This is an amazing time to be a storyteller. The democratization of the tools to create, combined with rapid changes in media consumption mean that there are more ways to tell stories than ever before. The creative possibilities are endless but where do you start? How do you extend the stories you want to tell beyond a single screen? This is part of a presentation that I made at Power to the Pixel 2010. It shares how I design and build storyworlds with the goal of engaging audiences whilst at the same time tap new forms of funding and revenue streams.

1. STORYWORLD
BUILDING A
lance@workbookproject.com
@lanceweiler

4. STORYWORLD
Graphic
Novels
Comics
Books
Film
Games
Serial
Content
Fan Fiction
Community
User Gen
Content
Toys

5. STORY GAMEPLAY
COMMUNITY
SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT

8. charting by xkcd

9. WHEN [EVENT]

10. WHEN [EVENT]
The WHEN condition responds to events that occur in the
storyworld, or in related stories.
WHEN SEBASTIAN ENTERS THE SCHOOL
present the following..
The script elements executed by WHEN are activated WHEN the
named EVENT occurs.

11. CHARACTERS LOCATIONS
THEMES
STORY
EVENTS
MOTIF
PROPS
SETTINGDIALOGUE

12. THEMES
PROPS
MOTIF
SETTING

22. Over 50,000 downloads
3000+ spaces created
Data collected
- GPS data
- Make and model of handset
- OS of the handset
- Email address
- Phone number
- Amount of usage
CONTEXTUAL
STORYTELLING
MEDIA SOCIAL GRAPH
STORYWORLD GATEWAY
STORY DETECTION
MOBILE APPS
BROWSER PLUGINS

23. WHAT’S IN A
STORYWORLD BIBLE
GAME
-Game Types RPG, Social
Games, Puzzle based, ARG,
Narrative based
-Collaborative / Competive
-Reward / Conflicts
-Win / Loose Conditions
-Continuous Play?
-Live or Scripted Characters
-What will players do?
-Why is that fun?
-Replayability
CHARACTER
-Motivations
-Arcs
-Backstory
-Relationships
-Notes
-Dialogue
-Experiences
CHARTING
-Script Annotation
-Flow Docs
-Mindmaps
-Points of Entry

24. STORYWORLD
1. Take time to evaluate the story you want to tell
2. Ask yourself the hard questions – why will anyone care? Is this
the best way to tell the story?
3. Let go of a single POV
4. Consider how you can show not tell
5. Make it easy for your audience to become collaborators
6. Don’t let the world get in the way of the story
6 TIPS FOR BUILDING A

25. com
30 different countries
FILM, GAMING, MUSIC
DESIGN, SOFTWARE
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