THE RESEARCHERS

BALAJADIA, ANGEL ROSE T.

BATAC, MARY ROSELLE M.

BROSAS, NICOLE C.

MAÑOZO, TRIXIE E.

NG, ROLANDO III O

of

MA 11- PRINT

SUBMITTED TO:

Mr. Joseph Soriao Soriano

Research Teacher
 CHAPTER I:

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

INTRODUCTION

It is in everyone's nature to tell stories and inform others regarding their life

events. According to the National Storytelling Network, storytelling is the interactive art

of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while

encouraging the listener’s imagination. It has been a part of the human experience for

centuries. It’s in our nature to communicate with others, in both fictional and non-

fictional ways.

Moreover, the way how storytelling is being passed from one person to another

evolved as time goes by. From early humans using visuals to tell stories about survival

and life. Early cave paintings have been found carved or drawn into stone, mud, or clay.

And as humans developed oral language, stories were passed down from generation to

generation. Today, more advanced technologies allow stories to be told and shared

more rapidly and effectively than ever.

In the early 20th century, Information Age or also called as Digital Age rose due

to the different and advance technologies that are being released in the public.

According to Regis Chasse, Digital Age is a period in human history characterised by a

shift from industrial production to information and computerisation, changing

significantly how people interact with businesses and each other. Whereas almost

everything now is being digitalized and one example of it is the Storytelling.

 From traditional, storytelling evolved itself to be told by many by the use of

technology. According to the website digitalstorytelling.com, Digital Storytelling at its

most basic core is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. They all

revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of

multimedia, including graphics, audio, video, and web publishing.

In addition, digital storytelling in video games has been widespread in today’s

generation. Different digital storytelling video games application has been developed

and is now making its name to the mass. Ahead of storytelling in digital games is

Choices: Stories You Play. The app is number seven Top Grossing game on Google

Play Store which is This research was inspired by the study “Episode: Digital Gaming

As Contemporary Storytelling” conducted by the students of ELJCMASHS. The

application Episode was the first digital storytelling game to have a study in

ELJCMASHS and now, the researchers wanted to study a new Top Grossing digital

storytelling gaming app and also observe and study in depth the uprising culture of

digital storytelling.

Nowadays, the traditional storytelling is now being neglected since the existence

of digital storytelling. In this study, the researchers will look for the application of digital

storytelling through the mobile application “Choices: Stories You Play”.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

“Choices: Stories You Play” is a narrative game that will let the player to

control the game by choosing options that will lead them to certain paths of the story. It

is a simulated role-play game comprises of different stories created by Pixelberry

Studios. Fandom Inc. added that the stories are arranged into different books,

containing respective amount of chapters in those books.

Players of the said game can choose their desired different genres or different

books. Character customization and decision making of the player will be tested in

playing the game. The player’s' freedom to choose from different options along the story

can lead their character to romance, solving crimes, adventure etc. Moreover, updates

of stories in player’s library happen every week. (Pixelberry Studios. 2019)

The game application Choices: Stories You Play can be downloaded in Google

Play Store for android and IOS users for free. However, some items in the game are

needed to purchase with real money.

This application places 3rd in the Top Grossing Gaming App in Role Playing

category. The game also has more than 1 million reviews and 10 million downloads in

Google Play Store. One review suggests that it has great graphics and an excellent

layout. Additionally, its featured stories are interesting.

OBJECTIVES

The main objectives of the study is to determine how digital storytelling works in

the mobile application “Choices: Stories You Play” through exploring the application

itself.

Furthermore, this aims to:

1. Explain the digital storytelling application game “Choices: Stories You

Play”. The researchers aim to explain and clarify the understanding of the mobile

application as modern storytelling.

2. Determine the different features of the digital storytelling game “Choices:

Stories You Play”. There are mobile applications that have similar formats;

therefore the researchers’ aim is to determine what makes this program better

than its competitors in the market.

3. To determine the entire flow or process of how the digital storytelling game

“Choices: Stories You Play” being played. The researchers aim to determine

the process on how to play the game itself.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study generally answers the question how digital storytelling works in the

mobile game “Choices: Stories You Make” through exploring the application itself.

Specifically, this seeks to answer these questions:

1. What is the digital story telling game “Choices: Stories You Play”?
 2. What are the different features of the digital story telling game Choices: Stories

You Play?

3. How is the said digital storytelling game being played?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study “Choices: Stories You Play” will redound to the

following:

 Writers - Digital Storytelling will be beneficial for them since it is

more easier now for them to write using technology and

most of their readers are now fond of reading through their

smartphones.

 Teachers - It is beneficial for these educators to introduce a new type

of storytelling or reading tool for their students to be

motivated and encouraged to read.

 Students - A new type of storytelling will encourage them to read as it

will increase their reading and writing ability.

 Future This will help them to gather data in their future studies.

Researchers -
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

According to Jabareen (2009), a conceptual framework is defined as a network of

interlinked concepts that helps to understand a certain situation, The researchers will

use an input-process-ouptut which will aid in completing this research.

The diagram is shown below.

INPUT

OUTPUT
1. What is the PROCESS
digital story
telling game 1. Students will
“Choices: 1. A one-on-one be able to know
Stories You interview will be what digital
Play”? conducted by storytelling is
the researchers and its process.
to the selected
2. What are the students of
different features ELJCMASHS. 2. They will also
of the digital be able to
story telling experience how
game Choices: 2. Students, as digital
Stories You participants, will storytelling is
Play? be players of the different from
said game. conventional
storytelling.
3. How is the
said digital
storytelling game
being played?

The steps are shown in the figure above. The researchers are to formulate

questions about what the game is about, its features, and its ways on how it should be

played. Interviews will be conducted to the selected students of ELJCMASHS, as well

letting them experience the game itself to achieve its aim of knowing what digital

storytelling is all about.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Two concepts will be used in this research paper, namely; the Interactive

Reading model, and the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.

In 1977, Rumelhart defined the Interactive Reading model as the connection of

two traditional reading structures; the Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approach. DeChant

also suggests that readers would have the ability to gather information from all sources

in any order. According to an extensive discussion by Anthony (2018) explained that

this would benefit them since this would help them understand the text by the use of

surface knowledge. A

Richard Meyer wrote the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning in 1997

According to him, people learn more through pictures and words than texts alone. It

proposes three main assumptions namely; having two separate channels, each one of it

has its own limited capacity, and learning is an active process based upon our prior

learning. The idea of the theory is that the elements are selected to produce information

These concepts are present in the mobile application “Choices: Stories You

Play” since the player gets information from the texts he encounters every chapter, at

the same time he/she gets to input his knowledge in the game, which is the premise of

the Interactive Reading Model. He/she also gets to learn new skills, fresh words while

completing the journey of the game through pictures and sounds, a concept found in the

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning,

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The respondents of this study are students from Eugenio Lopez Jr. Center for

Media Arts Senior High School who already played the game “Choices: Stories You

Play.” And the developers of the gaming application, “Choices Stories: You Play.”

This research covers the topic of “Choices: Stories You Play” as a digital

storytelling application, the uprising culture of storytelling, from traditional up to digital

storytelling. This research also covers the strategies used by the developers of Choices:

Stories You Play as one of the Top Grossing application in the world.

The subject of this study is limited to the “Choices: Stories You Play” application

only and focused on the definition, features, and how to play the game. This is not

limited to other related gaming programs such as Sims, High School Life, and many

others.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In this chapter, publications that are related to the study CHOICES: DIGITAL

STORYTELLING BEHIND EVERY STORY are stated, exemplifying more knowledge

through searched articles, books, and webpages. As well as related thesis, dissertation,

and other references that are related to the study and can be used as a basis and facts

are also included.

LOCAL LITERATURE

Storytelling is something that will never leave us alone. It is already a part of our

life to maintain and gain communication from person to person. With this

communication, there are many stories about the world that need telling.

A writer named Celine Murillo shares her motivation for finding telling stories

about the natural world. It was a story begins about her being told she had be a writer

someday when she was young. As she grew older, she put herself in the field of

literature being inspired from books so that she considered telling stories is something

she was meant to do. "Great stories can speak the language of the heart." (Murillo, C.

2019). In other words, informing people can also make them care. The matter regarding

stories is that it appeals more than the mind when stories are told with absolute

conviction.

This article, "Storytelling for Conservation" from Business Mirror newspaper, can

be considered as a way of telling stories focusing about the environmental issues to

make people change and care for the mother nature. Inspiration, the product of change

and care, is the primary matter where storytelling is essential especially to the current

generation that has now using digital games such as "Choices: Stories You Play" as a

new wave of storytelling.

LOCAL STUDIES

Storytelling is one of the oldest form known to man based on an article

Learning the Ancient Art or Storytelling, the Modern Way by Julia Jasmine Madrazo-

Sta.Romana. It is the oldest way to pass the stories that contains our culture and

experiences.

The results of 2017 Readership Survey that was commissioned by National Book

Development Board tells that most of the youth and adult Filipinos are still into reading.

The result shows that 84.99% of Filipino youth read printed books 8.7 hours per month,

23.98% of them spent 14.16 hours reading e-book and 15.08% of them spent 12.68

hours reading audiobook while 76.75% adults read 9.39 hours per month, 11.83% spent

14.03 hours reading e-book and 3.58% spent 9.39 hours reading audiobook. Most of

the Filipinos are still reading printed books but spending more hours reading on digital

platforms.

Glorypearl Dy, a writer, web designer and founder of Switotwins Digital

Storytelling said that the contemporary technology allows the children to speak up and

also fives skills and talent for them to see the bigger world. It is the platform where they

could express and share their experiences in a positive and creative way.
 In the study, “What Drives a Great Learning Experience from the Views of

Millenial Learners: The Swedish and Filipino Observations” by Pineda, MV. and

Bernhadsson, L. (2012), being mindful on using the technology, websites and digital

media makes strong connection between the millenial learners and the tools they use to

facilitate self regulated learning. Their study just proved that using digital media like

smartphones, computers, etc. on learning could help the learners nowadays to improve

their knowledge.
FOREIGN LITERATURE

Digital Storytelling is defined as the use of digital media for the creation of

fictional and factual stories, including digital gaming. It is aimed to let the readers

explore a certain world through reading, and at the same time, to entertain. Unlike the

traditional way, the narrative is brought through a series of codes that is easy to use and

store. The events are connected in a single story. Interactive- the user controls the

game’s aspects, the order is nonlinear, and lets the user immerse his or herself into the

story (Miller, 2020)

The game Choices, which is the subject of this research paper, contains novels

which players can read, and at the same time, play their chosen story in any order they

wish, making the format nonlinear. There are certain rewards once you finish it. If you

wish to start all over again, you need to go through the whole story. There are themes

however, ranging from cheesy romantic lines, to sexual innuendos, that are present in

all or most narratives. It is, in general, about love, but at the same time, getting

immersed into stories while playing (Minh, n,d.)

FOREIGN STUDIES

The video game adaptations of the 1899 novel Hearts of Darkness, such as Far

Cry 2 (Ubisoft Montreal, 2008) and Spec Ops: The Line (Ygaer Development, 2012),

have followed the premise of the said book, its film counterpart Apocalypse Now

(Coppola, 1979), and the graphic novel of the same name (Anyango and Manrowitz,

2010) , yet vary on its approach-the message and the tools they try to convey. The

elements were reworked by creating a linear story into a nonlinear medium, through
creating a first-person shooter genre. Some were retained, however, including its

themes of war. (Donald and Plitner, 2018)

Students are able to learn the English language in a more interesting way

through digital storytelling. Pictures, videos, and audio clips are used to let them feel

that they are into the story, which gets their interest into the process. This helps them to

improve their vocabulary and their pronunciation, thus improving their speaking skills. It

is broad-a key concept which enables the students go through other aspects of a certain

narrative. Though the tools may be challenging for some instructors, it is proven to be

an easier method for improvement than the traditional way (Zuana, 2018)
SYNTHESIS

Storytelling allows a person to travel worlds without spending through words. It

makes a person imagine about what the story is all about. It lets the reader to take

action at some point, as it also aims to appeal to the emotion of the audience.

Storytelling can be done by anybody who has the heart to write and look for inspiration

to create and tell.

Digital storytelling has been a trend for Filipinos as the majority of readers are

reading electronic books or e-books. This is because they are able to fully understand

the text and be one with the story. Technology is the key element for this to work. It also

enables them to discover things by themselves.

Digital Storytelling is the use of new media to tell narratives. Its events are

interconnected, though the format is non-linear, making the readers jump into chapters

without having to read its preceding parts. There are multiple themes present in every

story. Players will be given rewards as soon as they finish the game.

Additionally, this also helps students to learn the English language more efficient

than the traditional way. Multimedia images enable them to immerse themselves into

different narratives, thereby understanding the story and putting it into another

perspective.

All in all, digital storytelling is a great way to let the readers entertain and learn. It

follows a nonconventional format, and could be accessed by all. A central theme is

present, with many subthemes included.

WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

 About The Game | Choices: Stories You Play. Play Fandom. Retrieved from

https://choices-stories-you-play.fandom.com/wiki/About_The_Game.

 Digital Age. yourdictionary.com Retrieved from

https://www.yourdictionary.com/digital-age.

 Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu Retrieved

January 13, 2020, from

https://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27.

 Mayer, R. (2014). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. learning-

theories.com Retrieved January 13, 2020 from http://www.learning-

theories.com/cognitive-theory-of-multimedia-learning-mayer.html.

 Miller, Carolyn Handler. Digital Storytelling, 4th Edition. Taylor and Francis Group,

2020.

 Mendoza, M. (2015). The Evolution of Storytelling. Reporter. Retrieved January

13, 2020, from https://reporter.rit.edu/tech/evolution-

storytelling?fbclid=IwAR2wcOhwRQwwGKt0kwDkFHyurbLIDshDLt8TYfoOsKFk

wQYk9krRD5_1ZJQ.

 What is Storytelling? storynet.org Retrieved January 13, 2020, from

https://storynet.org/what-is-storytelling/.

 Zuana, Muhammad Mujtba Mitra. Digital Storytelling: An Attractive Media to

Teach Narrative Text in Speaking Class. Alsuna, 2018.