with my team mate Cassie, we have decided to change the story completely! Well... sort of. In the end we came up with the idea that the story will revolve around a Hikkiomori, who is lost in a dream like state as they try to escape their condition. The gameplay will take place in distorted hallways of their own home. The dream will explore aspects of the Hikkiomori condition, and the distorted reality they live in. Due to the nature of the topic, me and my team mate have a lot of research to do. We want to take responsibility and represent the topic with respect and accuracy.
Backstory
As the story develops we find out that the reason as to why he has completely isolated himself is because of a tragic event, it being losing the love of his life. Many years ago both the main character and his wife worked on a indie game project, his wife taking care of the animation and official art, and the main character handing the coding. Unfortunately, wife ended up getting into a accident that resulted in her death. This drove the main character into depression and complete withdrawal from the world. The main character shuts off the trauma, locking himself in his mind, completely abandoning the project he was so passionate about with his wife. As he lives in this new found reality, the signs of trauma slowly appear as entities of his dead wife's drawings, haunting him to remember.
What exactly is a Hikkiomori?
Simply put, the term hikikomori refers to extreme social withdrawal (in Japan). In Japanese, this word literally means "pulled inward, being confined", and can be used to refer to the condition or the people affected by this condition. These people hardly see the light of day, living within the confines of their rooms. Hikikomori will only venture outside if necessary, e.g. food. However, some do not even have to leave at all, their parents take care of everything - from the food to the bills.
The reasons for becoming hikikomori vary but often come from intense social pressure, fear of failure, and experiences of bullying or social anxiety. Japan's cultural emphasis on conformity, social harmony, and avoiding shame plays a significant role, as many hikikomori feel unable to meet societal expectations and retreat to avoid bringing dishonour to themselves or their families. Family dynamics also contribute, with parents sometimes enabling this withdrawal by providing support out of guilt or protective instincts. Additionally, technology, such as the internet and video games, can provide an alternative world for hikikomori, further reinforcing their isolation. Below I will have a look at some video game examples of the hikkiomori condition.
Yume Nikki
Yume Nikki is a indie game released all the way back in 2004. The game has no dialogue, combat, or direct exposition, leaving much of its interpretation up to the player. It caught my attention for many reasons, one of them being its abstract representation of the hikkiomori culture.
The gameplay focuses on Madotsuki, a young girl who refuses to leave her apartment. She sleeps and explores her dreams through a series of bizarre, nightmarish environments. The game's goal, if any, is for the player to collect "effects" (items that alter Madotsuki's appearance or abilities) while navigating her surreal dreamscape. The game offers little guidance, with players left to explore a series of doors leading to interconnected dream worlds.
Yume Nikki doesn't have an explicit plot, but many speculate that it explores themes of isolation, trauma, and mental health. Madotsuki’s inability to leave her room in the waking world and the content of her dreams suggest that she might be a hikikomori. The dream world could be a manifestation of her mental state, filled with strange, sometimes disturbing imagery, pointing to her repressed emotions or memories.
Omori
Omori is an indie psychological horror released back in 2020. The game follows a boy named Sunny and his alter ego Omori. In contrast to Yume Nikki, Omori focuses on both the real world as well as the dream (also known as the Headspace). In Headspace, Omori explores a colourful world in a rpg adventure fashion, however, as the story progresses, cracks begin to show, revealing much darker themes.
In the real world, Sunny hasn't left his house in years. The core of the story revolves around Sunny’s relationship with his friends and the trauma of a tragic event from their past. Over time, Sunny’s mental state has deteriorated due to the weight of this trauma, and he has shut himself off from the world.
The game’s narrative focuses on the themes of guilt, loss, and repression, with Sunny creating the dream world of Headspace to escape from his memories. The player’s choices throughout the game determine the ending. I have decided to mention Omori here since the game introduced me to the concept of Hikkiomoris back when it first released. It's representation of the condition explores the why and the how one would chose to shut themselves off from the world.
Character Building
The character is anxious, unsure, scared, desperate. Their only motivation is to escape their own mind, and all the negative thought. They are distrusting of their surroundings and the things they see.
Pinterest Board
At the end of the lecture I have decided to start a Pinterest Board in order to create a mood board for the project! However, before I got around to mood boarding, I had to come up with a name for this project! After some though thinking, me and my team mate cassie went with the name - Captive. Hikikomori often feel trapped within the physical confines of their own home or even a single room, unable to go outside or engage with the world due to overwhelming anxiety, fear, or shame. In this way, they are captive to their environment, with their isolation acting as a kind of self imposed prison.
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