Sherlock Game…

Today, we focused on Sherlock Holmes. The main reason for looking at this was to emphasise how story can essentially stand the test of time. Sherlock Holmes the character was written almost 100 years ago however, it is still alive and well today. There have been books, films and T.V shows made about it and even the younger newer generation know the name Sherlock Holmes. So, how do they keep recreating the same character? Through the use of the same tropes and stigmas around Sherlock Holmes. His quick wit, genius abilities, attention for details, mystery, him being a detective and even the dreary London town where he lives. These story elements are what we know as Sherlock Holmes.

When it came to watching the T.V series first episode we expected to see these tropes. However, not only did we see them, they were adjusted to fit in to a current society. I found this really interesting because it shows that although we have so many forms of story telling in this day in age, the foundation of what we are doing, that being telling stories, will never die, wether they are original or recreated.

Then we downloaded the Sherlock game that correlates to the TV show. When playing the game the things I found really interesting was the connection it had to the story although in game form. It was a new way of looking at the story and really brought through the idea of agency that Murray talked about in the reading. We are now able to control the way the cases unfold, although you do get some help from the characters. It really brings you into the world of the series. It gives you a good idea of the character of Sherlock Holmes right from the starting video of Sherlock talking to you as if you are physically in the room. This is a great way to boost the audience engagement of the app. In a few ways however they have had to gamify the app. For example for when you want to get to place around London you have to chose to walk, catch the train or a cab. Each option has there pros and cons but it lets you decide.

Overall I found the concept of the whole TV show, app and character interesting and it shows you, that if you have a strong story it can last a long time and be shaped into many different mediums.

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