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Multiplatform formats

I talk to people a lot about multiplatform productions and transmedia storytelling and one of the first points we discuss is the plethora of options available to producers.  All too often, multiplatform productions are a last minute addition to a TV show and are rarely more ambitious than a programme support website – merely offering […]

Challenge

I’ve written a couple of posts already about motivation (the motivation to learn and motivational momentum) but today I want to explore some of the issues associated with that powerful driver: challenge. The ability to overcome some conflict is central to the engagement of most narrative experiences.  Similarly the level of challenge associated with any […]

Reflecting on gameplay

I lose a lot of games. In fact, on balance I almost certainly lose more times than I win.  But I’m not going to let it get me down.  Repeated failure in games demonstrates a number of important aspects of in-game learning.  The fact that getting it wrong, often terminally, is an intrinsic part of […]

If you go down to the woods today

I have found my feet.  Literally.  The new flexibility I’m enjoying with my business has allowed me to rediscover the benefits of walking.  Especially walking in the countryside – through woods, away from the busy streets.  Such apparently frivolous activity has tangible benefits: without wanting to state the absolutely obvious, it is good for you.  […]

Page-turning isn’t learning

Electronic page turning is the bane of e-learning.  The lazy tendency to translate traditional educational resources into the equivalent of online books undermines both the credibility and effectiveness of web-based learning because it ignores all the interactive potential of the medium.  Pressing ‘Next’ to move on a screen is a dumb device to progress.  It […]

Games, Narrative & Storytelling

Following my series on narrative formats, I thought it worth thinking a little about the relationship between narrative, storytelling and games more generally. Storytelling and narrative are central components in many forms of entertainment.  In traditional dramatic media, the authored story engages the viewer emotionally through a set sequence of predetermined pieces of information, like […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Simultaneous

I had thought that I would be able to conclude the series on interactive narrative with a flourish talking about 2-screen TV, this being the season for reality shows and all.  Alas, for reasons known best to the broadcasters, this year’s incarnations of Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice and others are bereft of the social […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Dynamic

So far as we’ve considered interactive narratives, all the models have had one thing in common – a predetermined ending.  Like it or not, the authors of the experience have, more or less, decided when it ends.  Dynamic narratives offer users object-oriented storytelling which extends for as long as the user wants or the narrative […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Non-linear

As an alternative to the different routes between common events offered by parallel paths, non-linear narratives offer the user the chance to control the order of the stages between the beginning and the end of the experience. Again all the content is predefined but the user can sequence the material in a manner of their […]