HANDBOOK ON INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING

Discover the latest research on crafting compelling narratives in interactive entertainment

Electronic games are no longer considered “mere fluff” alongside the “real” forms of entertainment, like film, music, and television. Instead, many games have evolved into an art form in their own right, including carefully constructed stories and engaging narratives enjoyed by millions of people around the world.

In Handbook on Interactive Storytelling, readers will find a comprehensive discussion of the latest research covering the creation of interactive narratives that allow users to experience a dramatically compelling story that responds directly to their actions and choices.

Systematically organized, with extensive bibliographies and academic exercises included in each chapter, the book offers readers new perspectives on existing research and fresh avenues ripe for further study. In-depth case studies explore the challenges involved in crafting a narrative that comprises one of the main features of the gaming experience, regardless of the technical aspects of a game’s production.

Readers will also enjoy:

A thorough introduction to interactive storytelling, including discussions of narrative, plot, story, interaction, and a history of the phenomenon, from improvisational theory to role-playing games
A rigorous discussion of the background of storytelling, from Aristotle’s Poetics to Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey
Compelling explorations of different perspectives in the interactive storytelling space, including different platforms, designers, and interactors, as well as an explanation of storyworlds

Perfect for game designers, developers, game and narrative researchers, academics, undergraduate and graduate students studying storytelling, game design, gamification, and multimedia systems, Handbook on Interactive Storytelling is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the deployment of compelling narratives in an interactive context.

Jouni Smed: Senior Lecturer and Adjunct Professor, Department of Future Technologies, University of Turku, Finland. Jouni Smed holds a PhD in Computer Science. For the past twenty years he has organized and taught game development on diverse topics ranging from game algorithms and networking in multiplayer games to game software construction, game design and interactive storytelling. Tomi bgt Suovuo: Doctoral Candidate and Teacher, Department of Future Technologies, University of Turku, Finland. Tomi is a Ph.D. student with a M.Sc. degree in Computer Science. He focuses on the virtual barrier in mediated interaction, particularly between multiple users, looking for thinner areas of the barrier in methods used in the digital game industry. Bgt has been teaching a course, Principles of Interaction Design for four years. Natasha Skult: Doctoral Candidate and Teacher, Department of Art History, University of Turku, and CEO & Creative Director, MiTale Oy (game development company, Finland). Natasha Trygg is an active member of the Finnish games industry as Chairwoman on IGDA Finland and Hive - Turku Game Hub, as well as board member of Neogames and Suomen Pelinkehittäjät Ry. Alongside her work in industry, she teaches courses on game design and game (digital) art production. Petter Skult: Department of English Language and Literature, Åbo Akademi University, and Lead Game Designer & Game Narrative Designer, MiTale Oy (as above). Petter Skult recently (2019) received his PhD in English language and literature from Åbo Akademi University. In addition to his academic work, Petter works as a game designer and a game writer.

Preface viii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Interactive storytelling 3

1.1.1 Partakers 6

1.1.2 Narrative, plot and story 7

1.1.3 Interaction 9

1.2 History of interactive storytelling 11

1.2.1 Theatre 12

1.2.2 Multicursal literature 14

1.3 Role-playing games 15

1.3.1 Hypertext fiction 16

1.3.2 Webisodics 16

1.3.3 Interactive cinema 17

1.3.4 Television 19

1.3.5 Games 20

1.4 Summary 24

Exercises 24

2 Background 28

2.1 Analysis of storytelling 28

2.1.1 Aristotle’s Poetics 28

2.1.2 Visual storytelling 33

2.1.3 Structuralism 37

2.1.4 Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey 47

2.1.5 Kernels and satellites 49

2.2 Research on interactive storytelling 50

2.2.1 Brenda Laurel and interactive drama 53

2.2.2 Janet Murray and the cyberbard 55

2.2.3 Models for interactive storytelling 56

2.2.4 Narrative paradox and other research challenges 57

2.3 Summary 62

Exercises 62

3 Platform 66

3.1 Software development 67

3.1.1 Model–view–controller 68

3.1.2 Interactor’s interface 70

3.1.3 Designer’s interface 73

3.1.4 Modding 73

3.2 Solving the narrative paradox 74

3.2.1 Author-centric approach 76

3.2.2 Character-centric approach 79

3.2.3 Hybrid approach 80

3.3 Implementations 82

3.3.1 Pioneering storytelling systems 82

3.3.2 Crawford’s IDS systems 84

3.3.3 Stern’s and Mateas’ Façade 85

3.3.4 Experimental systems 86

3.3.5 Other systems 87

3.4 Summary 88

Exercises 89

4 Designer 92

4.1 Storyworld types 93

4.1.1 Linear storyworlds 94

4.1.2 Branching storyworlds 96

4.1.3 Open storyworlds 99

4.2 Design process and tools 102

4.2.1 Concepting the storyworld 102

4.2.2 Iterative design process 109

4.2.3 Evaluating interactive stories 111

4.3 Relationship with the interactor 114

4.3.1 Focalization 114

4.3.2 Story as message 115

4.4 Summary 117

Exercises 117

5 Interactor 121

5.1 Experiencing an interactive story 122

5.1.1 Onboarding – from amnesia to awareness 124

5.1.2 Supporting the journey 124

5.1.3 Is there an end? 126

5.1.4 Re-experiencing an interactive story 127

5.2 Agency 128

5.2.1 Theoretical and perceived agency 129

5.2.2 Local and global agency 130

5.2.3 Invisible agency 130

5.2.4 Limited agency and no agency 131

5.2.5 Illusion of agency 131

5.3 Immersion 132

5.3.1 Immersion types 132

5.3.2 Models for immersion 133

5.3.3 Flow 134

5.4 Transformation 135

5.5 Interactor types 136

5.5.1 Top-down analysis 137

5.5.2 Bottom-up analysis 140

5.5.3 Discussion 141

5.6 Summary 141

Exercises 143

6 Storyworld 146

6.1 Characters 147

6.1.1 Perception 148

6.1.2 Memory 149

6.1.3 Personality 150

6.1.4 Decision-making 154

6.2 Elemental building blocks 157

6.2.1 Props 157

6.2.2 Scenes 160

6.2.3 Events 161

6.3 Representation 162

6.3.1 Visual 164

6.3.2 Audio 165

6.4 Summary 167

Exercises 167

7 Perspectives 170

7.1 Multiple interactors 170

7.1.1 Multiple focus 170

7.1.2 Persistence 171

7.2 Extended reality 172

7.2.1 Visual considerations 172

7.2.2 Developing a language of expression 174

7.3 Streaming media 175

7.3.1 Problems 175

7.3.2 Solution proposals 176

7.4 Other technological prospects 177

7.4.1 Voice recognition 177

7.4.2 Locating 178

7.4.3 Artificial intelligence 178

7.5 Ethical considerations 180

7.5.1 Platform 180

7.5.2 Designer 181

7.5.3 Interactor 182

7.5.4 Storyworld 182

7.6 Summary 182

Exercises 183

Bibliography 187

Ludography 204

Index 207Preface

Imagine a group sitting by a campfire. The evening sky is getting dark and the first

stars begin to appear. Everybody is getting cosy and warm but something is missing.

Then somebody starts telling a story.

This setup could have happened at any time and anywhere in human history

– it might have included even our hominid ancestors. There is something inherently

human in the scene. The story and the process of telling it – they cannot be separated

from one another. Telling stories is how we construct our memories, how we pass on

our values and communicate our experiences. It allows us to have a glimpse into

another person’s mind.

Just us, and the story.

This book tells a story, a story of how stories could be told using digital media.

In many occasions digital media is said to revolutionize or disrupt the way things

have been done before. This is not what we are claiming here. Digital storytelling is

not about disruption, breaking or replacing old order. How could it? The stories will

remain stories as before. Rather, this will bring stories back to where they once were.

They will become alive, and include our digital world in them. Someone will tell the

story – human or computer – to somebody else – human or computer. This will be

the new digital campfire.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost the authors would like to thank Harri Hakonen for his early involvement

and initial work in analysing the material and having sharp views and

insights into the essential matters.

We would like to thank the team at Wiley for their efforts, especially our editor

Sandra Grayson and managing editor Juliet Booker. We are grateful for their flexibility

during the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic that have rattled up also

our writing process.

Jouni. I want to acknowledge the important role that my late friend and colleague

Timo Kaukoranta played twenty years ago in launching this expedition into the world

of interactive storytelling. I express my gratitude to the valuable input from the

students over the years, and I am indebted to everybody who has attended my courses

on interactive storytelling at the University of Turku in 2004–20. My special greetings

go to Lilia and Julian: I am always amazed by your fantastical storyworlds, and, now

that I am done writing (at least for a while), I will be happy to spend more time

hanging out there with Lord Kanther, D’opa, Härpats and your other marvellous

creations. And Iris, thank you for being there – living, laughing and loving.

BGT. I wish to thank the hobbyist associations of Turun science fiction seura,

Turun yliopiston tieteiskulttuurikabinetti and Turun yliopiston rooli- ja strategiapeliseura

for providing for inspiration and insightful discussions relating to storytelling

and games. I also wish to thank everyone I have played role playing games and live

action role playing games with, especially those who endured the most ridiculous

and embarrassing clumsy experiments of mine on this field of interactive storytelling.

Loving thanks also to my dearest wife and role playing company, Riikka.

Natasha. I wish to thank fellow authors of this book, it has been an amazing

journey and inspiring collaboration which is one of many to come. I also want to

thank IGDA Finland, Turku Game Hub and MiTale teams for all the support and

tireless discussions on the topics of interactive storytelling and ‘industry’ views. I wish

to dedicate special gratitude to my family, Petter and Sara, for endless support and

inspiration.

Petter. I want to thank Åbo Akademi University for keeping me on as a researcher

after finishing my PhD during the writing of this book, my fellow authors for their

patience and expertise, and of course to my family and friends for their support.

Turku/Åbo, Finland

November 2020

Jouni Smed

Tomi ‘bgt’ Suovuo

Natasha Skult

Petter SkultPreface