Latest news with #emotionalstorytelling
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Youspi Consulting GmbH Launches Strategic Business Workshop Focused on Human-Centered Experience Design
Castle of Lost Magic introduces immersive executive program to redefine corporate strategies through emotional storytelling and user-centered innovation SALZBURG, AUSTRIA / / May 24, 2025 / Youspi Consulting GmbH, an established name in experience strategy and user-centered innovation, announces the official launch of its latest executive workshop format: Castle of Lost Magic. The three-day program is designed to help business leaders, creative directors, and marketing professionals rethink corporate strategies through the lens of human-centered experience design. Youspi Consulting GmbH launches "Castle of Lost Magic," a strategic workshop empowering leaders through emotional storytelling and human-centered design. Taking place in a historic castle setting, the workshop reflects Youspi Consulting GmbH's commitment to integrating strategic planning with emotional impact and storytelling. The initiative marks a significant step in the company's broader mission to transform how organizations engage with their customers in a digitally saturated world. Strategic Shift: From Functionality to Emotional Engagement The workshop emphasizes the growing need for companies to go beyond functional product development. Participants will explore how emotional connection, user empathy, and immersive experience design can shape sustainable business strategies. Through expert-led sessions, attendees will be guided to create impactful narratives and align them with business objectives. Executive Quote on Initiative "Businesses today must create real resonance with their audiences," says Johannes Robier, Founder and CEO of Youspi Consulting GmbH. "With Castle of Lost Magic, we offer a structured yet immersive experience to explore how emotional storytelling and human needs can shape the future of business strategy." Expertise Without Name-Dropping Drawing on over 120 years of combined experience from the workshop's facilitators, the program provides an intensive, real-world toolkit for executives. Rather than relying on case studies from major entertainment brands, the focus lies on actionable insights, strategy development, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Corporate Milestone for Youspi Consulting GmbH The launch of this workshop marks a strategic development for Youspi Consulting GmbH, further solidifying its position as a pioneer in integrating business strategy with user experience. The initiative also reflects the company's growth in the DACH region and its evolving service portfolio in the areas of leadership transformation and innovation consulting. About Youspi Consulting GmbH Youspi Consulting GmbH is an Austrian-based strategy consultancy focused on experience design, user research, and human-centered innovation. The company partners with organizations across industries to craft meaningful and measurable experiences that drive business success. Contact Details youspi Consulting GmbH Johannes Robier+43 664 Company Websitehttps:// SOURCE: Youspi Consulting GmbH View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Geek Tyrant
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE LAST OF US Showrunner Confirms Recent Episode Will Change How the Series Ends — GeekTyrant
The latest episode of The Last of Us just dropped a major emotional bombshell, and according to co-creator Neil Druckmann, it's a storytelling decision that's going to shift the course of the show's ending. Titled 'The Price,' the episode of Season 2 brought a key flashback scene from The Last of Us Part II , Joel and Ellie's heartbreaking reconciliation on the porch, much earlier than expected. In the game, that moment doesn't land until the final act. Here, it's placed just before Ellie confronts Nora, and just before the finale. It's a creative choice that recontextualizes everything. Speaking with Variety, Druckmann explained the reasoning behind the move: 'When we were making the game, I knew that scene should exist. I didn't know where it goes. That was true for all the flashbacks. Even pretty late in production of the game, we were moving those flashbacks around. 'That felt too long, especially because this season focuses so much on Ellie's journey and this emotional truth of what did she know? What didn't she know?' The delay between seasons was also key factor, too. Druckmann explained: 'To wait additional years until Season 3 will come out - or maybe even Season 4, it depends where all the events land and how many seasons we have — I was easily convinced by Craig that that would be too long.' So does that mean the show is now charting a different course from the game's ending? Druckmann confirmed. 'That's right.' In a separate interview, Druckmann further clarified why they chose to confine all of Joel's flashbacks to a single episode. 'You might not be missing Joel enough. We felt like for the show, we would get a lot more impact if we brought them all together and you could see them side by side and feel the deterioration of that relationship. 'I also had concerns that the episodes would turn into a bit of a template. It'd be like, 'Okay, what's the Joel flashback this week?'' It's a strategic and emotional recalibration, and it's setting up a different kind of journey for Ellie. In the show, she's not racking up a kill count the same way she does in the game. That's intentional. 'In the game, it was important to me for Ellie to get into this really dark headspace and be unable to kind of get out of it for a while, because... you have to commit a lot more violence than you do in the show. 'Whereas in the game, by the time she gets to Nora, she would have already killed a bunch of people, including some of the people responsible for Joel's death, really, in the show, the first one is Nora. 'So, she's on this journey, and I don't know if she really understands what this journey means, until this point now, when she gets to Nora and this is a moment where she's trying to be like Joel.' While fans may think they know where it's all going, the showrunners are clearly not afraid to remix the roadmap of how they are going to get to the end.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
The Western Guide brings culture and country music together for new audiences
Aaron Pulemagafa, aka The Western Guide, is becoming one of island music's biggest names. Hailing from Aotearoa, the Samoan artist gained early notoriety for tracks like 'Pe Moni Ea' and 'Siva Mai', but has recently been stirring conversation surrounding his effortless veer into country music. He has millions of streams to his catalogue, while his social media presence only bolsters The Western Guide's profile as a superstar in the making. With a voice that is rich in depth and tone, The Western Guide's music brings emotional storytelling together with music that perfectly matches the vibe. New single 'Dive Bar' is proof of The Western Guide's growing confidence as a singer and the natural charisma. Loading For On The Record, Aaron takes us through his influences and lets us in on what is coming next.
Digital Trends
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy are a perfect pair
Ever since its release on April 24, the gaming world has been buzzing non-stop about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The French RPG was instantly hailed as a generational masterpiece upon release, winning players over with its stylish visuals and impressive combat. It's most striking quality, though, is its emotional storytelling. Clair Obscur tells a moving tale about collective grief as an expedition sets out to save humanity from an annual plague that threats to wipe out every last person on Earth. It's a loaded story about moving forward in the face of pain that has drawn out gallons of tears from players, no doubt. But that wasn't the only game to launch on April 24 — nor was it even the only RPG about fighting for a better future released that day. It shared a release date with The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, the latest game from the team behind Danganronpa. One part visual novel, one part tactics game, The Hundred Line is incredibly ambitious in its own right thanks to its 100 endings across a gargantuan runtime. It's not only one of the year's best, but it's also a perfect compliment to Clair Obscur. Both RPGs cover similar thematic territory in very different ways that are both indebted to video game history. If your Clair Obscur playthrough is starting to wind down, The Hundred Line is the perfect chaser. I'd even go as far as to argue that it's the real main course. Recommended Videos Fighting for the future The two games may not sound similar on paper, but they're more connected than they seem at a glance. Both are about humanity's impending death as a timer ticks down and one group's fight to save the world. In Clair Obscur, the conflict comes from the Paintress, a mystical being who appears once a year to paint a number in the sky. When she does, it triggers an event called the Gommage, where everyone whose age is above the current number dies. The number ticks down with each year, so an expedition is sent out to try and put an end to the Paintress each year before everyone is inevitably killed. The Hundred Line's impending disaster is more shrouded in mystery. When the story begins, we learn that a group of students has been assembled at a school and chosen to defend a weapon housed within it from alien invaders. The group is told that the weapon will destroy the world if it gets into the wrong hands and they must protect it for a full 100 days. That only scratches the surface of what's really going on, as the story plays out like multiple seasons of a TV show filled with twists and cliffhangers. Think of it like an anime version of Lost. Without getting too in the weeds, humanity is on a similar path to destruction and the students only have so much time to change that. Though both premises are incredibly bleak, each RPG is hopeful in its own way. They aren't about succumbing to despair as inevitability approaches, but finding the will to continue the fight for a better future. And both do that by wielding the language of games in clever ways. For Clair Obscur, that idea comes through in its ode to classic RPGs. By drawing on a history of party-driven games about assembling a crew of misfit heroes, Sandfall Interactive speaks to the importance of collective action to push forward in times of pain. The crew members aren't just battle companions, but a functional support system that's stronger together. Successfully parrying a big enemy attack as a party triggers a devastating counter. When the active party falls in battle, the remaining ones come in for backup rather than sitting on their thumbs like so many other RPGs. And when a battle is won, a button on screen proclaims, 'We continue,' driving home the idea that the team is one singular unit. The Hundred Line is comparatively high concept in its approach. Its grand trick is that it doesn't just take place across 100 days as it initially claims to. That initial run almost acts as an elongated introduction to the actual hook. Let's just say that things go a little south by the end of the first 100 days which sends the once peppy group into despair. Failure seems imminent as the students anticipate their own Gommage of sorts. When things are their bleakest, players are hit with a tantalizing question: What if you could change it all? What would you do differently if you had another 100 days? That opens up the true game, in which players go back through the story and look for divergent points in the timeline that could change that ending. What's so smart here is that The Hundred Line leans into video game language to give players the possibility of hope. The fateful 100th day is framed as an 'ending' and the one you get after your first run may just be the 'bad' one. For seasoned gamers, that's immediately tangible. I know how multiple endings function in games and know that getting a good one is entirely within my power. I just have to be willing to keep at it and figure out what I can do to get the ending that I want. We don't get a redo in real life, but games can fulfill that fantasy. The Hundred Line gives players the power to turn back the clock and see exactly how their actions can shape the inevitable. I don't feel down when I hit a bad ending: There are literally 100 ways that this thing can go. As different as these two games are, that idea unites them. They are both about people facing down hopelessness as mass extinction looms and being determined enough to fight as many times as it takes. Sacrifice is central to both stories, too. In Clair Obscur, players discover logs left behind from every previous party that has died to get Expedition 33 where it is today. The Hundred Line is even more explicit about that theme, as characters can sacrifice their lives in its tactical battles to pull off a devastating attack and supercharge the team's energy meter so everyone else can hit their own big moves. Death is framed a steppingstone in both games, a noble sacrifice that the living can use to their advantage. It's not an ending, but rather one important action in a collective effort that's built on courage. Though Clair Obscur has been applauded for its emotionally gripping story, I find just as much power — if not more — in The Hundred Line. Through all of its silly one-liners and tomato-headed heroes, there's a strong message to be found about our power to stop the inevitable. It is achievable through countless decisions that can change history even when we don't realize they are leaving a mark in the moment. It only makes sense to explore that through a digital choose your own adventure novel where any outcome feels possible. So, once you're done with Clair Obscur, consider jumping right into The Hundred Line. You'll find a rich continuation of its themes that play with the language of games even more. Neither game will save our own world, but they might make you feel a little less hopeless in this dire moment.
