Not Alone

Not Alone was an initial investigation into representing verbatim lived experience, taking influence from documentary. After watching the short BBC documentary film Teenage Cancer Ward (Teenage Cancer Ward, 2009), I decided to explore the process of adaptation. As such, it was an exploration of biography (inspired by documentary) This prototype sampled a section of narration from the documentary in an interactive form, investigating the multi-media frame that games afford. While With You was primarily focused on the narrative representation of lived experience, Not Alone sought to explore the affective visualisation of that experience using representations of character and, space, and qualities of voice.

The following questions framed this practice:

How can verbatim narration from a documentary film be adapted to fit within an interactive frame?

How does consideration for the intended target audience influence platform selection and interaction design in interactive storytelling games, and how do the affordances of the platform shape usability and interaction methods?

Can a modular approach to the design of games based on ill-health narratives support expandability and enable the representation of multiple perspectives within a single game?

How can space be represented within games, and can a site-specific approach to design enhance narrative meaning?

The intentions for this project were to:

• Explore properties of voice through narration.

• Identify an efficient and effective mode of visual representation.

• Explore new (to me) methods of interaction.

• Learn interactive wireframing (Adobe XD), Unreal Engine 4, Blueprints, and improve my skills in Autodesk Maya.

• Learn basic character modelling, rigging, and posing.

• Learn the pipeline for exporting a project for mobile.

• Establish the foundations for original lived experience data collection.

It is recommend that you read section 4.2 Not Alone of the thesis for further insight into the project.

Wireframes (Image) - Adobe XD

Wireframes (Interactive) - Adobe XD

Screenshots from the earliest prototype of Not Alone. This was my first exploration with Unreal Engine 4 and the Blueprints visual scripting language (prior experience in UDK), and re-learning Autodesk Maya for 3D asset creation and texturing.

The following image depicts an initial attempt to port Not Alone V2.0 to HTML 5. This would have allowed the game to be playable in a web browser without the need for the user to download the application. HTML5 plugin support for Unreal Engine ended in version 4.24

During the development of the prototype, placeholder audio was used from the 2009 Documentary “Teenage Cancer Ward” originally watched on Amazon (Now unavailable). This placeholder audio was not intended for public release beyond the initial interaction test.

The original dialogue and stories presented in Not Alone were to be captured through interviews. The following documents were developed to recruit participants, and an initial presentation for the men’s prostate cancer group took place on 04/02/2020 at Maggie’s Centre, Dundee.

The following forms can be viewed through the buttons below: