Creating the Stories for your Game
Ideas sometimes come like a flash of lightning, but developing them into fully-realized projects takes much longer. In this phase you'll draw from the ideas and historic information you entered in the graphic organizer and the story questions you answered in the previous phase, Thinking. (HINT: If you haven't been to Thinking yet, click the lightning bolt at left to go back to the first step.)
You (and your teammates, if you are working in teams) will now develop those ideas and facts into actual stories with characters, setting, and plot. To do this, you will do some writing, but for the most part you will tell the story on storyboards. Draw key moments in your story on a storyboard planning sheet, or even on separate sheets of paper, if you prefer. You don't have to make them fancy or finished (stick figures are fine!), but be sure to include key details of the scene (place, time, characters, dialogue, etc.). Finally, remember that this game depends on choices for the player to make, so you must develop more than one possible story.
Think of your story as a tree with branches (like the image below). The trunk is the beginning of the story, and the branches are alternate possible ways the player could choose to go in the story. If you are working with a team, it's best to agree on a common beginning and characters first, then let each team member develop a separate branch of the story. Use the Branching Story Diagram to plan the story branches and choices. Use the Single Branch & Choices Diagram to plan details of just one section of your story. Use the Storyboard Frame to draw a rough sketch of the contents of just one slide. Remember to check Resources for additional storyboard diagrams!
