It’s time for you to find out! Click the link below to take my quiz:
My Unessay project is a quiz inspired by The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido, titled “How would you die in ‘The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido’?” In making the questions and results, I drew from different characteristics and values that characters hold in The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido. The results range from ones with more genuine meaning to just fun and unhinged. The writing pieces for the results of the quiz are not the best it could be, honestly, as the format the results page is forced into was quite cramming. But I think the free flow and imperfections of my writing in the results adds to the unhinged, comical charm that I was going for in the questions portion of the quiz.
Throughout the creation of my project, I had a blast rereading The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido and finding inspiration. I referenced specific events and locations in the results of the quiz, and related different characteristics to a range of outcomes depending on how the player would treat Oiwa or how she would perceive the player. Re-interpreting her character from an outside view and reaching in to see some vague person in the modern day, was a fun and interesting perspective to think about a character having. Existing as a ghost for centuries must be lonely and confusing as times and traditions change rapidly.
My plan for the quiz changed as I made it. I originally wanted to do something cheesy and violent like the Thanksgiving movie, but Oiwa’s character has a stronger sense of justice than a cheap slasher. I had to throw away slasher themed sources of inspiration for how I wanted to approach writing the quiz. I looked to a fun uQuiz (https://uquiz.com/quiz/Kn0xwk/which-arcane-character-are-you-most-like-highly-scientific) for inspiration for how to build the quiz and the unpredictably funny English dub of the anime, Ghost Stories, for inspiration for tone and theme.
An obstacle that I encountered, oddly enough, was planning the quiz itself. I thought that it would be easy, but I quickly realized that in order to make my questions, I needed at least solid ideas for what was going to happen in the results. I spent a lot of time brainstorming and scrapping ideas because I wanted the quiz to retain a fun energy but not lose its hold with The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido.
The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido, being a story that has been adapted and retold countless times, is a piece of literature that lives on through the engagement it has with its audience. Oiwa’s story is able to resonate, entertain, and provide commentary on the treatment of women in a way that feels timeless despite the historical references in the story. As a member of The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tokaido’s audience thanks to this class, my engagement with it in making this quiz is taking part in that tradition in a way.
One thing that led me to want to create something on an easily accessible platform like uQuiz is its ability to be uploaded on WordPress. An obstacle that I faced during my previous Unessay project was figuring out how to upload an HTML file onto WordPress, because I made a very fun game that could only exist in that format. I was given some advice for how to try to put it up, but due to the rush of the semester I haven’t had the chance to try to upload it again yet. But because of this challenge, I really wanted to make sure that the Unessay project I created would be easily accessible for anyone who could access the blog without any difficulties on my or their end. I hope you enjoy it and have fun with the quiz!
Sprockets and Springes 