Tag Archives: narrative

Learning stories

If we believe that learning can be a profound, life-changing experience, we cannot merely scratch the surface of a subject but must burrow deeply to its core. No question worth answering is easy.  It takes time and effort. Increasingly many learning providers seem scared of expecting this level of commitment. Many people mistakenly believe that […]

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 […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Parallel Paths

Parallel paths overcome some of the production challenges of a strict branching narrative by reducing the total number of tracks down to just two.  This limits the options even further than the constrained branching narrative model but still allowing a level of user choice. Parallel paths offer the user two distinct paths and ‘junctions’ where […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Branching

This instalment of my series on interactive narrative focuses on branching. In many respects, branching narratives represent the opposite end of the spectrum to traditional linear narratives.  Branching narratives are the most common attempt at truly unconstrained and interactive drama where the player’s behaviour materially influences the conclusion. Instead of a single continuing storyline, branching […]

Exploring Interactive Narrative – Traditional storytelling

In an increasingly multiplatform, multiformat world, the way we combine activity with storytelling fascinates me.  Although usually associated with video games, I think the principle of ‘interactive narrative’ applies to all the domains where we punctuate presentation with participation. [To clarify, I’m using the following definitions: ‘story’ describes characters, events and plot; ‘narrative’ describes how […]