Story Telling Traditions

Cave Painting

Definition: Paintings which have been found decorating the walls and ceilings of caves, in many cases originating during the prehistoric period.

Origins/Timeline: The earliest cave painting found so far originated in El Castillo (The Castle) cave in Cantabria, Spain. It dates back approximately 40,000 years. Cave paintings were most popular during the prehistoric period, in most cases they seem to have been simply a means of decoration.

Examples in real life:

Examples in game play:

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_painting, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Men_of_the_old_stone_age_(1915)_Wolf.png, http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Paleolithic%20Art/cave_painting_l.jpg, http://almerimarlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/indalooriginal.jpg, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JgKcWDanWU_tn2FrLH8zf6xhodDDKJ02EcZBgiUj-E6di5nQHln2qjckBmCQcYbMhhll1B7zLOvTDe69foX-wwP_slCQ1VWrVOgVeZ-km_ShcrvDOkiw8DuA9UygIRlBneDobAzyjAA/s1600/s320x240.png

Oral Tradition

Definition: The spoken preservation of a culture, myth or legend which is passed down through the generations, usually in the form of a story, song or poem.

Origins/Timeline: It can be assumed that Oral tradition has been spoken among man kind since we learned to communicate. It's difficult to say when it was most popular as it's something which continues to this day, however many well known myths and legends originate from the Medieval period, such as "The Legend of King Arthur" and "The Tales of Robin Hood".

Examples in real life: "Saint George", "Heracles", "Alexander the Great", "Diarmuid Ua Duibhne".

Examples in game play: "Dragonborn (Skyrim)", "Sir Daniel Fortesque (Medievil)", "The Ones who came before ( Assassins Creed)"

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition, http://www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com/st-george-dragon1.jpg, http://www.mythindex.com/images/painting-heracles.jpg, http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander-the-great_114.jpg, http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/250/draft_lens2373557module165498346photo_1359332233-.jpg, http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn30/tornjaw/daniel_rising_zps26c61792.jpg, http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles/135236437405.jpg/EG11/resize/960x-1

Theatre

Definition: A collaborative endeavour comprised of speech, song and dance in order to portray a real event or one of the imagination to a live audience.

Origins/Timeline: The origins of the theatre can be dated back to Ancient Greece, (384-322BC), while theatre has had it's ups and downs through the ages, western theatre became incredibly popular in England during the mid-late 16th century thanks greatly to French influences.

Examples in real life: "Hamlet (1601)", "Thérèse Raquin (1873)", "Les Misérables (1980)"

Examples in game play: "Assassins Creed III - London Theatre"

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre#History, http://www.gameexperience.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ac3-theatre-royal.jpg

Text

Definition: A representation of written language, text can be presented via a variety of mediums, such as books, documents, computers and mobile phones.

Origins/Timeline: The origins of written representations of language can be dated back all the way to Ancient Egypt via the use of symbols, however the representation of language via text didn't truly emerge until the early Bronze age as early as the 7th Millennium BC. I would say that text is most popular during the modern day, as it is more widely learnt and taught than it was 100 to 200 years ago, when it was more of a privilege to learn rather than a right.

Examples in real life: 

Examples in game play: "Kingdom Hearts", "Elder Scrolls - Skyrim".

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_writing#Bronze_Age_writing , http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200409/BSOD_2.gif, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Edwin_Smith_Papyrus_v2.jpg, http://triciatreacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/penn-book-ed-text-pages.jpg, http://images.khinsider.com/KINGDOM%20HEARTS%20HD%20ReMIX/Screenshots/Famitsu%20-%20February%2021%202013/04.jpg, http://blog.fileplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-SkyUI-Screen-4.jpg

Film

Definition: A feature length presentation of real events, or those of the imagination shown either at a cinema or at the comfort of your own home via a variety of mediums, ex: DVD's, Blu-Ray or subscriptions such as Netflix. All films as a rule of thumb when telling their stories contain a beginning, middle and end.

Origins/Timeline: The origins of film began in the late 1880's with the invention of the very first movie camera, the majority of these films were silent until the 1930's. With the advancements of technology, film has gone from a carnival novelty to one of the most important aspects of the entertainment industry and for that reason, I've got to say that film is most popular during the modern day.

Examples in real life: "Hercules", "Star Wars", "Independence Day", "Amazing Spider-Man 2".

Examples in games: "Amazing Spider-Man - The Video game", "X-Men Origins Wolverine - The Video game".

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_film, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-s9uLNPY4auDGy24V6z70P84mpWmt66rCRa4ccc2B4wK4zPg2T-aWttYk0BvXWkDzZpTTVIwwpAl9Inn28yOQZSG19kLXYNNimfrCx1iKdE7_PjGGypPDPitl-PW37zOHVJS1ufLWfcM/s1600/600full-hercules-screenshot.jpg, http://digitaljournal.com/img/4/2/9/6/2/6/i/1/2/9/o/star_wars.jpg, http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSO775dIGMQgXd49OlPClUEHQKR4NQZY4MM7E0bSjj7756FpoHBlA, http://www.bigbadbob113.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/wolverine_0123-640x.jpg, http://media.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/files/2012/07/Spider-Man.jpg

TV

Definition: Television, a device which allows the public to watch shows/programmes which usually run a length of 20 to 60 minutes. These shows have a variety of genres depending on which TV station you happen to be viewing at the time, ex: Comedy central = Comedy genre, Skynews = News and information.

Origins/Timeline: Television has been available commercially since the 1920's and has since become commonplace as a source of entertainment in many homes. As of 2009, 78% of the worlds homes had at least one television set. Television continues to gain popularity today as it's more widely spread and is even available over the Internet.

Examples in real life: "Supernatural", "Breaking Bad", 

Examples in game play: "Game of Thrones - Video game".

Sources: http://www.seekingbazinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/supernatural_season_6_hd_by_inickeon-d2zs4k3.jpg, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television, http://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/breakingbad.jpg, http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/06/Game-of-Thrones-RPG-review-1.jpg