Story Assignment 2 Part A Written By Barbara Mones, Assignment Write-Up Organization By Kendal Sager - CSE 459 - Winter 2008

Story Assignment 2 Part A

Cse459 Preproduction for Digital Animation

Assignment for Story Assessment: It’s in The Cards (working Title)
Due Date: Thursday, Jan 17th 10:30AM

Please read the entire assignment and follow through on all requests and questions. As always, if you are unclear about the assignment, please send email to mones@cs.washington.edu Good luck! This initial assignment is primarily for me to hear from you about how you feel we can tighten up the story and try to find some initial consensus. Be Creative as usual !!!

For this assignment, you’ll be working in the groups we formed in class. If you weren’t in class today, please email mones@cs.washington.edu asap so that you can be in a group!. Here are the groups:

Group 1 Andrew Y Ryan I Byron J Matt D ...
Group 2 Cale S Justin P Robert F Scott W ...
Group 3 Dan C Derek S Lauren Q Jordan H Amber
Group 4 Sharon L Amir S Erik L Jason J Andrew G

Each group needs to meet, discuss and, if needed, rework the story sample I presented to you in class today. Email it to me before class in the 17th at bmones1@comcast.net and mones@cs.washington.edu. Then, print the same file out and hand me the revised version on Thursday at the beginning of the class session. I will need one printout from each group. If you cannot agree within your group on the story revision to submit, you may hand me two, but only if the whole group feels that both merit a good look and they are quite different from one another. Otherwise, I’d like you to work out the more subtle differences on your own. You, of course, have the option of not changing the composite story I gave you.

You are welcome to change the story details. HOWEVER, you will need to justify EACH of your story changes with a sentence or two – including answering why your version is better and more effective. Without a justification, your intention may not be clear.

Story Restrictions

Also you must stick to the following story restrictions:

Questions

In addition to what you may find you need to change in the sample story, here are some questions that I’d like each group to answer and include in your printout before you email and print the finished work. Please identify the question you are answering. Thanks.

  1. If you were to distinguish the two old men by their opposite personalities ( therefore creating the source of the conflict), how would you improve the story by changing the old men’s personalities? Please include a description of how you visualize the two men to reflect their personalities.
  2. If you were to distinguish the two decks of cards by the collective personalities of the cards (in addition to the individual personalities i.e. the Queens, Kings, etc) how would you tie the personalities of the old men to the behavior of “their” cards. Could this help support your story?
  3. In addition to the one already described in the sample story, please determine/describe two other ways that the card game of solitaire could evolve into a card game of war between these two characters. Assume that the two old men are sitting across from each other but at different tables ( the tables are next to one other). Consider how the men’s personalities could be a metaphor for two countries with very different cultures and how the events you describe might inflame a border dispute. One example: As a card from one guy gets close enough to the border to be in dispute, the other takes it, prompting the first one to pull another card toward himself. This continues until they declare “card” war.
  4. Propose two alternative endings. Provide one that the audience might interpret as more hopeful ( human beings will find other ways to resolve their differences before resorting to violence and destruction) and one that the audience might interpret as "the inevitability of war."
  5. Provide two new options for when the cards initially respond to the old men's actions/behavior during the story. One example would be to wait until one man decides to declare card war. Another could be when the men first pick up the cards. There are many other options. Justify your answer.

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