2. Interactive Stories…
My term: Digital Storytelling
Stories that use digital
platforms
(the Web, video game
consoles, mobile devices,
iTV, etc.)
to tell stories that are:
Ø Interactive
Ø Participatory
Ø Immersive
3. We Have
Interactive Storytelling:
Thanks to the Computer Chip!
n Chips: Tiny but mighty!
n Computer technology
makes interactivity
n Has revolutionized the
way we can tell stories
4. Interactive Stories, Like Older
Story Forms, Still Have…
Ø Plot
Ø Characters
Ø Setting
Ø Conflict&
challenges
Ø Structure
Ø Emotion
Ø Comedy & Drama
5. But Something New:
Interactivity!
Fundamentally changes narrative
experience; user becomes part of story!!
7. 1. Screen-based works
Story played out on screen
(like movies, TV)
Screens can be tiny or huge
8. Video Games:
Oldest & Best Known Form
n First games: simple, no
story (like Pong)
n Today’s games:
Ø Complex storylines
Ø Rich characters
Ø Multiple storylines
Ø Multiple endings
Ø Clever dialogue
Ø Players’ choices can
impact story
Here: L.A. Noire
9. The Internet: Many
Fictional Genres
n Stand alone stories: live
action, animation
n Serialized episodic
stories (webisodes)
n Fictional blogs
n Stories told on social
media (YouTube,
FaceBook, Twitter)
Here: The Office: the Accountants (a
webisode)
10. One of the Best Known
Web Forms: The Webisode
n Serialized stories with
episodes often ending
on a cliffhanger
n Short installments (3 to 8
minutes)
n Some based on TV
series, some original
n Majority are linear and
no interaction possible –
but some are interactive
n Example: The Birthday
Party – 3 guys get into
trouble on way to party;
at end of each episode,
you can choose what
should happen next
11. Can Also Employ
Social Media To Tell Story
n Example: My Darklyng –
serialized young adult
vampire story
n Used YouTube, Twitter,
Facebook
n Different characters
used different forms of
social media
12. Web Also Home to
Nonfiction Works
Example: War
Veterans – A
multi-part
documentary –
true stories of
soldiers who
fought in many
different wars
13. Mobile Apps: Also Used for
Storytelling
n Some (like Alice
in New York) are
rich in story
n Others(Angry
Birds) are
primarily games,
but story used to
set up conflict
15. Interactive TV (iTV)
n Goal: to
enhance TV
experience with
interactivity, pull
audience into
story
Example: BBC drama,
Thunder Road
16. Interactive Cinema (iCinema)
n 2 forms:
Ø Large screen
• Audience
experience,
theatre
setting
Ø Small screen
• Solo player,
at home
Example: Vital Spaces …
large screen, events
controlled by players at
consoles
17. 2. Non Screen-based
n Includes:
Virtual Reality (VR):
participants
immersed in virtual
world – surrounded
by virtual images and
sounds
18. Non Screen-based
n Includes:
Augmented reality
(AR)…
digital images super-
imposed on real
places, people
19. Non screen-based…
n Also includes:
Smart Toys… toys
embedded with
computer chips that
interact with child
Here: Belle doll from Beauty
and the Beast
20. Non Screen Based
n Even includes:
Interactive theme
park rides:
immersed in story
environment, can
play in it
Here: Buzz Lightyear Ride
at Disney Theme Parks
21. Stories for Digital Media Have
Many Unique Capabilities
1. Interactivity
2. User agency
3. Immersiveness
4. Breaking of 4th
Wall
5. Non-linearity
6. Gaming
elements
22. 1. Interactivity
n Simple concept
n But profound
implications;
fundamentally changes
narrative experience
Ø Audience can enter
story
Ø Can participate in it
Ø Can manipulate it
Ø Can control it!
n Gives user CHOICES
23. Many Kinds of Choices:
n Which way to go
n Which character “to be”
n What outfit to wear
n What kind of action to
take (smile, stab, run)
n What to say
n What to click on
n What object to control,
and how
24. Interactivity:
Like a Conversation
n Back and forth
communication between
the digital content and
the user
n User acts, makes
choice, program
responds
n Program offers choice,
user responds
25. With Interactivity, Creators No
Longer In Complete Control
n In “traditional” stories,
creators dictate how
story unfolds (powers
like a Western God)
n Interactive stories: must
find way for users to
enter story
n In a sense, sharing
creation of story with
users
n Yet must also find way
to rein in infinite
possibilities… tough
balancing act!
26. Interactivity Equals Complexity!
n Impacts even simplest
of stories
n Example: Carmen
Sandiego mysteries
n “Find the criminal” story
grows exponentially:
Ø Huge cast of suspects
Ø Hundreds of locations
Ø Hundreds of clues
Ø Must produce scene for
every choice (right or
wrong) player makes
27. NOTE:
Digital Media Makes
Interactivity Possible…
But Not Always Taken
Advantage of!
28. 2. User has “Agency”
n User is given some
degree of control over
story
n True agency: this
control must be
meaningful, must
impact on story in some
significant way
n True agency: deeply
satisfying
[Term agency from Janet
Murray, Hamlet on the
Holodeck]
29. Thus, in Interactive Storytelling
The Audience Vanishes!
n Thanks to interactivity,
agency
n Each user is an active
participant, has some
control of story
n Not a performance;
instead, an experience
n For the user: each story
is unique, highly
personal
33. 4. The Fourth Wall
Can Be Breached
n 4th wall: invisible barrier
between audience &
actors, between real life
and narrative
n In Digital Space:
Ø User can enter story,
become part of it
Ø Can interact with fictional
characters
Ø Fictional characters can
enter user’s life, too!
34. 5. Established Media Stories
Are LINEAR
Linear: Events in Fixed Sequence,
Usually Chronological,
Beginning, Middle, Ending
35. While Interactive Stories
Can Be NONLINEAR
n Events NOT in fixed
order
n Events NOT in
chronological order
(may start at end)
n User can move
freely around story,
change what
happens next
36. How Do You Tell A Story
In Nonlinear Environment?
n Nonlinearity means no
fixed sequence
n But must still support
narrative
n How to do this? Special
structures support
nonlinear stories
n Structures for
interactive stories far
more complex than for
linear works
37. 6. Gaming Elements
Part of Many Interactive Stories
n Serve an important
function!
Ø Keep users involved,
motivated
Ø Add challenges
Ø Add natural
interactivity
n Games offer:
Ø Clear-cut goal
Ø Idea of winning/
losing
Ø Dramatic conflict
(one side vs another)
38. So, While Interactive Stories,
Like Traditional Stories,
Have:
n Characters
n Plot
n Dramatic events
n Conflicts and
challenges
n Settings
40. Traditional Stories
(movies, TV, novels, etc.):
n Pre-constructed by
storyteller (the boss!)
story cannot change
n Audience can’t interact;
must “consume” story
passively
n Linear – one story path;
events in fixed order
(usually chronological)
n One unchangeable
ending
41. But in Digital Media
Storytelling…
n Audience members
can take active part
in story
Ø Can decide what
happens
Ø Determine how it
ends
Ø Can even
become one of
the characters
42. Seven Things to Consider
When Developing an Interactive
Story
43. 1. Build in Robust Interactivity
n Be sure the user has
a meaningful role in
the story
n The user should be
able to have an
IMPACT on the
story: how it evolves
or ends – in other
words, AGENCY
Here: Bioshock
44. 2. Create a Compelling Story
n Goodstories
contain:
Ø Drama and
conflict
Ø Tension
Ø Surprises
Ø An uncertain
ending
45. 3. Create Strong Characters
n Characters bring your
work to life; otherwise
abstract; not stories
n Characters pull us into
the work; we identify
with them
n Characters provide
emotional context (we
care/we fear)
n Characters also add
drama, conflict
46. Characters In
Interactive Stories
n Can be humans, fantasy
characters, animals,
even non-living entities
(storms; an epidemic)
n Unlike traditional stories,
they allow for user
interaction
n Possible interactions:
Ø Can control them
Ø Can communicate with
them
Ø Can partially create them
Ø Even BE them
47. 4. Give Your Story A Highly
Desirable Goal
n The goal is what the
main character wants
most
n It gives the story a
forward momentum
n It also can help provide
dramatic tension, since
obstacles and
challenges must be
overcome before
achieving the goal
48. 5. Create Rich Settings for Your
Story
n Settings Insert user into
fictional, immersive
environment (Here: Elder
Scrolls 4)
n Gives player things to
do there and ways to
interact
n Provides opposition so
user is challenged
n Opposition can be:
Ø NPCs (Non Player
Characters)
Ø Physical challenges
Ø Puzzles
49. Each Setting Has…
n A physical
environment
(vegetation, buildings,
a terrain)
n Sounds (natural,
mechanical, musical)
n Inhabitants (humans,
animals, supernatural
beings; friends or
opponents)
n Challenges that are
natural to the specific
setting
n An overall goal
50. All Settings Have a Style…
May Be:
n Highly realistic
n Cartoony
n An imagined place
51. 6. Consider Your Audience
n No single work can
appeal to every single
person
n Must decide who your
intended audience is,
and shape your story
accordingly
n Not considering your
audience: one of top
five reasons for project
failure!
52. Your Audience: Things
To Take into Consideration
n Subject matter:
appropriate and
appealing
n Digital Platform: one
that they own and are
comfortable with
n Difficulty level: not too
easy or demanding;
not intimidating or too
“babyish”
53. Also To Consider:
n Age range
n Gender
n Ethnicity
n Geographic area (urban
or rural; general region)
n If a special interest
group, what do they
have in common?
n What do they enjoy?
n What do they dislike?
n What is
INAPPROPRIATE for
this group
54. 7. Finally, Plan Out Your Interactivity
n Decide what kinds of
choices and control you
will give your users
n Decide how users will
access all the important
pieces of the story
n What kind of structure
will you use?
n How will scenes be
connected?
n Interactive design: most
challenging aspect of
interactive storytelling!
