Interactive Narratives: Creating the future of storytelling (SXSW 2011)

INTERACTIVE NARRATIVES: CREATING THE FUTURE OF STORYTELLING

Interactive Narratives:
Creating the Future Of Storytelling
SXSW Interactive | March 14, 2011


Hashtag:

#ppp

Page 2 Developed by: Robert Pratten, TransmediaStoryteller.com


Contents
Introduction: Defining and Creating an Interactive Narrative…………..4
Andrew Lewellen – Content Strategist, Razorfish

“The Three Little Pigs”: Authoring an iPad App…………………………10
Josh Koppel – Founder, ScrollMotion

The Role of Social Media in Interactive Storytelling……………………28
Esther Lim - Founder, The Estuary, LLC

Participation: Why, What & How…….……………………………………38
Robert Pratten – CEO, Transmedia Storyteller.com

Summary…….………………………………………………………………56


Introduction:
Defining and Creating an Interactive Narrative

Andrew Lewellen
Content Strategist, Razorfish


What Is An Interactive Narrative?

Page 5 Developed by: Andrew Lewellen, Razorfish


An Interactive Narrative

• Has an authored core story
• This could be a mobile app, a print book, a web site. Or nothing more than a sheet
of paper with a Central Dramatic Question, story arc, plot, and character sketches.





• Has a social narrative
• The lives of the characters expand into a shared social space where the audience
can learn more about them and become more engaged with the story.





• Has a social narrative
• The lives of the characters expand into a shared social space where the audience
can learn more about them and become more engaged with the story.

• Integrates and encourages audience participation
• The plot moves outside of the core story and utilizes a social dialogue to engage
readers with the story and its outcome.




A dynamic story that allows for personalized
engagement and narrows the gap between writer
and reader.



“The Three Little Pigs”
Authoring an iPad App

Josh Koppel
Founder, ScrollMotion


The Original
Experience

Page 11 Developed by: Josh Koppel, ScrollMotion


Revising the Story Assets
• Digital book building turns pages into pixels



Step 1: Asset Assessment

Image Characteristics
• 18 Jpegs
• 450 x 420
• Vertical Orientation
• Public Domain Content



Step 1: Asset Assessment

Text Characteristics Audio Characteristics
• 18 Pages • 18 Individual Files (Page by Page)
• One paragraph per page • MP3 Files



Step 2: Visual Layout



Step 3:
Extra Features Encourage Personalized
Engagement

• Play Modules
• Record Your Own Audio



The Role of Social Media
in Interactive Storytelling

Esther Lim
Founder, The Estuary, LLC


The Role of Social Media in Interactive Storytelling
Esther Lim


Social Media as a narrative/engagement platform
Summary

Social Media is a content layering tool to provide extra content to fans

When used as an alternate narrative platform, Social Media can:

• Enrich the primary story through greater character/scenario details

• Extend the primary story through exploration of additional
standalone yet related story universes

• Engage audiences by bringing the fictional world into the real world
through social interaction, shared experiences and co-authorship

Page 30 Developed by: The Estuary, LLC


How do you use social media as a narrative platform?
Activate audience participation

• Use micro blogs like Twitter or Tumblr to capture real time events
unfolding and tweet call to actions

• Use social mobile media to drive readers to specific locations for
more content discovery



Benefits of using social media in your narrative
Audience Connection and Engagement

• Emotional Connection: Audiences can form “friendships”
with the character

• Community Building: Friendships and community forms
around shared experiences

• Engagement/Co-Authorship: Opportunity for readers to
share ideas about the story that can later be integrated into
future story development



Benefits of using social media in your narrative
Marketing and Promotion

• Story Awareness and Discovery: Bring your story to where
people play online

• Content syndication/sharing: Good stories create social
cache and are shared across friend/fan networks

• Improves search engine discoverability: More mentions,
hyperlinks, tags and discussions drives better search engine
visibility

• Audience acquisition: Multiple storytelling platforms create
more entry points for entering and engaging with the story and
its community of readers



Getting started with social media narrative
How do I know if social media is right for my story?
1. Understand your audience and how they consume content
2. Design the level of reader participation you want to build
3. Identify the best social media platforms for your story/character
4. Build natural entry points (“rabbit holes”) in the story that lead to alternate
supporting narratives
5. Leverage platform features to augment story experience
6. Write the experience for all three tiers of content consumers:
• Passive Consumer
• Occasional Participant/Lurker
• Die Hard Fan
7. Allow enough ramp up time (4-6 weeks) for character integration into a
community. Relationships are not built overnight.



Esther Lim
esther@theestuarysf.com
www.theestuarysf.com
@geekgrl or @theestuarysf



Participation: Why, What & How

Robert Pratten
CEO, Transmedia Storyteller.com


Summary
• Leave a door open

• Good stories work with or without interactivity
• Build on what you know
• Structure for enthusiasm



Why bother with participation?
• The business case
– lower costs
• marketing is integrated into the product (as it
should be)
– increased sales
• social recommendation & spread
• empowerment of advocates
– engagement is measurable
• The creative case
– audience interaction is thrilling and addictive



How do I do it?
• Objective:
– Make it easy
– Make it worthwhile, meaningful, fun
• Steps
– Sketch the experience you want to create
(consider artistic and commercial scenarios)
– Layer your story for different levels of
enthusiasm such that it works for the lazy and
rewards the fan



Make it easy



Incentivize participation



Layering your story



Additional content for fans



Content for attraction



Layers united by story



Examples
• Lowlifes.tv
– solo participation
– QR codes offer additional subplot
– email-based (alternative reality) game
• Horror Unlimited short story
– play with friends
– two-player twitter game
• 3 Interactive Pigs
– play in teams
– multiplayer interactive storytelling



3 Interactive Pigs
• Strong authorship (story is on rails) but…
• Audience decides outcome at plot points
– House of Straw, House of Sticks, House of Bricks
• Pigs vs Wolf – you decide!
• Do the pigs live or die?
• Why bother?
– Fun to create and fun to play
– Facilitate social play which
• strengthens relationships
• raise awareness of other (paid) media
– Reward fans



3 Interactive Pigs in Layers



Call To Action



Layered Engagement



Poking friends

Matchword used to trigger Conducttr - tells
@BigBadWolf_2011 to send a tweet to these friends



Summary
• Leave a door open

• Good stories work with or without interactivity
• Build on what you know
• Structure for enthusiasm

• Lower costs
• Increased sales



Start writing for audience engagement: www.tstoryteller.com

Robert Pratten
CEO TransmediaStoryteller.com
@zenfilms or @tstoryteller


Summary


Summary

• Has an authored core story.

• Has a social narrative.

• Integrates and encourages audience participation.

• Is a dynamic story that allows for personalized engagement and
narrows the gap between writer and reader.



Questions?

Page 56


Thank You!

Interactive Narratives: Creating the future of storytelling (SXSW 2011)

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