Burns 1 Sage Burns November 16th, 2018 QDD: The Witch In The Woods EGD-310-01: Interactive Storytelling Introduction Setting: This quest chain takes place in the rural Russian countryside in 1930. The area in which the player will explore and complete their quest chain is the village of Bolotnyy Dno and the surrounding forest and swamp. This deep into the forest the strange, paranormal, and downright magical are not uncommon, and creatures of Slavic folklore live alongside the bednyaks11 of the local village. Intent: The following quest chain is intended to serve as the opening sequence to a larger game. This quest chain is intended to establish the player character, Lieve, setting, and story, as well as introduce the player to preliminary mechanics. This quest chain is intended to last between 45 minutes – 1 hour depending on player choice. Story: The player takes the role of Lieve, a 10 year old Russian peasant girl who is under the indentured servitude of the witch Baba Yaga22. Following the difficult growing season that Russia faced in the years of 1929 – 1930 Lieve’s parents were desperate to find a solution to their starvation, lest their entire family perish. Her parents had heard of a witch deep in the woods that would grant any wish for the right price. In exchange for their eldest daughter’s servitude Lieve’s parents left with a spell that would ensure the plentiful growth of their crops that season. Lieve is now bound to Baba Yaga, who cast a spell on the girl ensuring that should she do anything to hurt the witch the girl’s soul would be ripped away and cast into Vyraj3 to suffer. With no other choice Lieve begrudgingly serves Baba Yaga, who treats her much like a dog, forcing her to sleep on the floor and allowing her only scraps to eat. Each day when Baba Yaga flies away in her mortar and pestle Lieve must complete an extensive list of chores, or face punishment by the witch. 1 A term used most commonly in Soviet Russia to describe the poorest of the poor peasants. 2 A titular witch character in Slavic folklore. Depicted in various ways across many works. 3 Slavic mythological term for the afterlife. Refers to both a “heaven” and a “hell”. Burns 2 Basic Quest Flow: 1. Fetch Water At The Well For Baba Yaga a. Optional Interaction: Give Kikimora4 Some Grain b. Optional Interaction: Play A Game of Fipe5 2. Distract Kikimora a. Conditional Solution: Gave Kikimora Grain b. Optional Solution: Rile Up The Chickens To Grasp Her Attention c. Optional Solution: Create a Distraction In The Woods 3. Sneak Past Cat Bajun6 And Steal The Heart a. The Heart Is Too Hot To Hold, Find A Jar To Bottle It! b. Move Fast Enough To Leave Before Kikimora Comes Back, But Don’t Wake Up Bajun! 4. Bring The Heart To Koshchey7 At His Home 5. Speak With Ermolai a. Receive The Poison From Ermolai 6. Go Into Town And Acquire Food For Bauk8 a. Conditional Solution: Speak To The Fisherman Again For A Fish b. Optional Solution: Pay The Hunter For Fresh Meat c. Optional Solution: Give The Housewife Grain For A Scrawny Chicken d. Optional Solution: Give The Girl A Doll For Berries e. Optional Interaction: Speak With Everyone In Town 7. Poison The Food And Give It To Bauk a. Hide While Bauk Is Eating, Before He Realizes He’s Been Poisoned! 8. While The Enraged Bauk Is Searching For Lieve Get Vodyanoy’s Pipe Back a. Avoid Bauk As You Move Towards The Slime He Regurgitated With The Pipe In It b. Continue to Avoid Him As You Leave The Grounds of Koshchey’s House 9. Return To Ermolai With His Pipe Expanded Quest Flow Baba Yaga’s Pet – Fetch The Hag A Bucket Of Water The quest begins with Lieve and Baba Yaga in Baba Yaga’s home. It’s early evening and Lieve sits near the hearth sorting grain, removing the bad pieces from the good. Baba Yaga hunches over her stove. The player gets a good look at Yaga, her kitchen and stove, and all the objects surrounding it as the camera pans across and towards Lieve at the back of the room. The camera assumes a third person, 4 A small creature that lives behind the stove and assist with chores in the night. 5 The afterlife in Slavic folklore. Can refer to both a “heaven” or a “hell”. 6 A bear-sized car and king of forest beasts. Sometimes depicted as Baba Yaga’s pet. 7 Koshchey the Immortal. An un-killable man in Slavic folklore. 8 A shadow monster in Slavic folklore. Burns 3 over the shoulder view of Lieve as she finishes sorting grain and stands up with the bowl. Lieve will pocket a handful of grain as she stands, the player is alerted to the addition of grain to their inventory. The player brings the bowl of clean grain to Baba Yaga and places it near-by. This prompts Baba Yaga to order Lieve to fetch water from the river’s edge. As the player leaves the house they must pick up a bucket to collect the water with before they are permitted to exit. Outside it is late fall, most of the leaves have fallen from the trees but some are still rattling in the night wind. Sitting near the chicken coop is a little creature with a strange face. She’s hunched over and sleeping with a broom across her lap. If the player chooses to wake Kikimora Lieve will ask her what she’s doing. She will reply that she’s guarding the chicken coop. Something’s been taking them in the night, but she can’t seem to ever catch it for some reason. It’s almost like the culprit is invisible. During the conversation she’ll off handedly mention that she’s starving since she’s been out here all night. The player has the option to offer Kikimora the handful of grain Lieve took earlier. Optional: Kids Being Kids – Play Fipe With Inna To reach the shore of the river the player must pass by a pool with a crooked tree covering in hanging moss nearby. Lieve’s name will be called out from the tree, where Inna, a Ruskalka9, is sitting in its branches. From their interaction it is clear that Inna and Lieve have talked before and like playing in the swamp together. Inna will want Lieve to play a game of Fipe with her, promising Lieve a gift if she can win. If the player accepts they will begin a mini game with Inna. Inna will stand at the tree and count to 10 while the player finds a place to hide among the sparse swamp trees and tall grass. Once Inna begins searching the player must sneak through the grass to reach the first tree, where Inna was counting. If Lieve is successful and reaches the tree before Inna can catch her Inna will give her a soggy doll, which will be added to the player’s inventory. Should the player fail to successfully reach the tree before Inna catches them the game will end. The player can retry to win as many times as they want to. Once the player has won a round and received the doll they can continue to player Fipe with Inna, but they will only get an item from their first win. In all subsequent games of Fipe the player can choose to be the hider or the seeker. When the player reaches the river bank they will find a tall man sitting on it. He appears to be fishing. Lieve can only access the water from near-by the man, as the bank is too steep elsewhere, so the player must walk near the man to collect water. Lieve will shyly approach and begin to collect water, and as she does the man will start talking to her. Koshchey: It’s a nice night, isn’t it? The stars and moon shine so brightly. Lieve: - Say Nothing - It’s too cold. 9 A Slavic spirit of the water. Similar to a Siren or a Dryad, sometimes depicted as a ghost. Burns 4 Koshchey: - No need to be so shy child…. Say, aren’t you Baba Yaga’s slave girl? - No need to complain. You’ll learn in time to appreciate the beautiful despite the bad, child… Now say, aren’t you Baba Yaga’s slave girl? Lieve: I’m not a slave! I’m a servant. Koshchey: Haha, call it whatever you like. But she has you trapped, doesn’t she? Bound to her like a dog, I know that hag’s horrible ways. Lieve: - She is terrible to me… - I’ll be free one day! Koshchey: - I can help you, I’ve known Baba Yaga for a long time, and I know just how to break her spells. It’s quite simple, she’s not a powerful witch. - Think what you want child. That’s just what she’s telling you. But I can help you, you know. I’ve known Baba Yaga for a long time, and I know just how to break her spells. It’s quite simple, she’s not a powerful witch. Lieve: - Really? You can do that? - Why would you do that for me? Koshchey: - Haha, of course child it’s no object to me. You see I am Koshchey, a powerful wizard from the far west. Baba Yaga’s simple forest magics are nothing to me.