Interactive Storytelling (5cr)

Objective

By the end of the course the student - is familiar with concepts of interactive storytelling - knows the state-of-the-art of current research work and practical applications - can decide a suitable approach for application design based on its narrative requirements - has developed a critical eye on digital narratives - understands how to apply interactive storytelling in software design

Content

The course focuses on the four partakers of interactive storytelling: the platform, the designer, the interactor, and the storyworld. When constructing a platform, the problem is to select an appropriate approach from tightly controlled to emergent storytelling. On this platform, the designer is then responsible for creating the content (e.g. characters, props, scenes and events) for the storyworld, which is then experienced and influenced by the interactor. The structure and relationships between these partakers is explained from a theoretical perspective as well as using existing interactive storytelling systems as examples. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. Platform 4. Designer 5. Interactor 6. Storyworld 7. Perspectives

Materials

Jouni Smed, Tomi "bgt" Suovuo, Natasha Skult & Petter Skult: Handbook on Interactive Storytelling (Wiley, 2021).

Further information

For more information, see https://bit.ly/IxStory

Execution methods

- Lecture videos (35 h) - Independent work (100 h)

Accomplishment methods

The assessment for the course is based on choosing two (2) tasks from a selection of three: 1. taking an electronic examination 2. writing an essay based on a given reading material 3. preparing a project on an interactive storytelling platform and presenting it on a video In other words, the student can choose to - (1) take an exam and (2) write an essay - (1) take an exam and (3) prepare a project - (2) write an essay and (3) prepare a project