Week 3 – Skill, Stamina and Luck | WSA Research and Communication Skills

A) Select one example to outline the key concepts of the interactive narrative genre?

Combining traditional narrative with visual arts and interactivity (Pause & Effect), interactive narrative’s purpose is to place the person reading/playing/learning in the digital environment, so that they believe their choices are central to the unfolding of the story (Interactive Narrative: An Intelligent Systems Approach).

Episode is the mobile storytelling component of the inevitable interactive entertainment wave. It’s a app where you can read and interact with the characters, where your choices decide the path of your story (About Episode). By definition, interactive narrative implies that the actions of the player guide the outcome of the story. Being able to make changes and influence outcomes in the actual story makes the experience engaging: you can change your look – dye your hair, change your clothes, act as you may not normally do in real life. Good immersion gets the player to feel like they are participating in a realistic experience.

As Christopher Pappas explains, stories contain relatable characters, settings and struggles, which form an emotional connection to the player, making the experience even more unique, things that couldn’t be achieved in traditional books, because the characters have already had their destiny written. I think Episode successfully manages to illustrate the interactive narrative genre because the stories also let the player step outside of “the real world” and into a world that challenges them, that presents an opportunity to be more than who they are. I believe this creates excitement for the player as they explore new ways of acting without serious consequences.

Episode, 2015

B) Does the interactive narrative still have a role to play in video games today? Give exemplary examples?

I think that even today, interactive narrative has an import role to play in video games. In Beyond: Two Souls, which was only released in 2013, you can experience the most striking moments of Jodie’s life as your actions and decisions determine her fate. As she traverses the globe, Jodie will face incredible challenges against a backdrop of emotionally-charged events never seen before in a video game (IGN).

In Heavy Rain, for example, as Lark Anderson says, the goal of every story is to form some degree of connection with its observer. Most often, this link is fleeting at best, but every now and then, a much deeper bond is formed. This bond is one in which the observer is less of a passive participant and more of an emotionally engaged accomplice.

Furthermore, Galatea is an expressive, forward-thinking work of interactive fiction (IF) by Emily Short. You’re an art critic, standing in a room, observing a statue. The whole experience takes place in a fixed position, as you interrogate this magical, talking piece of sculpted rock for your report.

I believe that all these games manage to offer a unique experience since they genuinely let the player have his say. They let him involve in the game, making him more than just an outsider and allowing him to influence the character’s fate. Therefore, I think that the interactive narrative plays a very important role in video games today, providing a distinctive experience to the player.

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