Order of animated shorts

[MA7xGE]

I'm planning on introducing a group of newbies to the game, somewhat in a story-format. Since it's a group of 3-4 people, I would like to make it easier for them to choose their characters AND introduce them to the lore; so, we are going to start by watching the refresh-animations (and possibly some other shorts too), and they are going to choose their characters based on just those.

However, I would like the animations to go somewhat in a chronological order - I would like to introduce Maxwell before Wolfgang's short, Willow quite early and definitely before Wickerbottom, and so on.

So, the questions is;

Which animations should I show them, and in which order?

To make this easier, paid DLC-characters are off the charts. I think I'll show the content update shorts at the starts of related play sessions. 

Of course I would play as Maxwell, since I am bringing  the group to the constant.

[maxwell_winters]

You should definitely start with The Forbidden Knowledge trailer, even though it's not first chronologically. 

[minespatch]

I recommend Don't starve Origin, The Don't Starve Together cinematic, and Inevitable as a good introduction.

[MA7xGE]

1 hour ago, minespatch said:

I recommend Don't starve Origin, The Don't Starve Together cinematic, and Inevitable as a good introduction.

Hmm, I kinda want to keep a lot about the game itself as a surprise. 

2 hours ago, maxwell_winters said:

You should definitely start with The Forbidden Knowledge trailer, even though it's not first chronologically. 

This was a great start to get myself going, thanks! Let's see what I ended up with;

Wendy, 

Woodie,

Wolfgang,

Willow,

The amazing Maxwell,

Wigfrid,

Forbidden Knowledge,

Wes,

Winona,

Walter,

Warly,

Webber,

Wickerbottom,

Wx-78,

A New Reign,

(Wormwood,)

Reap What You Sow

 

 

So, why this order? 

Wendy first, because I want my noobs to really recognize Maxwell along the way - so he should appear in the very first clip. I guess this really isn't him but his brother, although he looks similar enough to fool them to think this is "young Maxwell". I also find the animation one of the prettiest, and Abigail's ghosts flashing for an absolute blink at the end will make them keep their eyes open.

Woodie is next, to continue the "magic element" Abigail hinted at. Also, his clip is so random I find this to be the least bad spot for him - I didn't want to start with him either.

Wolfgang; Maxwell appears again, hinting at his powers, shadows, and codex umbra.

Willow; shadow element continues. I wanted this to be early because she is so young in this.

!!! NOTE !!! No abductions until this point.

The Amazing Maxwell; Charlie introduced, Maxwell and C disappear.

Wigfrid; Maxwell's first abduction on tape, his silhouette and text hint at him not being what he used to be. Maxwell's thing for the gramophone is introduced.

Forbidden Knowledge; Maxwell's tendency for abductions has now been introduced, as well as his way of communication through text. Wilson disappears by shadow hands and Maxwell's thing for radios is introduced. 

Wes; the noobs should know the trick by now, and it's enforced by another shadow hand abduction.

Winona; We know what Maxie is doing, but it's been 3 clips since we saw C last time - let's put her here!

Walter; well, where else to put her? The constant and it's monsters are introduced. Reminder of radio.

Warly; I find this abduction hard to grasp, so I figured it should be after a radio-abduction of Walter. We know what these characters are being done by now, we can have more subtle hints at it from now on.

Webber; again, we know what will happen to him, just from the narration.

Wicker; the critical part to me is the "One more to go" -note at the end, and...

.. in WX-78's short the following characters are seen in the constant; Woodie, Warly, Wig, Winona AND Wicker. So our robot gotta be the last one to be introduced to the noobs.

A New Reign; We can now finally meet Charlie again, and to see her abusing Wilson here indicates clearly her antagonist tendencies - and keeps her fresh in noob heads when we start playing!

(Woodworm is here simply because he appears in the next clip. Other paid DLC-characters could fit here as well in any order - I'm gonna use Worm's boring clip to explain that this is one of the 4 extra character they can unlock much later)

Finally, Reap What You Sow is the perfect ending; we see everyone we haven't seen abducted or in the constant yet, and paints a serene but tricky image of the game - setting the stage for upcoming in-game surprises.

 

I could had, for example, kept the abductor's identity as a secret for as long as possible, but I think this is easy to follow through in one sitting. As a perfectionist it hurts having to include Wormwood, but on the other hand I really want to make it clear that the 4 characters introduced before abductions are in the constant, too. Also, RWYS doesn't have Maxwell in it, which is perfect for my use.

I KNOW these are not in a canonical order not follow the lore, but it's an interpretation of a logical chain of events. Feel free to use the playlist as you wish, or show me your own! 

[Falkenpelz]

Another tiny tip, because I'm guilty of that myself: Don't overrun them with animated shorts until they become homework. Any new media is often the most fun, if you found some things by yourself out of own search.

[MA7xGE]

8 hours ago, Falkenpelz said:

Another tiny tip, because I'm guilty of that myself: Don't overrun them with animated shorts until they become homework. Any new media is often the most fun, if you found some things by yourself out of own search.

I totally agree!

I myself Made The error of reading the wiki and watching videos on DST after reaching winter, spoiling EVERYTHING beforehand. Instead of guiding my noobs, I should support their own discovery through the game. 

 

Thanks! :>

[Castaccio]

Ooh, this sounds awesome! 

I like your approach, with keeping things almost misleadingly simple. This way, when they find out about the William Carter Puzzles, they'll be able to fill in some of the blanks on their own!

I made an order as well, but it had the objective of showing the most of the OG story, which I don't think lines up with what you want to show.

 

Forbidden Knowledge (Introduces the main protagonist, conflict, and style. I admittedly am purist in that it's the game's most iconic trailer and therefore should be first.)

Wigfrid (Sets up pattern of abduction with Maxwell and the paper at the end. "I can make the world your stage" also makes a great setup for...)

Woodie (Interchangeable with Walter's short. We now see where the survivors are going, and can have some more action like in Wigfrid's short. Also nicely sets up..)

Walter (Woodie's on his own would be confusing, so I think that pairing it with Walter's before or after it would clarify what happens to him. By this time, viewers would be familiar enough with Maxwell to connect the dots without Maxwell being there.)

Willow (This is the earliest I could place it while still making sense. Starts to show more of the shadows, now in places where they shouldn't be. Willow burning down the orphanage also prompts a shift away from the happier shorts.) 

Webber (I would also put this either before Willow's or after Wendy's to better show the idea of Constant crossover, but it still works. Another gentle reminder of Maxwell's shenanigans and a shift to the more emotional shorts.)

Warly (With the context of previous shorts, his capture would be less confusing.)

Wendy (I like your placement better, since it distracts from the problem of Jack Carter and because it actively promotes a beginner-friendly character. I placed it here because the abductions would be implied by this point. It also matched tone-wise with Warly and Webber.)

Wes (This placement is entirely based on tone. It lifts the mood from the previous shorts and prepares for action. The more explicit presence of shadow magic also sets the stage for...)

Wickerbottom (Elements from the whole story so far show up here, so Wickerbottom's short works for setting up a climax—though it doesn't promote DST's beginner-friendly characters. Also, the "one more to go" note helps to hype up...)

Wolfgang (Although the first half of his short isn't very remarkable, the train crash would be far more impactful. Seeing the shadows controlled by William Carter instead of the puppet master Maxwell was set up to be would show that there's A LOT more to him.)

The Amazing Maxwell (Putting this right after Wolfgang's short makes for the most complete picture of who Maxwell is without seeing the William Carter puzzles.)

Winona -> A New Reign -> WX-78 ->  2021 Gameplay Footage (A swift introduction and resolution to Charlie's story. Winona's also surprisingly important to the lore, so I put these next to each other to emphasize that. Not many people acknowledge that the 2021 trailer casually remasters parts of Winona's short and shows her crash-landing into the constant.)

Thank you so much for this. Please let us know how it goes with your friends! I know i'd love to do this with mine :)!