Comments on Use of Narrative in Interactive Design

Edward Edward — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:20:22 GMT

I am a student at Liverpool John Moores in the UK, I am studying interactive narrative, I think the main fundimental floor in an narrative is making it engaging! I find the idea of a script and narrative exciting in that it can be moulded how you the user want it to be moulded in an form you wish, I like the idea of time line control, and the shifting between a story and gameplay. Would any like to help me out with any other ideas as far as the good point and bad of points of narrative are? email me @ sidies26@hotmail.com cheers Ed

Damien McFerran — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:58 GMT

Andrew Spencer – are you the same Andrew Spencer behind the brilliant Ecstatica series of PC adventure games? If so, I’d like to have a chat with you – could you contact me at: damien.mcferran@googlemail.com?

Andrew Spencer — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:48 GMT

I really love the idea of narrative in Web design. Much like the other “commenters”, I have been using this concept without knowing that it was something everyone else was doing, or better, writing articles about and formalizing. It just makes natural sense to me that if you’ve developed scenarios to think about who will be using a system that you might take it a step further and bring those people to life.

I often present my scenarios back to the clients and find it creates a real “ah-hah” moment when it comes to justifying the process. I’ve just moved to the UK and am in an environment where our design teams are hard pressed for time to develop their creative concepts and this narrative approach is the perfect way to buy more time – internally and externally.

One problem…. the link to the larger version of the image is broken. I’d like to take a closer look at it. Is that still available?

Valerie Gomez de la Torre — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:41 GMT

Matt – Can you tell me more about Sitepath Diagramming ?

Blake Engel — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

First off, great article, Nancy, Marisa, and Jonathan! This is an excellent summary of the work on this project and how the method had real impact on the result.

I recently re-used the narrative flow format on a project in which the project team needed to provide use cases to a panel of stakeholders for their approval.

Since traditional use cases aren’t exactly conducive to this kind of forum, we decided to translate the use cases into the narrative flow format discussed in this article.

The easily understandable elements of rising action, plot foils, antagonists and protagonists from the narrative style made the narrative format perfect for our discussion. We were able to gain consensus around the accuracy and completeness of the use cases much faster than directly presenting the use cases would have allowed.

Just another potential application of this method.

Lene Nielsen — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

I have for some time used film and film scriptwriting as an inspiration to develop personas and scenarios. This I have developed into the concept of engaging personas and narrative scenarios.
See
http://www.inf.cbs.dk/staff/lene/Proceedings.htm

This article is very inspiring and I appreciate the idea of viewing the whole design process as storycreation and as making a film. And I must admit that when I started to work in the interactive business I thought th eprocess was like working with film. I had much to learn.

Matthew Goddard — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

I use narratives a lot when designing and have also found that they get forgotten when the initial excitement for the project dies down.

I’ve taken to use Sitepath Diagramming as a way of reminding the stakeholders of the narrative aswell as finding holes in the design process.

Michael Almond — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

This is amazing. And personally, so timely….I almost can’t believe it. I am a little “freaked-out” about the connection/shared ideas/ and wondered “is this more than a coincidence.”

I shall briefly explain. I am a Web designer and developer in SF. I love my work, but I studied filmmaking in college and as a youth, was very much a “story-teller” (active imagination is another term…lol) both in the stories I wrote and told, to the paintings I loved to create.

My current work is very creative and fulfilling, yet is a way it is the opposite of “storytelling”...creative, yes…but art? I think not.

So, an advisor of mine suggested I get back into story telling (he used those words exactly) and I looked at him with that kind of “whatever” look and went along with me business at hand.

Interestingly, I was writing an article for Digital Web Magazine at the same time, titled “The Web is a Human Creation.” Well, upon publication, I read the piece again and my brain nearly blow out my head.

This “Article” is in fact, a story. I even refer to the “this story” a number of times in the piece. The thing is, I had no idea at the time. My unconscious desire to story tell was indeed just that.

As I viewed the piece in that context, it became something quite different…and to be honest, brought tears to my bitter/jaded little eyes. This article is a story that builds to a imaginary, fantasy ending, like the stories I told my father as a boy.

I am not plugging the piece, btw, just sharing my experience. I am now obsessed with my next story. I can’t wait. It isn’t just for my satisfaction. I believe that the Web profession could use more story telling; it is inspiring, motivating, and, quite surprisingly, exactly how the Web was born: a dream, vision, and yes, a story first conceived by Tim Berners-Lee, and now all of ours.

If you are interested, the link is http://www.digital-web.com/articles/the_web_is_a_human_cr…

Thank you so much!

lord — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

I worked with a research group in school that studied and authored interactive narratives. (This was pre-www.) I have found that experience valuable in thinking about how a user’s experience of a new site unfolds in a natural narrative-oriented fashion. However, I have rarely had success using these techniques professionally in a defensible way. Stakeholders always seem to prefer a more concrete approach.

This is interesting work. Further research into how narrative-derived site conceits could be validated by testing would be welcome as well.

nemrut dagi — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:52:09 GMT

I find it difficult to quickly digest and understand the value of the work product as shown in the screenshot. Is this something that others feel worthwhile or more valuable as a reference tool to the individual developers?