VIDEO PROJECT: THE DELIVERERS OF MYSTIC SLICE (2018)
The start of the video series that uses end cards to lead down a long path of videos. Fair warning as the entire project is about 25 minutes long
Roles: Narrative Designer, Artist
Tools: Adobe Premiere, Youtube, Pencil and Paper, Adobe Photoshop
Timeline: 4 months
​
OVERVIEW
The Deliverers of Mystic Slice is a light-hearted, comedic multi-video narrative based on Youtube end cards that give the viewers choice as to how they want to approach situations similar to Japanese visual novels.
It was made for the class Narrative and New Media (IAT 313) at SFU as a solo project. In the narrative, the unlikely hero Delivery Guy is tasked with a standard journey to defeat the evil lord of darkness while encountering all sort of bizarre characters and events. Options are usually given through the characters that join Delivery Guy on his quest, usually allowing for a situation to be resolved using the character’s distinct personality. Night Raider usually prefers a stealthy approach while Crimson Collider is passionate, rounding off with Buster Beaster’s forceful straightforwardness.
​
Storyboard of the narrative's events:
Skills and Tools
-
All assets were created using Adobe Photoshop after scanning hand-drawn rough sketches. I would include certain interchangeable body parts to allow flexibility in order to create animations such as an arm in a fist or outstretched to fit the situation. Most characters were given a “base” state, an “angry” state, a “sad” state, and a “surprised” state to fit the events in the story.
-
The assets were then manipulated within Adobe Premiere along with text in order to create a narrative, almost like a stage and puppeteer show.
-
Music and sound effects were taken from free-use websites and were properly credited.
-
Required time management skills as the project shared a timeline with my other project The Arena.
THE CHALLENGE:
​
As stated in my other project The Arena, both this project and that one shared a development period of about 4 weeks. While the Arena was to be made alone, this project was one that could be done in teams that I chose to do alone. The course itself was built on working on the project throughout the term and I was unaware of both projects having similar timing. Unlike The Arena that only suffered a bit of polish, this project definitely wasn’t as strong graphically as I would have hoped. I didn’t have much time to work on the backgrounds and the character sprites for the most part have no shading. If I had more time or didn’t have to do two projects at once I would be sure to go back and fix these issues.
​
The script had to go through 2 major reworks. Thanks to initial feedback from my instructor I created the idea to have a party of characters. The second rework came when I realized I wrote way too much for me to produce with the time I had left. This meant I would have to cut out 3 character and a whole segment of the story. It was ultimately for the better as I believe the story was beginning to drag on. Functionally, Youtube end cards only allowed 4 options anyways so a party size of 4 was perfect.
​
I also hit a writer’s block in creating the climax for story. Initially, I had a very generic ending in which Delivery Guy and his party would simply beat the final boss without a satisfying conclusion for it. Development on the project even started with the ending in mind but when I finally got to the end I was hit by a spark of inspiration. While not too depressing, the end battle against Lord Villian had a serious tone that asked viewers whether they really understood the importance of the freedom of choice. The idea was to provide a stark contrast between the whimsical choices and events of the story with a constrained path in which the villain actively took away agency of the viewer.
FINAL REFLECTION:
Despite the graphical flaws, the project was actually well received. I received a relatively high grade likely due to my instructor recognizing the amount of time and work I put into it. I also surprisingly received praise from my peers while presenting my project in front of the class who enjoyed the comedic tone and sense of humor that resonated well with my age group. The ending was also decently received and Lord Villian’s role in the story was point of interest among those who watched towards the end.
Photos of the narrative flowchart, character sheets, and some backgrounds
 A narrative flowchart detailing every choice in the game |  Character sheet for the main character the Delivery Guy |  Night Raider character sheet |
|---|---|---|
 Crimson Collider character sheet |  Buster Beaster character sheet |  Bandit asset |
 Bandit leader neutral asset |  Bandit leader in a cocky pose. His arm is intentionally deformed for ridiculousness |  Mira character asset |
 Mira angry character asset |  Lord Villian character asset |  Example action event still |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |