A Story Goal Of The Present

Sophistication in storytelling can be found in unique and unseen story goals.

One of the greatest things about the Dramatica theory of story is its breadth of understanding narrative. Most paradigms speak of characters who want something and pursue it to the ends of the Earth. But only Dramatica offers insight into the type of want those characters stalk.

Witness this teaser trailer for The Perfect Day. While it is hard to know for sure without seeing the whole thing, it appears that these characters pursue an Story Goal of The Present. They simply want the here and now to work out and issues of what they can do or attempt to do seem to stand in their way.

Story goals can be defined in more detail than simply "saving the princess" or "finding the gold". Writers can write something a bit more sophisticated (and indeed this trailer has that air of sophistication) if only they understood narrative on a Dramatica level.