Tuesday, November 11, 2008

For Students: Your Assignment




You have an opportunity to create a video game for Nintendo about the Dutch Resistance during World War II. You will be working in a 5-person design team, and your team will be competing with several others for the contract with Nintendo. For your first meeting with the company, Nintendo has asked your team to research the role of the underground Resistance in the Netherlands during World War II and to come up with a game design proposal. Your proposal should include:

A. Dutch Resistance Dossier*
B. Game Planning Sheet
C. Storyboard** (minimum 8 panels)
D. Full-Page (81/2" x 11") Sketch of your Main Character

There are several design teams vying to win this contract with Nintendo, so be sure to follow these important stipulations:

* This will be rated E for everyone, which means no nudity, inappropriate
language, or violence.

* This will be a single player game, so only one person can play as the main
character at one time.

* A dossier (DOSS-eeh-ay) is a file or collection of documents and information about a person or group of people, and a synopsis of the research. Web links for your historical research have been provided in Process. Your Dutch Resistance Dossier will consist of a written summary of your research on your Dossier Sheet and printouts of 3 photos.

** What’s a Storyboard? A series of sketches showing how the characters and plot develop in an animated series, t.v. show, film, video game, etc. The images are often accompanied by written notes about the action, camera shots, and other technical notes. Find info and examples at Ohio State’s Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design Storyboarding Webpage.

Step 1: Dutch Resistance Dossier

Use the links below to compile the following information in your Dutch Resistance Dossier. Researching these questions will help you figure out strategies used by the Dutch Resistance to counteract the German occupying forces, and the challenges, dangers, and obstacles they faced. Each person on your team can take one item to research and then share their findings with the rest of the group.



1. What were conditions like for people in the Netherlands during the German invasion and occupation from 1940 – 1945?

War II Memories of Ronnie Groeneveld

Memories of the War in the Netherlands

War Memories, Netherlands

Growing Up During the War

Two People Recall Air Raids and Invasions

A Dutch Nurse’s War Memories

Summary of The Secret Room, A True Story of Nazi Occupation


2. Who needed to hide from the Nazis? Why? What happened to many Dutch men?

Summary of The Secret Room, A True Story of Nazi Occupation

The Story of Anne Frank

Memories of Being a Boy, Hiding from Germans, and the Liberation Day

What Happened to Resistance Members Who Were Caught by the Germans?

Erika Van Hesteren’s Story: A Dutch Woman Recalls Hiding During the War



3. How did the Resistance work against the Nazi occupiers?

Summary of The Secret Room, A True Story of Nazi Occupation

Highlights of the Collection of the Resistance Museum, Amsterdam

Two Women in Underground Secretly Take Photos

The Dutch Underground and the Stoottroepers (StormTroopers)



4. What happened during the Hunger Winter of 1944-5?

The Hunger Winter (scroll down)

Hans Remembers the Hunger Winter

Memories of the War in the Netherlands

Life at the End of the War/After Liberation



5. Find 3 photos of people and places related to the Netherlands in WWII to inspire your group’s design. Print each one out to include in your dossier.

World War II Image Bank
http://www.beeldbankwo2.nl/zoek.jsp?action=setlocale&lang=en

There are many World War II photos available on this site. To find the following photos, enter the image number in the Detailed Search section,
and then click the Search button:

Civilians Showing Identity Cards: Image Number 41315
Danish Rifle Factory Sabotaged: Image Number 15322
War Destruction in the City of Arnheim: Image Number 12544
Flooding in Groningen After Dikes Are Bombed: Image Number 125225
A Downtown in the Netherlands: Image Number 125325
Destruction in Groningen, Netherlands: Image Number 125387
Civilians in Groningen, Netherlands: Image Number 125500
Civilians in Amsterdam: Image Number 134572

Recreated Scenes
This website is developed by a firm specializing in recreating authentic costumes and settings for museums, films and other projects. Scroll down to Showreels to watch several short films to give you ideas for settings and costumes.

The Netherlands at War
Hundreds of historic photos, cartoons and other material from 1940-1945 in the Netherlands.

Step 2: Game Planning

Once you have completed your dossier, you are ready for Step 2. Your entire team should brainstorm ideas together, but each person will take on one of the following roles as you complete Requirements:

Game Planning Worksheet
Storyboard
Full-Page Main Character Sketch

Producer
Your job is to lead your group’s process. First, print out a Storyboard Sheet (link) and Game Planning Worksheet (link) for your group. Make sure all team members participate in your brainstorming. Fill out the Game Planning Worksheet FIRST. Then the artist can do the Character Sketch and everyone else can work on the Storyboard together. Keep everyone on task so that you don’t run out of time!

Director
Your job is to participate in group brainstorming for the Game Planning Worksheet. Then you will work with the producer, writer, and technical advisor to create the Storyboard. You are responsible for drawing thumbnail sketches (simple, rough sketches to show ideas—these don’t need to be beautiful; you can label things too) in each window of your Storyboard to show the plot of your videogame.

Artist
Your job is to participate in group brainstorming for the Game Planning Worksheet. Then you will draw the Full-Page Sketch of the main character, while the rest of your team creates the Storyboard.

Writer
Your job is to participate in group brainstorming for the Game Planning Worksheet. Then you will work with the producer, director, and technical advisor to create the Storyboard. You are responsible for writing the summaries to explain the action going on in each window of the Storyboard.

Technical Advisor
Your job is to participate in group brainstorming for the Game Planning Worksheet. Then you will work with the producer, director, and writer to create the Storyboard. You are responsible for noting any sounds, music, camera shots (close up, zoom out, pan to left, etc.), and special effects after the writer’s summary of each window in the Storyboard.

Step 3: Presentation

Present your proposal to the other teams, explaining how your game works and how it was inspired by your research.

For a great way to share your storyboards and sketches and get feedback from other teams, try scanning and posting your images on Voice Thread . Voice Thread is a free site where images can be posted and then commented on by other users. A few quick tutorials on the site will show you what you need to know. There is a quick registration process for users, but you can browse without registering. You can opt to have your postings accessible to the entire internet community, or make posts accessible for those people in your classroom community only.

EVALUATION
Your teacher will provide a rubric outlining Nintendo’s expectations for your work on this project.