This semester I’m taking an Independent Study on creating & understanding interactive narrative games. I’m going to be chronicling my journey through this course, from coming up with an idea to eventually creating a full-fledged interactive narrative.
In one of my previous blog posts, I talked about generating ideas for my interactive narrative. My idea was to adapt an existing folktale or myth, transforming it into a narrative-based game. I spent a few days reading a variety of folktales and myths, but there were some in particular that caught my eye: the Native American fire creation myths.
The biggest obstacle with choosing a Native American story to adapt is that I am not Native American. So my overall goal throughout this project is to make sure I get all of my details right, and to make sure I treat the story with respect.
I reached out to the Sequoyah National Research Center for some information on the fire myths I’d encountered, as well as some guidance. The first thing that I had to do was to choose a fire myth. There are dozens — possibly hundreds — of Native American fire creation myths, and each myth is associated with a specific tribe.
After reading the different versions, I decided on the “Coyote Brings Fire” version from the Karuk (also known as Karok) tribe. The Karuk have different versions of that myth as well, so I’m pulling in pieces from the different myths I’ve found from within the tribe.
Here’s the thing no one tells you about writing a game: you have to do a lot of research especially if you chose a story that originates from a different culture.
For the past few weeks I’ve been looking at how the Karuk tribe lived back then, how they took advantage of the land around them, and how they went about their everyday lives. I’ve looked at maps of Northern California, where the tribe originated, to get a feel of the landscape. Because my story is about an animal stealing fire, I’ve done research on different kinds of animals, from coyotes to bears.
I’m now a believer in research as a way to develop games and stories. The static world I was imagining a few weeks ago is now fresh and vibrant. Even the little things, like learning that the Karuk tribe were salmon fishers, impacted the way my story developed.
Everything in my story is beginning to take shape, and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Now all I have to do is start writing…
