The Kind of Writer that I want to be.

Greg is a student, a film maker, a photographer, and a game designer. In each of these, he is a writer. Every lesson, every frame, every picture, and every adventure contain a story. He expressed to me once that after his graduation from university, he wants to move into the field of making live events and experiences. He wants to be the figure behind large gaming tournaments, theme parks, escape rooms, concerts, and anything else that can be made better by having a hidden and natural narrative. These events have a demand for unique narratives to enhance the experience of attendees. I asked what he meant by this as it was all a foreign world to me. An excitement could be seen within him as I expressed this, he leaned back and smiled “How long do you got?”. After a slight nod, I leaned back in my seat and began to write as he talked.

“When you watch a movie or read a book, we know there must be a narrative, its just a given. When you look at a painting, there is a narrative there for what the painting depicts, how it came to be, and the journey that it took to be on the wall in front of you. Every commercial, every photograph, every song has a narrative. I love to find and experience the narratives in everything I do. For me, the narrative that got me hooked was attending the League of Legends World Finals in L.A (Los Angeles). I watched a 3D hologram of a music video that captured the history of the E-sport and its most iconic moments as it rose in popularity. That was when, I wanted to part of a narrative like that. When I started my university degree, I found that not only could I become part of a narrative, but I could bring these narratives alive through my works and my passions. I could mix my various skills and knowledge into writing a narrative and creating an amazing experience.”

He went further in expressing his interests and how he could blend and use them for the next forty minutes but for the sake of you, my reader, I have tried my best summarise a few points and examples that were repeated and highlighted by Greg. These narratives can involve the total environment of the user. He practices writing an immersive environment into short stories so that he can become better at creating a full picture for anyone he works with. Using the theme park for an example, he would write the overall experience that a user has from when they first see an advertisement for the park and all the way till the leave at the end of the day. Every aspect of the park has potential for story to be involved and is a chance to immerse the user into the world. For example, if a theme park is a zoo for the creatures of the apocalypse, then the ticket booths and entrances should appear to be secure like a prison and only those with ‘clearance’ (tickets) could enter the park. The lines for rides, layout of the park, where benches are placed, design of garbage bins, and so much more can be involved into the narrative and experience.

“This is the Kind of writer that I want to be.”