Sotheara Narith

Blog: Stories and Games

Being a history enthusiast, I find myself continuously playing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, long after finishing it. The game’s historical accuracy is what impresses me the most and keeps drawing me back into the game time and again.

The level of detail in the game’s depiction of ancient Greece’s architecture, culture, and mythology is incredible! I am amazed by the attention that went into creating this immersive historical world.

I found myself completely invested in the game’s narrative. Another aspect that made the game so engaging was its storyline. You can choose which character you want to start as, who are siblings, and if you have a preference for gender, either Kassandra or Alexios, a mercenary navigating the political conflicts of ancient Greece. What was the most exciting part of the narrative is getting to interact with historical figures such as Socrates, Herodotus, and Pericles which added so much more depth to the experience.

What I loved most about the game was how it involved me in uncovering the historical narrative through gameplay. To progress through the game, I had to explore the world and complete quests, while fighting my way through the game. Each interaction revealed new information about the history of ancient Greece.

The game’s immersion in a story world with well-developed characters and conflict was essential to my game play. The historical accuracy and attention to detail created a vivid and believable world that made me feel like I was actually living in ancient Greece.

Final Project

Updated Version (the wrong version was uploaded only difference was audio levels).

I started this project in 2020 when I enrolled in the DTC program with DTC 201. My goal was to explore my roots and understand the impact of the Khmer Rouge regime on Cambodia and my family. I began by retelling the stories my father endured during that time. While I had touched on similar themes in the past, in my senior year, I felt it was essential to create a more evolved version of my father’s story.

To bring the story to life, I used mid-journey and follies, relying on sound and visuals to create a powerful emotional experience. It was a moving journey for me to repeatedly relisten to the story and see the characters come to life through mid-journey prompts and animation.

This project is a screen test for an animated 3D short that I plan to develop this summer. The journey of exploration and creation was deeply meaningful and cathartic for me. I feel that the project captures the essence of the story in a powerful and emotional way.

Final Project Plans

My project is a reimagining of a compelling narrative from my father’s experience as a young boy during the Pol Pot dictatorship in Cambodia, which I previously explored in DTC 201. The story centers around a moment when my father and country experienced extreme famine and his friend decided to risk their life to pick corn that was forbidden to them that they sowed the previous year.

In this retelling, I will use the power of visual storytelling to bring the characters and scenery to life through puppet animation in After Effects. The characters will reimagine in Mid-Journey, to bring to life the physical and emotional challenges they face in their quest for survival.

To enhance the immersive experience, I will rely solely on foley and sound effects to convey the story, without the use of words. The sound design will be crafted to evoke the harsh reality of the famine, the desperation of the characters, and the tension of their risky endeavor.

Through this project, I aim to create a visually and aurally compelling narrative that captures the essence of my father’s story and conveys the themes of resilience, survival, and the human spirit.

Hypermedia

Here is my hypermedia project.

I still have to clean up the CSS.

Visual + Audio Narrative Project

Meet You In Paris

I went a bit over the one-minute mark. I felt it was necessary to give the story more depth.

Visual Narrative

Visual narrative project about a young child who creates an imaginary world under their bed as a form of escape from reality.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRGfJoxADP1aG744quTsEmOdLxu1iKmnpb_thzwcCYZhac1FUFCzzNvfHp-XekPXo1jo5dNVsvnLCpw/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

24hours in 30sec

I didn’t have the variety of shots I wanted since my pup was quite the puller on our walks/errands the day I was filming.

Diagrammatic Story

Hello!

Here is my Diagrammatic Story.

Written from one of my story summaries in the Kishōtenketsu style.

Visual Narrative #2

Ellis is a dog. A dog with a lot of desires, all he wants in life is just to snack on his favorite treat his tasty bones. But his Mom never gives him enough bones. He tries and tries to tell her but she always only put those nasty kibbles in his bowl. Will Ellis ever get enough bones to fill his desires?

McCloud Readings – Chapter 1-4

The most compelling part for me in the first four chapters of McCloud’s book was in chapter three when he states that, we as storytellers have to trust that our audience will be able to fill in the gaps of the story for themselves. This concept really drives home the concept of “show not tell.” And that sometimes it may be better not to give all the details of the action in between actions as it isn’t always necessary to complete the narrative. For me, those in-between moments of the frames are what make a movie/film so worthwhile. It adds me, the viewer, to the story as I get to be involved in the interpretation of the story. That added layer of mystery makes it more engaging. It was a bit amusing to read that at the beginning of the chapter, McCloud talked about how when he was a kid he thought the world revolved around him and was only in motion when he was there to perceive it. This is something I also considered as a kid. Even now it’s sometimes perplexing to imagine that life is happening somewhere else without you experiencing it. It’s quite profound.

In approaching the narrative project, taking into consideration not giving too much away and allowing the story the right amount of visual gaps to give the viewer/reader somewhat of control over how the story is perceived will be an important factor in how I write the story. I think having viewer interaction with the story is something very hard to do, as there is quite a bit of assumption that you as a writer must know how to balance.

AI Art

I was a bit under the weather and didn’t get to make it to class to participate in the activity. But I tried it at home with Midjourney with one of the stories from my summaries. I am blown away by how accurately it made the characters I had pictured in my head! Especially when it aged the daughter up.

Five Story Summaries

Aristotelian 3-part Structure

“Broken Bonds”

Act I: Introduction

Darha is a Thai immigrant who moved to the United States with her daughter, Soraya, in search of a better life. She was a proud and traditional woman, but her marriage to Soraya’s father had fallen apart and he had left her for a younger woman. This shattered Darha’s confidence and left her feeling empty and alone. In an effort to find love and security, Darha married Tyler, a charming and handsome younger man 15 years her junior who promised to love and take care of her for the rest of her life.

Act II: Rising Action

Despite their age difference, Darha was swept off her feet by Tyler’s words and attention, but Soraya was wary of him from the start. Soraya knew that Tyler was not to be trusted, and she did her best to warn her mother about his true nature. However, Darha was blinded by love and refused to listen to her daughter’s concerns. Soraya’s relationship with Tyler only worsened as she began to see how he treated her mother like a personal slave, doing all the hard work while he sat and did nothing.

As the tension between Soraya and Tyler escalated, Darha remained in the dark, unable to see the true nature of her new husband. Soraya tried to leave the house and escape Tyler’s abuse, but she was unable to find a way out. One day, Soraya disappeared without a trace, and Darha was left to search for answers.

Act III: Climax and Resolution

Darha’s search for Soraya led her to Peter, Soraya’s father, who had abandoned them years earlier for a younger woman. Peter had recently begun to investigate Soraya’s disappearance, and he had discovered a clue that pointed toward Tyler’s involvement and that she may be dead. With this information, Peter approached Darha and told her the truth about Tyler and Soraya’s disappearance.

Darha was devastated by the news, but she was determined to get justice for her daughter. She confronted Tyler, but he denied any wrongdoing and told her that Soraya had simply run away. Darha was left with more questions than answers, and she was unsure of what to do next, and who to believe.

Kishōtenketsu 4-part structure

“Intrusive Thoughts”

Introduction: Mason is a successful businessman from a small town with a tormenting problem – he’s convinced that he’ll die in his sleep and can’t seem to shake the thought.

Development: Mason tries everything to overcome his fear – from counting sheep to taking sleeping pills. But nothing works and the thought continues to haunt him, driving him further into exhaustion and madness.

Turning Point: Mason visits a therapist who tries to help him understand and confront his fear, but the intrusive thoughts only become more vivid and intense. Mason’s grip on reality starts to slip.

Conclusion: Mason’s fear consumes him entirely, and he becomes unable to function in daily life. He becomes a prisoner in his own mind, unable to escape the tormenting thoughts. The fear and exhaustion slowly drive him to madness, leaving him forever trapped in a world of darkness and fear.

Episodic Structure

(kid’s show) “What the Woof”

Episode 1: “The Last Bark” The four dogs, Max, Bella, Charlie, and Rocky, are the only survivors in a world that have been devastated by a catastrophic event. They roam the empty streets and scavenge for food and supplies. They come across an abandoned pet store and decide to make it their home base.

Episode 2: “The Search for More” Max, Bella, Charlie, and Rocky venture out into the wasteland to find other survivors. They come across a group of cats who have formed their own society and are not welcoming of dogs. The dogs must work together to find a way to coexist with the cats and form an alliance.

Episode 3: “A New Dawn” The dogs and cats join forces and begin to rebuild society. They face challenges and obstacles along the way, but they never give up hope. The four dogs have become leaders and friends, and they have created a new world where all species can live in peace.

Surrealist/Fantastic

“Parallel Journeys”

Four friends are suddenly transported to different parallel universes and timelines, facing challenges that test their limits. With fantastical creatures and lost technologies, they must confront their fears and personal demons. They soon discover that one of them, Ryan, has the power to control parallel universes with his mind and that this power is coveted by a mysterious figure. The friends must come together to prevent a catastrophic event and decide whether to use Ryan’s powers for good. In the process, they uncover that Ryan’s powers stem from his schizophrenia and must support him in managing it. The story explores themes of friendship, betrayal, and the power of the mind as the friends embark on a new adventure, embracing their unique journeys and fighting for what they believe in.

Personal Anecdote

“Walk”

Bailey is a young woman from Toronto, who’s always struggled with body dysmorphia. Growing up, she was constantly told by those around her to conform to societal beauty standards and change her appearance to be more desirable. As a result, she developed a deep insecurity about her body and a desire to become an influencer to prove her worth to the world. But despite her best efforts, she always felt like she came up short and was never good enough.

When she arrives at college, Bailey is introduced to the underground world of ballroom culture, where people come together to celebrate individuality, creativity, and self-expression. Despite her initial reservations, she’s drawn to this community and begins to participate in competitive events. With the support of her new friends, Bailey begins to gain confidence and finally finds a place where she feels accepted for who she is.

But as she rises to the top of the ballroom scene, she discovers a dark and dangerous side to the competition – counterfeit beauty products and corrupt judges. Bailey must navigate this treacherous world and use her newfound confidence to fight for what’s right and expose the truth, all while learning to love and accept herself for who she truly is.

Week 4: Great Rock and Roll Pauses

Great Rock and Roll Pauses, was an overall great read, but at my initial goal of the story’s format, it felt a bit overwhelming. Often I found myself lost in where to focus my attention on. After a few pages, I started to get the hang of it and enjoy the story built around it. I approached the story looking for the typical three-act structure, which sometimes felt like there was one in there, but at other times I felt lost. Almost like the beginning of the Game of Thrones series where there is just too much information coming at me to decipher what is happening. Part of this feeling comes from the introduction to each character, without any context it was hard to tell whose point of view we are seeing the world as, was it about Mom(Sasha)/Alison, or Alison/Lincoln, etc. We are clued that this perspective is from Alison, but sometimes I felt like her voice wasn’t there, especially when you imagine the scenes with Lincoln. Looking for the catalyst moment that drives the story forward, there could be many, but the one that stands out to be is the introduction to pauses on page 13, where Alison first gives us a sample of Linc’s obsession over pauses.

As the dynamic of each of the characters comes to life more you begin to realize that the pauses are a reflection of something deeper, almost overlaying on top what the issues each of the family members endure. One theme that I thought about was that to Linc the pauses almost reflect his inability for him and his dad to connect. It’s as if Drew’s busy and stressful career isn’t giving him the needed time to see what Linc needs from him as a father. As if his talking about a song’s pause was a clue for that person to pause and take in what’s happening. And when the climax hits when his father blows up on him about the pauses it was a failure on both Linc and Drew to not pause and see each other.

Overall the pauses likely represent the changes that happen in each of the character’s life that sometimes cause them to come to a complete stop before restarting again to complete the journey. The character with the most change here is the father Drew, his arc ends with a bit of redemption.

The setup of the story is a bit hard to take in but at the same time enjoyable as if you can imagine things happening simultaneously which is a really cool effect in storytelling!

Narrative Traditions II: Meshes of the Afternoon

I had to watch this twice and I am still not fully sure how to make sense of it all. At first, I thought the camera work almost mimicked what you see in modern-day vlogs of people’s lives, but as the story fully unfolded it felt more like something out of a dream. Each scene felt like it had its own loop within a story cycle, each fragment clues to the bigger picture. I want to say that the catalyst of the story was the flower on the ground that she pick up right at the start, but I also tetter between the record playing may have induced the woman into the lucid dream she was in. In each cycle, there is a repetitiveness amongst objects, the woman in black, the knife the telephone, and the key, each a catalyst on its own within a scene. It seems like the woman was trying to break a cycle of a bad out-of-body experience or that those items were triggers to a relationship she was in with the man. The mirrored face in one of the scenes at the bedside comes around again as a potential lover. Maybe it was a failed relationship and maybe she was reliving the key moments that brought her to her break point. The story arc is quite fragmented with each scene having a beginning middle and end. But for the story as a whole, I am not sure where that arc lies.

Introduction

Hello DTC 354 class!

My name is Sotheara (sew-tear-rah), or Sothe (sew-tea) for short. I am a senior and am retaking this class. The last time I took this class I got covid really bad. I have taken a few screenwriting courses at Portland Community College prior to transferring to WSU. I enjoy the story-building and character development aspect of the story-writing process– the things you don’t see. I have a certificate in Multimedia from PCC, so my interest in media crosses many different platforms/genres so it’s hard to pick. But what I will say is I enjoy the short format and stories that don’t have a lot of dialog but relies on character movement/body language and the environment to create a subjective story for the viewer to interrupt. I look forward to that aspect in our upcoming class projects.