Interactive Narrative Research Articles

Rethinking patient–provider care through visual communication

The case study presented in this article developed an improved intervention for visually communicating with persons diagnosed with a communication disorder known as aphasia. The Visual Interactive Narrative Intervention (VINI) assists health-care providers in educating post-stroke persons with aphasia (PWA) about their stroke, symptoms, rehabilitation options, and quality of life issues. Visual communication is under-utilized to convey health information to PWA despite its ability to capitalize on their intact cognitive and visual processing. The current Reflections on Practice summarizes visual guidelines from previous research, discusses visual design principles to achieve these guidelines, and presents a case study of creating visual stimuli for PWA based on these considerations and initial pilot testing with PWA. The case study demonstrates the creative process, the visual design considerations, and the interdisciplinary effort (i.e. health professionals, artists, and communication scholars) necessary for visually communicating with PWA.

Going beyond Gandhi’s ‘inner circle’ of relationships: Satyagraha House, Hermann Kallenbach and Gandhi’s sons

The domestic dwelling known as The Kraal, inhabited briefly by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and his closest friend in South Africa, Hermann Kallenbach, in the early twentieth century, and remade a century later as a boutique guesthouse and museum named Satyagraha House, is the point of reference for a set of critical engagements with the work of heritage and historical narrative, questions of time and space, family legacies, photographs and letters. Two historians are invested in telling the smaller stories that are often hidden, and here they argue for a narrative of interaction that goes beyond Gandhi’s relationship with Kallenbach. Through reflections on the exhibits and rooms at Satyagraha House as well as the heritage site’s location within the surrounding space of Johannesburg, they argue for extending the Kallenbach story to his relationships to Gandhi’s sons. The conversation is interspersed with extracts of epistolary relationships that then establish a series of links across time, space and archives, radiating beyond Johannesburg, to the Inanda countryside, to ashrams in India, internment camps in wartime England, and to Israel.

Sound design inducing attention in the context of audiovisual immersive environments

Sound design has been a fundamental component of audiovisual storytelling in linear media. However, with recent technological developments and the shift towards non-linear and immersive media, things are rapidly changing. More sensory information is available and, at the same time, the user is gaining agency upon the narrative, being offered the possibility of navigating or making other decisions. These new characteristics of immersive environments bring new challenges to storytelling in interactive narratives and require new strategies and techniques for audiovisual narrative progression. Can technology offer an immersive environment where the user has the sensation of agency, of choice, where her actions are not mediated by evident controls but subliminally induced in a way that it is ensured that a narrative is being followed? Can sound be a subliminal element that induces attentional focus on the most relevant elements for the narrative, inducing storytelling and biasing search in an immersive non-linear audiovisual environment? Herein, we present a literature review that has been guided by this prospect. With these questions in view, we present our exploration process in finding possible answers and potential solution paths. We point out that consistency, in terms of coherency across sensory modalities and emotional matching may be a critical aspect. Finally, we consider that this review may open up new paths for experimental studies that could, in the future, provide new strategies in the practice of sound design in the context of non-linear media.

Innovative Research on the Improvement of Visual Quality of Data Journalism in China: Visual Language and Interaction Design

As the last node of data journalism creation, visual design plays a crucial role in the transmission of data information. Exploring the routes to improve the quality of data journalism at the visual language and interaction design, this paper analyzes the works won data journalism awards and produced by well-known media from 2012 to 2019, and discusses the misunderstandings and shortcomings in the current data journalism visualization practice. This paper presents the improvement routes of data mapping, symbolic expression, interaction level, and interactive narration.

"뉴미디어 아트 장르 중, 체험형 이머시브 인터랙티브(Immersive Interactive)작품 속에 표현된 인터 랙티브 내러티브(Interactive Narrative) 특성에 관한 연구"

"뉴미디어 아트 장르 중, 체험형 이머시브 인터랙티브(Immersive Interactive)작품 속에 표현된 인터 랙티브 내러티브(Interactive Narrative) 특성에 관한 연구"

Rearing Children of the Market in the “You” Decade: Choose Your Own Adventure Books and the Ascent of Free Choice in 1980s America

Exploring some of the key tenets of neoliberal American culture, this article examines the historical forces behind the meteoric rise of interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” (CYOA) children's books in the 1980s. Despite selling over 250 million copies worldwide and becoming the fourth most popular children's series of all time, the CYOA phenomenon has yet to be placed in its larger social, economic, historical or cultural context. When explaining the rise of interactive narratives, previous literature has mostly focussed on technological change – namely the invention of video games, computer consoles and hypertext narratives. Moving away from such claims, this article demonstrates how the incredible success of solely text-based CYOA books stemmed largely from the cultural ascent of individual market choice to the heart of American notions of agency, liberty, subjectivity and selfhood in the 1970s and 1980s.

Application of VR virtual reality in film and television post-production

In recent years, VR virtual reality has gradually become a hot topic in society. As a medium integrating computer technology, imaging technology and human-computer interaction technology, VR virtual reality brings both a new interactive narrative method in the evolution of media and New means of communication in the era of text change. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current situation of the application of VR virtual reality in film and television post-production, and analyze the predicament of VR virtual reality in film and television post-production in order to help film and television post-production. In this paper, through a questionnaire survey and random selection of 50 students for digital image synthesis majors who have participated in digital film and television special effects production in a university, the survey results are collated and analyzed. 94.69% of students believe that VR virtual reality is in film and television post-production. The application makes the work more colorful. The application of VR virtual reality technology in the late stage of film and television has promoted the development of diversified creation and the development of film and television post production. At the same time, the application of VR virtual reality technology has improved the efficiency of film and television production, reduced the cost of physical setting, and saved resources.

Gamification of Violence in Analog (Tabletop) Thematic Games: Splices, Wrinkles, and Translation Gaps

Modern tabletop (analog) games are riding a wave of popularity being a part of "resisting the digital” trend. First of all, imaginary worlds of media franchises become represented in tabletop games with their specific ways of creating interactive narrative and gaming algorithms. Secondly, tabletop games address complicated issues and concepts of today’s world. The authors aim to examine specific ways of representing violence in tabletop games, with plots already employed by pieces of different types of media. The authors believe that the hybrid nature of modern tabletop (analog) games involves a hybrid methodology, including phenomenology, hermeneutics, procedural rhetoric, the ideas of R.Kayua, M.Wolf, L.Manovich. The concept of violence is analyzed with reference to V. Podoroga, А. Usmanova, S. Zizek, V. Benjamin. The result of the study is a comprehensive description of the representation of violence in board-themed games. The authors argue that violence is represented in tabletop games at several levels and in different forms: narrative violence, visual violence, symbolic violence, etc. The study indirectly confirms the non-autonomy of the game process, the dependence of the game narrative on the experience of acquaintance with the "imaginary world.”
 Keywords: media theory, game studiеs, boardgames, tabletop games, violence

Adaptive storytelling based on personality and preference modeling

In almost all forms of storytelling, the background and the current state of mind of the audience members predispose them to experience a given story from a uniquely personal perspective. However, traditional story writers usually construct their narratives based on the average preferences of their audience, which does not guarantee satisfying narrative experiences for its members. When a narrative aims at providing pleasurable entertainment, having some information about the preferences of the current user for the narrative’s content is vital to create satisfying experiences. This paper explores personality modeling and proposes a novel approach to generate individualized interactive narratives based on the preferences of users, which we model in terms of the Big Five factors. This paper presents and evaluates the proposed method in a web-based interactive storytelling system that explores the Little Red Riding Hood folktale. The results show that the proposed method is capable of correctly recognizing the preferences of users for story events (average accuracy of 91.9%) and positively improve user satisfaction and experience.

Imagining Borders, Imagining Relationships

Abstract Conceptualizations of human borders will often refer to narratives of encounters, exchanges, and/or interactions that take place in two different but interrelated settings: one internal, between individuals or groups belonging to the space defined by the border; and one external, between such individuals or collectives and everything that is foreign to them. This integrating/distinguishing role of narratives underscores the imaginative process through which borders emerge, expressed with great poignancy in the fluidity and complexity of border-setting practices in late-modern societies. Paul Ricœur’s take on collective imagination and human action can be a tool to unearth some of the key conceptual features of such integration-distinction tension, by pointing to ways in which social imaginaries shape the liquidity and modality of borders in increasingly diverse communities. Ricœur’s analysis of the development of cultural imaginaries through the opposed yet complementary forces of ideology and utopia, and his exploration of the multi-layered character of mutual recognition, come together in an understanding of human persons – and communities – capable of imagining enlarged spaces of recognition. Richard Kearney complements this analysis with an account of narrative imagination that allows one to articulate the narrative origins of concrete human realities and practices, such as borders and border-setting. In this article, I make use of the contributions of Ricœur and Kearney to argue that a clear understanding social imagination is needed in order to account for the cultural matrix set by human borders, as well as to provide answers to the practical questions raised by concrete historical examples of borders and border-setting.

Need for Cognition, Transportability, and Engagement with Interactive Narratives.

Objective: Games for heath can take the form of interactive narratives, or stories in which readers have the option to make decisions about the direction of the plot. Individual differences may affect the extent to which individuals become engaged in such narratives. Materials and Methods: In two studies, we randomly assigned participants to read either a traditional linear narrative or an interactive version of the same narrative. We examined the influence of need for cognition (NFC) and transportability (the extent to which individuals tend to become immersed in narratives) on transportation, character identification, and perceived realism. Results: Transportability led to higher perceptions of realism in the interactive narrative in Study 1, but this effect was not replicated in Study 2. In Study 1, higher NFC led to greater identification in the interactive narrative; in Study 2, higher NFC led to greater transportation into the interactive narrative. Conclusion: Greater willingness to exert mental effort may lead to greater immersion in interactive narratives.

Gray Areas

“Navigable narratives” are a subgenre of narrative-based video games under the umbrella definition of “walking simulators.” While they are a subgenre of video games, analyzing their score or soundscape purely through a video game lens paints an incomplete picture because of their different artistic focus. Models like Elizabeth Medina-Gray's modular analysis are a useful start but insufficient on their own to understand this genre's sound. Rather, a participant's experience in a navigable narrative is often quite similar to that of a soundwalk, especially a virtual reality soundwalk; the game composer/audio designer creates an intricate soundscape through which the participant moves, and with the main focus on the story and gradual travel, the participant has more time and capacity than in a typical video game to build meaning from the soundwalk they perform. One of the major relationships navigable narratives have with soundwalks is the breakdown of diegesis in the soundscape the participant takes in, which is unlike most video games. To analyze the soundwalk and also the soundscape present in navigable narratives, I draw from R. Murray Schafer, Hildegard Westerkamp, and Janet Cardiff. In the opposite direction, in many ways navigable narratives are very much like “literary computer games,” or interactive narratives that may be analyzed via “ludostylistics” à la Janet Murray and Astrid Ensslin. A key element in many navigable narratives is the use of narrative time, as described by Alicyn Warren, rather than real time, which also sets navigable narratives apart from standard video games and especially from soundwalks. To explore these varied models and lenses, I demonstrate an analytical approach, using Leaving Lyndow (2017) as my primary case study. And so, between these analytical lenses of video game music theory, soundscape and soundwalk study, and ludostylistics applicable to literary computer games, I posit that the sound of navigable narratives is best understood through a synthesis of all three.

Ethical Self-Reflection in Papers, Please

Abstract This article argues that multiple endings and narrative memory within interactive narratives can engender ethical self-reflection in relationship with broader discourses surrounding controversial issues. It introduces the term ‘expressed self’ to describe this process. The expressed self is how an interactive text ‘sees’ the player – through either their alignment, faction favour, flags, etc – and is used to generate a personalised response to the player through their unlocked ending. This concept is then applied to a close analysis of Papers, Please by juxtaposing the ‘Antegrian Husband and Wife’ choice with the ‘Snowier Pastures’ ending. The manner in which this process takes place has implications for the ways in which videogames and interactive narratives engage with open literacy.

Developing a Media Hybridization based on Interactive Narrative and Cinematic Virtual Reality

Developing a Media Hybridization based on Interactive Narrative and Cinematic Virtual Reality

Playing the Past and Alternative Futures: Counterfactual History in Fallout 4

This article explores representations of history and history for the present in Fallout 4 to illuminate how the gameworld makes clever use of common historical tropes and aesthetics, as well as the genre of the counterfactual in its presentation of a compelling and interactive narrative. Set in the post-apocalyptic landscape of Massachusetts, Fallout 4 employs various sites of historical Massachusetts (Concord, Lexington, Boston) in order to draw the user into the story of the ‘lone survivor,’ the avatar that he or she takes control of. This analysis is interested in the ways that Fallout 4 employs history and the genre of the counterfactual in the production of a compelling narrative that not only invites but impels the player into action to chart a new course for this devastated virtual landscape. The power of counterfactual history lies in its capacity to unravel assumptions about the static nature of historical events, and in its denial of a linear trajectory of history broadly. In the case of Fallout 4, the implementation of a counterfactual story, wherein the nuclear event that shrouded the Cold War period in uncertainty, takes place. It serves as a rejection of the popularly rehearsed narrative of American supremacy triumphing over Communist forces to present the player with a more nuanced interpretation of some of the internal and external tensions that came to define the Cold War period (i.e. cultural malaise, economic instability, the growth of a military-industrial complex). This conflicting presentation of histories both real and imagined provides an opportunity for the player to experience and interact with the game critically as a counterfactual reimagining of the Cold War era. Viewed in this way, the virtual world of Fallout 4 becomes a space where the player can reassess their own understanding of the period, and the nature of historical knowledge production more broadly.

From immersion to metagaming: Understanding rewind mechanics in interactive storytelling

An increasing number of recent narrative games have incorporated the metagaming elements of rewinding and remaking choices as their core mechanics. Traditionally, narrative game designers were concerned that rewinding would break immersion and negatively affect players’ narrative experience. Although there has been research on metagaming as a whole, relatively little has been focused on the design of the rewinding mechanics and even less on empirical data regarding their impact on players. In this article, we present a theoretical framework on the structure of rewinding in narrative games, consisting of Restricted Rewind, Unrestricted Rewind, and External Rewind. To evaluate the impact of some of the main types of rewind structure, we developed three versions of an interactive narrative game called Rough Draft: a restricted rewind version, a parallel unrestricted rewind version, and a traditional no-rewind version. In a user study (n = 60), we evaluated the player experience of these three versions of Rough Draft in terms of gameplay engagement, narrative engagement, narrative transportation, and overall perceptions. Our results indicate that rewind mechanics do not negatively affect player engagement as previously believed. We also present our reflections and suggest design considerations for narrative games around rewind mechanics.

Embedding Young Children’s Participation Rights into Research: How the Interactive Narrative Approach Enhances Meaningful Participation

This research explored how young children’s research participation can be enhanced when an interactive narrative approach is embedded within research to enhance children’s consent to participation and their understanding of the research process. The context for this research was a 1-h, science outreach programme delivered into Australian playgroups. An interactive digital story was devised to inform nine children (aged 3–4 years) about the purposes of the research. Across a period of 11–16 weeks and across three occasions, an informing story about the research was used with the children to elicit their descriptions and explanations about their research role. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews with parents and audio- and video-recorded conversations with children also aided in the analyses to understand how children perceived their role as a research participant. Through cross-case analysis, six aspects of meaningful research participation were identified from children’s and parents’ responses: engagement, journeying, authenticity, consequence, ownership, and identity. The research extends current knowledge about young children’s rights to understand their participatory role in research and about the considerations that can be put in place to ensure participation is personally meaningful to children.

인터랙티브 서사 플롯 구조에 관한 연구 - 마크 스테픈 메도우의 이론을 중심으로 -

인터랙티브 서사 플롯 구조에 관한 연구 - 마크 스테픈 메도우의 이론을 중심으로 -

Interactive Narrative Authoring Using Cognitive Models in Narrative Planning

My research aims to allow for human authors to collaborate with a computational system to work on narrative generation. This will be done with the help of work done in the domains of narrative understanding, narrative planning and reasoning based on cognitive models. This sort of approach would greatly benefit the enrich growing set of variables of narrative planning.

Towards More Believable Characters Using Personality and Emotion

Interactive virtual worlds provide an immersive and effective environment for training, education, and entertainment purposes. So far, there have been considerable advances in 3D and AI design to enhance virtual environments. Virtual characters are one of the crucial aspects of interactive narratives. The interaction of rich virtual characters can produce interesting narrative and as a result, enhance the experience of virtual environments. As one of those characters, the user would feel immersed and engaged when interacting with compelling characters. There are many characteristics that improve believable behavior generation, including beliefs, goals, desires, affect, and personality. My goal is to propose an affective model of personality for multi-agent narrative planning systems that is domain independent and thus minimizes authorial burden. I aim to combine existing models into a unified framework. Although the framework may oversimply those models, it would not overlook their key ingredients.