Graduation

Artist's Statement

The main character of this story is a high school student who just graduated with two of his best friends. His want is to not have to grow up yet, which is why he is stuck between going to Langshaw Island, or to be a young, responsible adult, focus on his future and move on from high-school shenanigans. The character’s wants and needs differ completely because on one hand, he is still a kid and wants to do the things his friends are doing like going to an abandoned, closed down island at night, and on the other hand he realizes he needs to start being more mature and autonomous, and someone who can say no and  is not so easily influenced by his friends with a simple “It will be fun!” Towards the end of the story we can see, with some of the decisions, that the character is starting to at least think about being independent with the options he is presented with and isn’t being a follower, and even chooses to go on his own and give up his own life in one path. I actually came up with these wants and needs because it was a challenge that I had to face in high school as well and one that I, and many young adults can relate to. There is a time in all of our lives when we realize it is time to move on from a chapter in our life. I am easily persuaded and like to have people around me, and I wouldn’t doubt that if I were asked to go to Langshaw Island with a couple friends, then I most likely would have said yes as well. 

In one of the first branches of decisions, you are given three options to reply to your friends who asked if you still wanted to go to Langshaw. The “Why Not?” route is the character’s wants at full force; the main character showing no hesitation and just along for the ride. The opposite of that path is the “No Way” and it gives us a glimpse into the character fighting his wants and trying to achieve his needs by trying to grow up and not do anything dumb/dangerous. This branch also presents to us one of the characters flaws: succumbing to peer pressure from his friends. Deep down he really does not want to go to this island but because his friends want him to go, he feels pressured into doing so. After they get to the island, they begin relaxing and having a good time while celebrating graduation, just like our main character wants. After a while they hear a loud bang from near their boat and see the creature emerging from the water. This is when our character has to think quick. After the “bang” we are given two options: run deeper into the island or try to get on the boat. If we pick the island option, we see our friends running into the island and are then presented with the choice to follow them or to stay by yourself and try to fight the monster. The option to follow your friends is a choice relating to your wants and desire to be around people, and the option to fighting the monster represents his need to be independent and his own person. The beats of the phone call on the “No Way” route show how easily our character can give in with a little bit of persuasion from his friends. I purposely made it so he couldn’t deny going to the island to show that it is one of his weaknesses. The beat when they get to the island and meet the creature is a big moment for our main character because this is the event that forces our character to make his own decisions. 2 of the paths reward him for this, and 1 of them does not.

Overall, I think this was totally different and unique from any assignment that I have ever done. I have written fictional stories before, but never in the style of a pick your own adventure. I am typically a very indecisive person, so the most difficult part of coming up with a story for me had to be finding one plot that I could expand on and executing the idea. There were many times where I thought I had a great thought or idea, and then realized that I have too many loopholes and would have to make it much more complex and more than 25 cards or it simply just wouldn’t work. I wanted to try out every idea I came up with, which led to a long process, but once I found a concept I liked, expanding on that idea and coming up with 3 different endings, wants and needs for a main character, and a character arc to get there were all a difficult part at some points. 

The character’s motivations are what move this story along to make it interesting. If the main character had stayed home and not been so easily convinced by his friends, then that would not have even be a story. The wants of our character is what pushes him to go on this adventure to the island. The character being so susceptible to peer pressure is what drives the story and brings the entertaining parts like when the monster emerges from the water, coming in contact with the eerie island or some of the decisions you have make at the end. I also think that readers can relate to this story and the character’s wants because we all have been forced or persuaded to make decisions we don’t like, or get dragged to an event that we don’t want to be at and then regretted not saying no. Most of us have also been at a point in our lives where we need to move on and accept what the future holds for us.