Educational game «Literary magic: interactive fantasy»
Start / Cretive workshop / Educational game «Literary magic: interactive fantasy»
Players age – from 10 to 14 years old. Number of players in each team/group – from 8 to 12. The game is played in 5 rounds, each round is a group activity with duration of 1,5-2 hours. The rules are partly based on Vladimir Propp’s book “The morphology of magic fairy tale”, showing how each fairy or fantasy story can be introduced as a general scheme with typical set of characters and their functions, typical sequence of narrative blocks and turns, etc.
Game plan
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First round: creating the world (specific details, rules of the world, type of magic which is used there, time frames, specific races, etc). By drawing lots characters are distributed among players (a hero, an enemy/bad guy, a victim, a princess, an informer, a magic helper, a magic animal (f.i. a dragon), etc.). Schematic characters-functions turn into concrete, unique heroes while the players are getting to know what the “system of characters” is and how the writers use to “develop characters”. Each player creates, develops and describes the personality of his/her character. A storyteller role belongs to the moderator (Starobinets).
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Second round. As a result of drawing lots one of the players gets a status of shapeshifter (he is not who he seems to be). Various attributes, magic things, artefacts, spells, etc. are distributed among players accordingly. In this round only the moderator knows who the shapeshifter is. Players get to know different ways of describing things and matters (metaphors, comparison etc.).
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Third and fourth rounds: plot sections (prohibition - breaking the prohibition – spying by the bad guy – catastrophe – the hero is asked to help – the route is started, etc.) are distributed among the players by drawing lots. Development of the storyline and composition. The Shapeshifter is introduced in the third round. Plot sections of the fourth round are distributed based on this knowledge (understanding of internal and external conflict).
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Fifth round. Full story is being constructed from prepared fragments. Contest for the best title is being held.
NB. “Storyteller” has a right to interrupt the fairy story and make 3 changes during each round.
Formal outcome of the game
1 text page after each round from each player; all the players have a full fantasy story made of fragments after 5 rounds.
Meaning of the game
Introduction into storyline and composition, internal story structure, development of characters, literary language, etc. in exciting form of the game.
Teaser «Literary magic»
