Kavon Balbarais-Phal

video game

Breath of the Wild is a game that skillfully combines storytelling with gameplay elements, allowing players to explore and find meaning in the story through various goals, puzzles, and challenges. The story follows the protagonist, Link, who wakes up after a century-long slumber and must recover his lost memories while defeating an ancient evil force known as Calamity Ganon.

The puzzles and challenges in the game are an integral part of the story. For instance, Shrines scattered across the world not only provide players with new abilities and power-ups, but they also reveal the history and culture of the ancient civilization behind them. Divine Beasts, which are massive animal-like machines, require players to solve intricate puzzles and combat powerful enemies to free the spirits of fallen heroes.

The narrative in Breath of the Wild isn’t merely a backdrop for strategic gameplay; it actually helps players immerse themselves in the world and care about its inhabitants. The game encourages exploration and discovery, as players must piece together the story from various sources, such as relics, conversations with non-playable characters (NPCs), and clues found in the environment.

Breath of the Wild’s open-world design allows players to approach challenges and narrative events in their preferred order, resulting in a unique experience tailored to individual playstyles. The game’s art style, soundtrack, and detailed world-building contribute to a captivating atmosphere that immerses players in the world of Hyrule.

The diverse cast of characters, including major figures like Zelda and the Champions, as well as the various NPCs populating the world, each have their own stories and personalities. This makes players emotionally invested in their fates and the outcome of their quests, which further enhances the significance of the narrative in the gameplay experience.

In conclusion, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild expertly blends gameplay elements with an engaging narrative to create a rich, immersive experience for players. By incorporating goals, puzzles, and challenges into the story, and fostering an emotional connection to the characters and the world, the game ensures that the narrative remains a crucial aspect of the overall gaming experience.

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video essay

I past the 1 min mark and I hope you guys forgive me.

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Diagrammatic Narrative

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FEhssqm39vEtxIGRqAUi49mkN1yROjEGiOgn7PIO9dg/edit?usp=sharing

 

John stood nervously in front of the crowded room, his hands shaking slightly as he prepared to present the annual report for his company. But little did he know, the shocking revelations he was about to share would turn his world upside down.

As John began to speak, the room fell silent. He spoke of the company’s corrupt practices, how they took advantage of the poor and mistreated their employees. He detailed the dangerous working conditions and lack of benefits for full-time workers, and how the company had recently cut wages despite the long hours and hard work that their employees put in.

But that was just the beginning. As John continued to speak, he dropped a bombshell that would leave the audience reeling. He revealed that the company was responsible for a tragedy that had affected him personally, and that the corrupt practices went far deeper than anyone had ever imagined.

The audience was shocked as John shared his personal story, his voice shaking with emotion. He spoke of his family’s struggle to make ends meet, of the injuries and pain they had endured because of the company’s neglect.

But even as John finished his presentation, the tension in the room was palpable. What would happen next? Would the company be held accountable for their actions? And would John and his family be able to overcome the devastating impact of the company’s corruption?

As the audience sat in stunned silence, John made a call to action, urging his fellow employees, shareholders, and customers to join him in demanding change from the company. But as the room emptied and John left to face an uncertain future, one thing was clear: the fight for justice was far from over.

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Twilight Zone

Movies vs. books is a debate that rages on for everything. Generally, stories tend to be better in their original book form. For me personally, I enjoyed reading Paper Towns more than I did watching the movie. However, some could argue that the Harry Potter movies are even better than the books (which, in my humble opinion, they are). In the case of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, whether you prefer the written version or the film adaptation really depends on the individual. Both versions take significant liberties with the story. The book spends more time building up the world, while the film cuts out the whole middle part of the story. There could be a number of reasons for this, but one possibility is that it didn’t fit with the vision of The Twilight Zone. Also, since the main character dies early on, the film might have felt it was pointless to waste time on his journey back home. Personally, I think the movie did a great job of illustrating the beginning of part three of the story. While they kept the foundation of the character’s actions, they changed the pace and emphasis of each scene. Overall, I prefer the film version of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the superior version.

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Ai Images

I used Midjourney  to get images of Gabe’s story. I was a short story of his time in Disney land. He was 6 year’s old in 2008. He went onto the ferris wheel ride and laughed so hard that he peed his pants, on the ride! Using Ai to obtain a scene in his story illustrated something close. With this exercise I learned that you have to be very detailed on what you want. But also sometimes it will disregard some your prompts. I said 4 people in the second photo but gave me  5. I wished I added more detail or changed the theme like, cartoon or anime.

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Great Rock n’Roll Pauses

Helping our audience to intake information is getting easier. We have the power of film, VR, and video games to change how we display information. However, this is a first for me in how to read a story. The use of diagrams was interesting, I at first didn’t like it. I didn’t know where to read, what to read next, or what had importance. But the more I dove in, I found it more accessible. The diagrams helped with world-building. Since the information about the character has to be in a linear fashion, we can pick and choose where to read it. Even though the conflict isn’t intense, we are attached because of the characters. The battle of growing up and being distant from our parents. We drift away as we get older, our love will always be the same but as people, we grow. Forming lives of our own and understanding who we are in those ages. My favorite slide is when Alison goes on a walk with her father. Both characters are their most vulnerable. Alison is afraid and the dad shows his late-night retreat. In how I will shape my story, adding any visual to add to the story is a must. Graphs and charts bring life to the dull space of just words, so adding anything is a must for the story. 

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She & Her Cat

For the blog post I had to go with “She & Her Cat” The film doesn’t have a lot of action or drama, but it still manages to be interesting. The film is like the slice-of-life genre. It’s kind of like a diary of their everyday routine. The still shots of everyday items add more to the story building. The cat symbolizes the girl’s emotions and how time passes in the film. Even though it doesn’t have a significant conflict, the film still has a pattern. It’s like a cycle, where the girl and her cat do the same thing every day. It’s a simple film that makes you think about life and relationships differently.

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Fargo

When all else fails, what do you do? We see a real man’s tragedy turn into a film. Knowing the film really adds another layer to the story that mystifies the audience. Believing what happen and having more empathy for our characters helps the storyline. This strikes something strange with Aristotle’s text. He mentions that poetics is greater than historians because historians only have real-life events to go off from while poetics can explore what might happen. Poetics are universal, but what happens when the story is based on a true story?  Is the poetic a historian now? Having this be my first read of Aristotle, I see the importance upon which filmmaking is grounded. Aristotle’s ideals of the importance of the plot in his analogy of two paintings were brilliant. The film follows Aristotle’s ideals on tragedy, in the tragedy of suffering and character. He mentions the importance of plot and character. What character types thrive in tragedy and not. Our main character is in a downward spiral and becomes unrecognizable at the end. As the story progresses, it gets worse and worse with many dead and no good things happening to Jerry. There will have to be a second read to really consume Aristotle’s ideals.

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