I finished reading 'Slaying the Dragon' a couple of days ago, and I am glad I did.The book is not only about art of storytelling in games; but is a very good guide to the process of game design.It is an interesting/informative/fun read and although the book could be read in a weekend I would suggest to take your time to read it as it gives you time to think over the points that it makes. The principles in the book are directly applicable to any form of storytelling that one is doing games, VR experiences, movies, plays, blogs. I had a vague idea about what I wanted to do in my final project for the class but I was struggling in really forming the story I wanted to tell. After reading the book I was able to develop the idea in a more structured manner and now I am confident about being able to tell a story in the final project. Storytelling is an art and by knowing it's basic principles you certainly can get better at it. I have always enjoyed watching movies and consider it as an art form.  Somewhere during the start of the book it is mentioned that after reading the book you cannot help but notice the techniques storytellers use to tell compelling stories and I agree with it. After reading the book I saw PAN and The Martian; and could identify the patterns that screenplay writers have used to keep audiences engaged in the story.

The book succeeded in describing how storytelling is done. The first eye opener for me while reading the book was that levels in a game are the equivalent of episodes in a tv series which is equivalent to chapters of a book and also a scene in a movie. They all contribute to developing the story and are building blocks of the big picture. Lets call them a block of a story. For a story to be good, something should always happen in these blocks. For example - new information surfaces, someone dies, something bad happens, something good happens. This pattern takes the audience on a roller coaster ride and keeps them engaged in the story. To start writing a story, first you should answer a few questions about your story - WHO WHERE WHAT WHY WHEN HOW. The help you form the premise for your story For ex: who is the main protagonist in your story, what is his background, they world that they live in, his friends/family etc. This helps form the journey that the protagonist will go through during the course of the story. This journey is about the aspirations of the protagonist. About something he wants or does. So therefore he does something but.... The BUT is the obstacle between the protagonist and his goal in the story. Obstacles make the story interesting. While making you understanding how stories are written, the book explains what games are. What are video games and what makes them interesting to play. And while doing it makes an argument that the future of gaming is storytelling. It also argues that games is an art form, which I totally agree with.

Now because of the things I learnt in the book, I can create the premise of the story for my final project. For it looks like the protagonist will belong to dystopian future in some remote planet in Andromeda galaxy. This is the time when colonizing different planets has started, and this planet is colonized by humans but is neglected. Hence life here is hard. Technology is rationed evil creatures roam the land. The story might be mainly based on the struggle for survival by the protagonist. I still have to formulate the part of the story which answers why is he there? Or who rations the technology and who are the other humans on the planet. And going by the by the book, "Who will be the dragon in story?"