Just Outside The Zeitgeist

The Story Lab – Week 4: Interactivity and Games

Interactive Games

1. Even Cowgirls Bleed
2. // (Parallel)

1. How, using minimal resources, have these story worlds been created?
   1. The colour grading of the background from light to dark brown evokes the colours of a western narrative. Coupling this with the title places the audience into a Spaghetti Western. The title of the piece, Even Cowgirls Bleed, plays a main role in establishing the story world before the player has even begun exploring.
   2. Establishes in is happening in real life through the eyes of young teens without stating age.
2. When were you hooked?
   1. When there were two choices in the narrative, to shoot for the hat or the man, which would then help to characterise the cowgirl through hid reactions.
   2. I wasn’t that hooked, it felt like I was just flipping through a book instead of interacting with the narrative. The switching between genders was interesting to show the dichotomy between the two stories but it didn’t hook me as a cohesive narrative as they felt separate from each other and I was not given agency in the world.
3. How is character developed?
   1. The story is told using inner monologue to fully capture the emotional range the protagonists undergoes throughout her adventure. The choices made by the player help to subtly decide how the cowgirl is perceived by the other characters in the world develops her characterisation by allowing the audience to seemingly control her outward personality.
   2. Through comparing the two genders using inner monologue to show different views in similar situations.
4. How is narrative, technology, audience leveraged (used) to relay the story?
   1. The audience is used through the choices they are forced to make to continue the narrative. By choosing a way to approach a scenario, they are placing their own personality into the cowgirl which in turn causes them to become more invested in the story because they have a personal stake in how her story unfolds. The ending of the narrative is inevitable and the technology of the game is used to minutely alter the story but not the final outcome, otherwise the title would be meaningless. Whenever a choice is made, the following text is different that that of the other choice, yet what follows that is the same whatever scenario you choose. The technology is also used to include a surprise and make the narrative feel more lifelike, as when the other cowgirl tells you to holster your weapon, the player is unable to as any movement of the mouse cause the gun to go off, making it impossible for the player to do anything else but shoot the woman. The cursor is also shaped like a gun marker to inform the player they are controlling how a gun is used as the way to make choices.
   2. Technology is used as a way to highlight the difference between genders, as instead of showing both views on the same screen, the isolation of a character’s inner thoughts on a screen by itself highlights how different both views are.

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