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Emerging Interactive Narrative Techniques in different platforms like games, films and animation

Head researcher: Marian McDonnell

Team:

  • Marian McDonnell (IADT)
  • John Greaney, IADT
  • Robby Clerebout (LUCA)
  • Lea Vidakovic (Lusófona University)

Everyone loves stories. Narrative is a powerful tool for addressing and reflecting upon pivotal aspects of the human condition, with the potential of inspiring and aiding viewers through their personal dilemmas. Although, the most popular narrative style is linear storytelling, this pattern has little to do with how people really receive information. Interactive media differ from traditional media in that participant can actively engage with and influence the outcome of the story. The proposed project looks to examine how people respond to interactive stories in different media. Video games have an inherently interactive element whereas interactive movies are relatively recent phenomenon. The first interactive movie that typically springs to mind is Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Up to the conclusion, the focus of the film is on guiding the protagonist's decision-making.

This project aims to conduct a series of experimental case studies along the following themes and research questions:

  • What effect does non-linear storytelling across various platforms have on the empathy, decision making capabilities and learning behaviours of the viewers?
  • How effective are different storytelling approaches on viewer’s engagement?
  • How does choice architecture differ when there are different modalities of interaction?

The first pilot case study involves researching, designing and evaluating an interactive non-linear video storytelling interaction for learners on a topic like cybersafety and catfishing. The sample video/film developed combines kinetic and narrative-based learning. The short film addresses the target user groups’ experience by reflecting their position through a protagonist character. This pilot will examine the effect of this medium on viewer empathy and engagement. The second pilot case study looks at ethical decision making in video games through the lens of dual process theory (where decisions may be made at a ‘gut’ level or a more deliberate conscious and rational process). This work extends the work of Joeckel et al (2012) to look at narrative engagement as a factor in game decisions. As such, we examine the decisions people make in real-time (rather than what people say they will do or recollect from memory).

These pilot studies aim to explore the potential of interactive media by combining artistic and creative expertise with experimental techniques and psychological theory.