Non-linear Storytelling for Interactive Media

Original Lesson Plan

| list of learning resources | abstract |

Types of interactive story structures

• "Time-constrained"
  • No parallel events, the viewer plays through successive "levels". Time runs out, but restarts at each level.
  • Examples: classic arcade game scheme
• "Exploratory"
  • Time does not progress, the viewer can explore at will (the rabbit will be sitting in his armchair drinking tea whether the viewer visits early or late in the story).
    • Cause-and-effect relationships may still matter (e.g., can't open door unless key previously found)
  • Examples: Cyan CD-ROMs ("Myst", "Manhole")
• "Time-parallel"
  • Real-time progression as the viewer watches
    • If the viewer picks one option, s/he misses the other events occurring at the same time.
    • There is a limited set of possible endings. In fact, there may be only one outcome--what changes is the way to get to it.
  • The duration of the story is sometimes expressed as length and width: "40 mins long, 4 hours wide". Indicates that while each "reading" of the story has a fixed duration, the total amount of material (video, animation) is enough to offer a variety of unique experiences.
  • Spine vs. path
    • These terms are used by some authors, but not necessarily understood by all. Terminology, like everything else in multimedia, is still in its infancy.
    • The Spine is the main sequence of events--the way they occur in the virtual world of the story.
      • The spine may branch out, or multiple spine branches may converge, but there is a single overall thrust to the sequence--often in the classical three-act structure.
    • The Path is the unique sequence of viewpoints on the events of the spine experienced by any one reader during any one reading.
      • In principle, an infinite number of paths are possible. In practice, there are severe limits on the amount of material and on the number of plausible interconnections that can be made available to the reader.
  • Examples: "Black Diamond" CD--ROM, Interfilms. Also widely known as the "Rashomon" formula.
• "Simulations"
  • The viewer can experience any event compatible with the "ground rules" of the simulation. The story is manufactured from scratch each time out of the possibilities and constraints established by the author.
    • True simulations of interesting scenarios are generally prohibitive. Either the variables are too many, or they cannot be quantified, or both. The best simulations succeed by steering the viewer away from the inconsistencies of the virtual world.
    • The bulk of the simulation titles focus on mechanisms with well--defined physical parameters (flight simulators). Few attempt to model societal and emotional forces--a well-received series that ventures into these areas is the Sim-City, Sim-Earth, etc., progression.