I've begun an inner city (inner Boston) storytelling residency which I'm enjoying very much. Lots of challenges- There are sweet moments and there are days when my learning curve is very steep.
I often begin my residencies by having students re-tell a classic folktale either Goldilocks or The Three Pigs. Much to my surprise, when one of my students re-told The Three Pigs it soon became apparent that within it is the structure of a video game.
First of all note that we have the three LEVELS. Pig ONE who builds his house out of STRAW is LEVEL ONE. Pig TWO who builds his house out of STICKS is LEVEL TWO and Pig THREE the ULTIMATE who builds his house out of BRICKS is LEVEL THREE. If the wolf succeeds at all three levels it turns out that he can incinerate everything in a fireball. As the story was told we met the wolf. Obviously the "player" who the person playing is supposed to identify with. At the the beginning the wolf only has LASER EYES that he can use to demolish the first pigs house!! But after he demolishes the first pigs house he gets additional powers and his hands become SPIKEY MITTS!!! If he succeeds there he gets the ability to BREATHE FIRE. And the whole PigDom goes down in flames. Of course there is now no moral to the story! Just a progression. I guess that's progress for you!
