What is Interactive Narrative?
The first thing that pops into my mind when hearing the term, is that “choose your own adventure” type of book from my elementary days. This is the type of book where the reader makes a choice about what happens next and then decides the course of the story. Here is a graphical representation of what happens page by page depending on reader choice:
Sean Ragan's (www.seanmichealragan.com) directed graph of his favorite CYOA book: The Mystery of Chimney Rock
Here is the basic format of a CYOA book that I found on Wikipedia:
After an introduction to the story, the reader is asked to determine the protagonist’s next course of action. For instance, the first decision offered in The Cave of Time is:
- If you decide to start back home, turn to page 4.
- If you decide to wait, turn to page 5.
After the reader makes a choice, the plot branches out and unfolds, leading to more decisions and eventually multiple possible endings.
The types of endings that the books featured include:
- At least one, but often several, endings depicting a highly desired resolution, often involving uncovering a handsome monetary reward.
- Endings that result in the death of the protagonist, companions of the main character or both, or other very negative ending (e.g., an arrest), because of a fatal choice of the reader.
- Other endings that may be either satisfactory (but not the most desired ending) or unsatisfactory (but not totally bad).
- Occasionally a particular set of choices will throw the reader into a loop where they repeatedly reach the same page (often with a reference to the situation being familiar). At this point the reader’s only option is to restart the adventure.
- One book, Inside UFO 54-40, revolved around the search for a paradise that no one can actively reach; one of the pages in the book describes the player finding the paradise and living happily ever after, although none of the choices in the book led to that page. The ending could only be found by disregarding the rules and going through the book at random. Upon finding the ending, the reader is congratulated for realizing how to find paradise.
As the series progressed, the length of the plot threads increased, therefore, the number of endings decreased. The earliest books in the series often contained nearly 40 possible endings, while later entries contained as few as eight. Also, some of the books did play around with historical fiction from a second-person perspective, such as Spy for George Washington, or of issues of political importance at the time of publishing, such as Fight for Freedom, in which the reader assumes the role of an American student who visits apartheid South Africa, which was included with a special note from the publishers that it was their hope this book would enlighten the reader about the injustices of apartheid and offer hope for a new South Africa.
Is this the rot of Interactive Narrative?
At this point I could not be sure, so I did some further research.
I had trouble finding an actual definition for Interactive Narrative. The term was not present on Wikipedia or any online dictionary. In fact, Computer Science students like Jeff Ward, dedicate their entire thesis to defining this elusive term. I decided to define the terms separately before assuming what the collective word meant:
Cited from dictionary.com (unabridged) –
interactive (adjective)
| 1. |
acting one upon or with the other. |
| 2. |
of or pertaining to a two-way system of electronic communications, as by means of television or computer: interactive communications between families using two-way cable television. |
| 3. |
(of a computer program or system) interacting with a human user, often in a conversational way, to obtain data or commands and to give immediate results or updated information: For many years airline reservations have been handled by interactive computer systems |
narrative (noun)
| 1. |
a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious. |
| 2. |
a book, literary work, etc., containing such a story. |
| 3. |
the art, technique, or process of narrating: Somerset Maugham was a master of narrative. |
I get the noun part of the term interactive narrative, but the adjective part of the term makes it sound like it always has to involve a computer or electronic system, similar to a computer game. To make things more confusing, when I called Moana’s friend, Allan Rathbone, who does interactive narrative exercises with elementary age kids, I found out that it has a somewhat different definition to him:
Allan does a kind of interactive story telling game with ADHD and ADD diagnosed children between the ages of 6 and 10. He plans out an adventure, with various end results based on the children’s choices. It involves a lot of planning, with different outcomes, choices, and characters. It is an entirely auditory exercise that involves not a single picture. In fact, the children sit in a circle to ensure that the entire game is done completely through their imaginations. The impact has been very positive and varied on the children involved, as most are able to stay on task and involved throughout the whole game.
Mithral Quest, brain child of Allan Rathbone.
The goals of his program involving the interactive storytelling in “Mithral Quest” is for all players to leave the game with an increased appreciation of themselves and others, a feeling of mastery and achievement, and an enhanced sense of positive social purpose. Check out his website to find more information: http://www.mithralquest.blogspot.com/.
It turns out that Mithral Quest is an originally crafted version of the standby “Dungeons and Dragons” or “D&D.” D&D is a fantasy role-playing game that was developed in 1974, and according to Wikipedia, is regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games, and by extension, the entire interactive role-playing game industry. But since the first CYOA story was developed in 1969 by Edward Packard, it seems that it is the first widely-known version of the interactive narrative.
It seems that the first digital interlude of interactive narrative became the video game. Could games like Super Mario Brothers or even those Atari cartridges have been the first to allow you to make a choice of action (run, jump, grab), and alternatively, decide the sequence that follows? – This is my conclusion, because based on the above explanations of what interactive narrative is, I am assuming that video games count.
But if I make the conclusion that interactive narrative always involves the user making the choice as to where the story goes next, I fear I may be incorrect. I found the website: http://www.interactivenarratives.org/.
It contains stories in which the user navigates through by making choices as to what to view and hear. It involves narratives that require the “pull” of information by the user, rather than traditional hard copy or paper narratives which “pushes” information to the reader. So does interactive narrative mean a story that requires some type of “pull” from the user? I don’t knooow yet, but check out this interactive narrative about the flooding in Iowa that took place this past Fall:
Year of the River
I recently played around with this interactive game that was circulated around my office:
It certainly is interactive, and but does not necessarily tell a story or narrative. It teaches the user something about biologics (which could be considered a story, since the facts are obviously biased toward the pharmaceuticals company responsible for making this game). This is an example of a game which is interactive but not an interactive narrative, so to conclude that all video games are interactive narratives is incorrect.
How has Interactive Narrative become so popular, AND what is its “official” definition?
According to Zach Tomaszewski, a student in University of Hawaii’s Department of Communications and Information Science PhD program, interactive narrative is defined as,
“a narrative in which the audience can affect a significant change on the narrative” and has become very popular today because the advent of computers. “It has created a greater desire to change, not only the medium through which we share narratives, but their very nature. “We want to make narratives interactive. We want to blur the line between game and narrative, creating stories that change based on their readers’ choices.” Tomaszewski says that audiences can already affect traditional narratives in small ways. “Their responses affect actors performing a drama on stage. They can choose how fast they read a book or when they put it down. They choose which movies they go to see at the cinema. But we usually intend a higher degree of interactivity than this when discussing interactive narrative.”
So this explanation is pretty plain and simple:
Tomaszewski also says that a common assumption behind interactive narrative is that the audience will be able to direct the plot as it unfolds, but narratives can be made interactive to a smaller degree. “This can be as minor as the audience selecting the initial parameters, such as the setting or genre of the story. They may justify character actions, or choose different points-of-view from which to view the action.”
How has IN become important to educators and art teachers in particular?
Research on the subject of digital interactive narrative and its effect on students’ learning has been a hot topic among researchers in universities around the world.
Tomaszewski explains that the graphical or real-world simulations involved in immersing the learner into an interactive narrative are through three avenues:
1. Spatial: the reader develops a sense of place, a sense of being on the scene of the narrated events
2. Temporal: the experience of a reader caught up in the narrative suspense, the burning desire to know what happens next
3. Emotional: the phenomenon of developing a personal attachment to the characters, of participating in their human experience
It seems that teaching socialization skills in school systems can be supported by a system that helps produce role-play and narrative as one, as these types of skills require empathy. A system that would build this empathy between a child user and a character can form positive attitudes and feelings. This can be used to prevent problems like bullying.
John Hedberg and Barry Harper of the University of Wollongong say that if we view learning as experience based, we can conclude that:
- experience is the foundation of and stimulus for learning
- the effects of prior experience influences all learning
- learners actively construct their own experience
- learning is socially and culturally constructed
- learning occurs in a socio-emotional context
Hedberg and Harper explain that the interactions allowed by the narratives of the games used in game-based learning influences the major processes we employ to experience and understand the world, which are inseparable from the data and interpretation. “Thus by enabling learners to be co-constructors of narratives, narrative-centered learning environments can promote the deep, connection-building, meaning-making activities that define constructivist learning.”
I think that because digital interactive narrative in the classroom is a fairly new experience, so it is not yet popularly used by most teachers, but it definitely has strong evidence supporting it’s effectiveness in the learning environment.
What makes good interactive narrative for art teachers?
It’s Structure is important!
Creating or using an effective interactive narrative is important. Here are some general guidelines:
Interactive narrative is not just an account or story, not just a series of random A to B clicks. It should have meaning and be comprised of:
- Self directed pursuit
- Reading, clicking and following the links
- Appeal to the audience, fulfill what the audience expects it to do
- Challenging conventions
- Include restraints/limits (so to keep the user on track with what must happen)
Three interactive plots:
Mark Stephens Meadows, author of the book Pause and Effect: The Art of Interactive Narrative, has a background in image composition and animation, as well as graphic, interface, character, environment and information design. He explores narrative elements in images, comics, animation, software, and interactive computer games. Meadows identifies three common plot structures common in today’s interactive narratives.
Tomaszewski summarizes them well:
They range from the “impositional”, in which the user uncovers a single plotline, to “expressive” structures, in which users are free to generate their own plots in an open, simulated environment.
“A nodal plot structure gives an author the most narrative control. It can have a proper, pre-constructed plot structure. The difference from traditional narrative is that there are decision points where the user needs to complete some task in order to advance the story. Frequently, these are “do-or-die” decision points.” If the user fails, her character dies, and since this plot structure is typical in video games, she reloads a saved game and tries the task again. I think this plot structure would work well if the author is attempting to teach someone a process or a set of facts.
“A modulated plot structure has multiple plotlines. Decisions the user makes at certain points will result in a different sequence of events. However, though there may be multiple possible endings, all the possible storylines are known by the game author. By playing multiple times, the user can eventually experience all the different plot lines.” This seems like this is the plot structure used by the CYOA books.
“An open plot structure has no discernable story arc. It provides a world for users to explore, and they must provide their own justification for their actions and create their own narrative in this way.” This seems to be the plot structure for D&D types of imaginative narratives.
Tomaszewski seems to think that the second plot structure, the modulated structure, is best:
- A nodal plot structure has a strong narrative, but the interaction does not change the story–it’s all narrative.
- An open structure leaves the narrative creation entirely up the user–it’s all interaction.
- The modulated structure is little better. Because all the plots already exist, it is like a collection of overlapping nodal structures glued together at the starting point. There are still a limited number of pre-existing possible narratives.
Types of Narrative:
Embedded narrative
‣Pre-generated narrative content that exists prior to a player’s interaction with the game
‣Cut scenes, back story
‣Are often used to provide the fictional background for the activity, motivation for actions in the activity, and development of story arc
Emergent narrative
‣Arises from the player’s interaction with the narrative world, designed levels, rule structure
‣Moment-by-moment play in the game creates this emergent narrative
‣Varies from play session to play session, depending on user’s actions
Game design involves employing and balancing the use of these two elements
IN examples and ideas that you may not have considered:
Simple examples of interactivity, mostly traditional narrative – most pair text with flash pieces:
http://www.dreamingmethods.com/waste/ – some of this is kind of gross.
http://www.julia1926.net/ – very simple
http://www.twentyvoices.com/ – historical
http://www.brendakenneally.com/theblock/ – kind of depressing, but very powerful.
http://www.haikuforge.com/ – haunting and beautiful
http://www.conclaveobscurum.ru/ – very cool
http://www.bornmagazine.org/ – a collaboration of art and literature.
(techniques used to evoke mood are interface, navigation, literature & cinematic elements)
Comic book interactivity:
Meanwhile is a really interesting interactive comic by shigabooks. Meanwhile works by reading along a line of interconnecting tubes, allowing you to make key decisions in the story as you go along. It’s a little confusing to read at first but the relative complexity of the narrative is fairly impressive; it’s an innovative use of interaction in a comic-book format.
The story of a guy mysteriously trapped in a phonebooth encased in concrete. It’s a linear story, but considering all the action takes place in a phonebooth and because of the amount of random math invoked by the character, it’s supposedly a riveting read.
Interactivity done mostly in html:
Another interactive combo of literature and art.
Part interactive game, part artist portfolio:
Can be viewed offline or on.
Using interaction and hinting at a narrative
Robot Art and Culture
This work hints at a narrative by forcing the users to define themselves, this is one way of defining interaction.
Using musical experimentation as interactivity
Combining art and music.
This work allows a user to compose and create art at the same time.
Don’t forget about Facade, the interactive fighting couple that Selila showed us last week. It is the only example that truly moves beyond the three plot structures outlined above.
Some things you probably already know about:
Grand Theft Auto is now in its third version on the PC and PS2. Aside from the controversy that it has generated over the unusual level of violence, it has always had an extraordinarily developed narrative structure.
The Last Express is a video game created by Jordan Mechner and Smoking Car Productions, published in 1997. It is an adventure game that takes place on the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I. It is noted as being one of the few video games that attempts to realistically simulate real-time, and also as one of the largest commercial failures in the history of video games (with a reported six million dollars in development costs) despite many rave reviews and an impressive pre-release response.
Evening. A piece of hypertext fiction that manages to somewhat transcend linear fiction with its writing style. This is something we can do with our students. The user can jump perspective (to the cat for instance) and so this story could be called poly-linear.
Requiem for a Dream. An engaging interactive experience built in a linear sequences with interactive toys. 
Habbo Hotel. A multi-user chat environment, that provides a place for role-play.
Interactive Narrative doesn’t have to include video or sound:
I found an old class page from MIT that has student projects using interactive narrative. I liked this one best – I believe it to be in nodal plot structure because the user must continue to make decisions and is taken back to play until the correct decisions are made and the one correct outcome is achieved. In this case, the correct outcome is matching all of the faces in this game of memory/teenage drama:
Interactive Narrative can teach a child coping skills:
HopeLab: Re-Mission
Pam Omidyar, a cancer researcher, had the idea to create a video game for young people with cancer. She thought it might play a positive role in helping them fight their disease. Re-Mission is a video game designed especially for kids with cancer that may give them a feeling of power over their disease as they blast away at the cancer cells in the game. The game is being distributed free of charge so that research can be conducted to test the game and see if it really helps the kids.
The game features Roxxi, the intrepid nanobot, who is a challenging, 3D “shooter” with 20 levels that takes the player on a journey through the body of young patients with different kinds of cancer. The game is designed to be cool and fun, while helping players to increase their personal knowledge about cancer and improve their confidence in their ability to manage their cancer.
Re-Mission, with Roxxi
Politically charged Interactive Narrative:
Darfur is Dying:
Released in April 2006, the game was designed by a USC student and won mtvU’s “Darfur Digital Activist Contest” competition, and has since been played more than 2.4 million times, making it one of the more popular games on the Web. The player is assigned to guide a member of a Darfuri family on a fetch for water while evading Janjaweed soldiers, then managing a small refugee camp with what is collected.
CNN: Campaign Rush
Apparently there can badly made interactive narrative tools: Campaign Rush puts you in the role of either a Republican or Democratic volunteer campaign worker who must get a set amount of information out to calling and e-mailing constituents within a certain time period. John Richardson, a Berkley Beacon columnist, says It has potential, but fails to inform users about any national issues and lacks a “hook” to make it fun or addicting. This title represents interactive games at their worst; it neither inspires nor entertains, and is a great example of games not meeting their prospects for enrichment.
Campaign Rush
Kids helping others:
Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City
Developed as part of Global Kids’ Playing 4 Keeps Program, which uses and teaches kids how to build games as a way to promote learning, citizenship and social awareness, this Web game has players helping and rescuing neighbors during the Katrina crisis. It does a decent job in both the gameplay and message department, has a great comic-book look and tries to give the player some motivation through a storyline.
Tempest in Crescent City
The value of IN in the classroom setting:
Tyler Reed, from http://onourmindsatscholastic.blogspot.com, cites from the 2008 Kids & Family Reading Report that almost two-thirds of all teenage readers go online to “extend” their reading experience – reading about the author, posting on message boards and playing online games. She champions Rick Riordan, author of the first installment in the new “The 39 Clues” series, because he thinks that interactive games and books can not only live harmoniously, but complement each other. The 39 Clues combines books, online games and collectible cards to a create multi-platform narrative experience. Riordan says that for kids, “The story does not end for them when they close the book. A story for them is not just on paper; it continues online where they can find out more and talk to other readers.” He says that children “are looking to be dropped into an intriguing story and to become a character in the story.” “You want to become part of the narrative,” he said.
39 Clues
Overview on which tools and software you would utilize to make your own IN:
Most of the examples shown on my blog were made using Flash. There are a few that involve downloading a free graphics simulation package, then using either:
- a programming language like C++, PERL, or JavaScipt to create a Graphical User Interface, which accepts and acts on the commands entered by your users.
- a free/open source or commercial narrative authoring tool, which creates a database of user input commands (like words, arrows left/right, space bar) and the subsequent actions they map to. Most will do the programming for you.
These are both time-intensive options and not really necessary for the art educator unless he/she enjoys building techie stuff like this. Regardless though, if you are interested, here is a list of these narrative authoring tools. (I personally enjoy Storytron):
DINAH Dynamic, Interactive, Narrative Authoring Heuristic
EdSim 8051 Simulator for Teachers and Students
Erasmatron
Storytron
Emapps.com (a company in europe that specializes in game creation for school age children)
Emapps also provide a few docs if you actually want to plan and make your own interactive game:
framework_for_game_design
interactive_narrative_worksheet
producing_the_narrative
Who is using this technology in the field?
Right now the interactive digital technology that we think of when we are playing video games at home is not readily available to most K to 12 educators in the US. In fact most scholarly material on the subject is found in universities outside the USA. Until these tools become easier for the average non-techie to use though, there are still ways to incorporate it into our classrooms. We can share various IN materials already made for us, or use existing tools to demonstrate the same interactive narration principals.
Some examples of IN that we can incorporate into the art classroom were shown by Kate last week and Annie the week before, but here are a few more ideas of IN tools and things being used currently by art educators:
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/youth/
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/kids/stories/index_e.jsp
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/kids/mystery/index_e.jsp
As far as my own personal ideas, I would like to integrate art and social learning using an interactive narrative. I would like to create something that will teach younger kids to get help with bullies.
I would create possible interactive options that a user could choose based on the scenario. I will include some humor and a follow up art lesson. I could use the worksheets above to help me plan, although they may be a little too involved for my size project. I could then use flash to create a narrative game similar to the pharmaceuticals game you saw above. What types of ideas do you have and what ways will you improvise to overcome the technical barriers?
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