The decision of how tightly user actions (agency relationship) are linked to the transmedia narrative is one of the most significant decisions a transmedia narrative designer will make. User input can take a variety of forms, from the control of avatars in games to user communication via social networking in which narrative direction can be influenced by user comments. However, allowing user input “is a very tricky proposition at any time” (Dena, Authentic in All Caps: a Playful Comedy-Drama by Christy Dena, 2011).
When making the decision to include user input into a transmedia narrative, the designer needs to have very clear understanding of what this agency relationship will add to the narrative. If it adds little or nothing to the narrative, it is probably better to avoid the complications and limitations that come from having to work with user input.
Answering the question of local versus global content (agency scope) in a transmedia narrative will have a significant impact on the user’s level of control over the narrative itself. Local impact means the user has control of movement in the transmedia world and may even be able to manipulate objects. However, the user is essentially an explorer who can move and observe (i.e. perhaps like an avatar in a 3D game) but has no impact on the overall narrative. The other end of the spectrum is global impact in which the user’s actions have an effect on the direction of the narrative. It is possible for a transmedia narrative to have both local and global agency. A user’s actions, for example, might result in a local impact that begins a sequence of events that ultimately results in a global impact.
The decision on the degree of control the author and user each have in creating the meaning of the narrative will guide whether user actions are local versus global.
The actions of the user may have an immediate impact or there may be a delay in when the impact occurs. The designer must be careful in ensuring the immediacy of the response is appropriate to the context of the narrative and the user’s role in it.
A narrative that involves games or game-like elements will usually require an immediate response to the user’s action. For example, a user trying to navigate an avatar through a narrative environment will become frustrated and dissatisfied very quickly if there is a significant lag between an action and a response from the avatar.
However, a delayed response may be appropriate with a user action, for example, writing and mailing a letter within the storyworld that reveals vital secret information that is part of a spy or mystery narrative. If a delayed response is used, the designer should be sure to include an indicator that the user’s action has actually taken place. Failing to provide that kind of signal can leave the user wondering if the action was recognized by the system.
Often an immediate response is linked to local agency, while delayed response is linked to global agency.
How long the impact of a user action lasts can range from extremely brief to long-term within the context of the storyworld. In first person “shooter” games the impact of a user’s action (i.e. shooting an opponent) may last only a few seconds before that opponent is “resurrected”. Long-term impacts may last for the duration of the game or narrative. The duration of the impacts of a user’s action should be appropriate to the context of the narrative. In a game that focuses on tallying “kills” the immediate resurrection of an opponent provides additional “cannon fodder” but has not impact on the overall game or narrative. The user’s actions in games of strategy, on the other hand, must have long-term impacts or they become meaningless.
Agency duration should be consistent across the transmedia project. The resurrection of an opponent should be the same each time it happens or, if it does vary, the user should be made aware of the logic behind the variance. Short agency duration will typically is associated with local agency, while long-term agency duration is generally associated with global agency.
Changes in any aspects of user agency (dynamic agency) need to be handled very carefully to avoid confusing and frustrating the user. Having user find that they can con-trol a specific element of the narrative at one point but not another should be avoided. Design of the transmedia narrative should ensure consistent agency across the entire sys-tem. For example, if a game embedded in a transmedia narrative provides local agency scope and instantaneous agency immediacy at one point in the game, it should be the same in at all similar points throughout the game.
If it is absolutely vital that an aspect of agency be changed, it needs to be clearly communicated to the user. The logic behind the change in agency – preferably related to something in the narrative itself – as well as the nature of the change needs to be ex-plained. For example, if an avatar’s agency immediacy is slightly delayed as a certain point in the game, this might be attributed to a wizard’s “time slowing spell”.
User agency control can allow users to modify and control various aspects of the transmedia narrative’s agency relationships, scope, immediacy, and duration during run-time. Giving users control over agency can leverage the relationship between the user and system in order to create a storyworld that is meaningful and engaging to participate in (Harrell & Zhu, 2009).
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - User Agency (Part 1)
Choosing to develop a transmedia narrative means giving the author all or most of the control over the narratives’ flow and meaning. Reader control is severely limited because the narrative’s coherence can be compromised by the reader’s desire to take the story in a direction that the author’s version of the narrative doesn’t support (Mulholland & Collins, 2002). At the other end of the spectrum, choosing to develop a transmedia game means giving the user most of the control over narrative flow and meaning and having the narrative’s author take a supporting role. Injecting too much author control into a game reduces the quality of game play and is very likely to frustrate the user.
Simply deciding that both the author and the reader will be given control is not likely to be effective. This is because interactive narrative is a paradox (Rank & Petta, Appraisal for a Character-based Story-World, 2005, p. 496) that involves compromise between the author’s control of story flow and meaning and the user’s freedom to control the narrative. Studies of readers found that they were unhappy with stories over which they had only partial control because they might have ideas that differ from the author’s on how to create a satisfying end to a story (Murray, 1997). Providing an illusion of control is also a counterproductive strategy. The “primary pleasure of interactivity is that of control” and either thwarting that control or providing only token control causes user dissatisfaction (Graham, 1996).
Source: Peter von Stackelberg
Figure 48. The narrative-game spectrum of control
That doesn’t mean that the solution to the author/user control issue is an all-or-nothing proposition. An audience can have a strong desire for both strong author and user control in a transmedia work (Evans, 2008). As can be seen from a number of successful alternate reality games (ARGs), sharing of control between author and audience can work. In order to make this sharing work, the author needs to clearly think the degree of control that is to be retained by the author and how much will be given to the audience.
Simply deciding that both the author and the reader will be given control is not likely to be effective. This is because interactive narrative is a paradox (Rank & Petta, Appraisal for a Character-based Story-World, 2005, p. 496) that involves compromise between the author’s control of story flow and meaning and the user’s freedom to control the narrative. Studies of readers found that they were unhappy with stories over which they had only partial control because they might have ideas that differ from the author’s on how to create a satisfying end to a story (Murray, 1997). Providing an illusion of control is also a counterproductive strategy. The “primary pleasure of interactivity is that of control” and either thwarting that control or providing only token control causes user dissatisfaction (Graham, 1996).
Source: Peter von Stackelberg
Figure 48. The narrative-game spectrum of control
That doesn’t mean that the solution to the author/user control issue is an all-or-nothing proposition. An audience can have a strong desire for both strong author and user control in a transmedia work (Evans, 2008). As can be seen from a number of successful alternate reality games (ARGs), sharing of control between author and audience can work. In order to make this sharing work, the author needs to clearly think the degree of control that is to be retained by the author and how much will be given to the audience.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - User Engagement
The discussion of “interactivity” in transmedia narratives covers a broad range of concepts that can confuse as much as clarify the issues of transmedia narrative design. In order to clarify the different concepts associated with “interactivity” and their relation-ships to other elements of transmedia narratives, the terms “user engagement design” and “interaction design” are used in this thesis.
The distinction between user engagement and interaction is based on the two differ-ent modes of cognitive work users engage in when using transmedia narratives (Finnemann, 1999):
The level of user engagement can be determined by determining how users interact with the transmedia narrative. There are five levels of engagement:
The distinction between user engagement and interaction is based on the two differ-ent modes of cognitive work users engage in when using transmedia narratives (Finnemann, 1999):
- Reading mode – viewing and processing the content of the narrative (user en-gagement)
- Navigation mode – processing cues needed to physically navigate the narrative (interaction)
The level of user engagement can be determined by determining how users interact with the transmedia narrative. There are five levels of engagement:
- Attention – This is the lowest level of user engagement. The user reads or watches content from the transmedia narrative but takes no further action and has not made a commitment to continued engagement with it.
- Evaluation – The user’s level of engagement has increased and there is a defi-nite interest in the transmedia narrative. The user is deciding whether to make a commitment to continue engaging with the transmedia narrative, including using resources (e.g. time, money, effort) to further that engagement.
- Affection – The user has made a commitment to spend time, money, effort, and other resources to continue engaging with the transmedia narrative. En-gagement includes commenting, writing reviews, joining a community (but maybe only lurking), and posting Facebook and other “likes”.
- Advocacy – The user’s commitment to the transmedia narrative goes beyond individual participation. The user encourages others to engage with the narra-tive through online forwards of information, embedding content, and in satis-faction polls and questionnaires.
- Contribution – This is the highest level of engagement by a user. The user’s engagement includes making contributions to the narrative’s fan forums, events, and other activities or adding to the narrative’s storyworld through re-mixes, collaborations, or creation of entirely new stories.
Some of your audience will engage with all of the elements across media, contribute to it, and advocate it. There is a common rule in interactive projects, and the same applies to transmedia projects: the smallest percentage of your audience/players are the most active (and often skilled); the middle percentage engage with less content but are nevertheless a larger audience size; while the largest audience size engages with the least amount of content (in the trans-media context this sometimes translates to one medium or artform only), and is often passive. Where possible and appropriate, design for these different levels of engagement and create opportunities for your audience/players to move between them. (Dena, The Process of Creating Quality Transmedia Experiences, 2011)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - Storyworld Synopsis
The synopsis is a one- to two-page outline that describes how the story elements and user experience will unfold over time. It should clearly define the storyworld and concentrate on the narrative threads, introducing key characters, significant objects, settings, and events. The synopsis should be storyworld-focused, but should also be clear on how and why different media and platforms might work with different aspects of the story (Hayes G. P., 2011, p. 4).
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - Settings
A setting is the backdrop within which a narrative occurs, but it goes far beyond the physical characteristics of a place in which events happen. Setting includes the historical background, cultural attitudes, and mood of the time (Bickham, 1994, p. 1). Well developed settings can (Bickham, 1994, p. 3):
Mythos is the established conflicts and battles of the world, the characters of that world, its stories and rumors, and its creatures (Klastrup & Tosca, 2004). The mythos should also include the “official” history of the happenings within the storyworld. In The Lord of the Rings, for example, the mythos includes the creation of the One Ring in the year 1600 of the Second Age, the battle in the year 3434 of the Second Age in which the Dark Lord Sauron has the ring taken from him, and other events that take place well before the beginning of the first novel’s story time. This history sets out the various factions and creatures – factions like Dark Lord Sauron’s forces and those of Men, Elves, and Dwarves; creatures like the Orcs and the Hobbits – and is closely linked to the events on the storyworld’s timeline.
The topos is the setting of the storyworld or world in a specific period and geography. In addition to the physical setting, the topos deals with the physical laws that exist in the storyworld – for example, laws that govern whether faster-than-light travel is possible, or whether magic exists. The topos should tell the audience whether the story is set in a futuristic technological world, the middle ages with magical elements, or a crime-ridden underworld in the present day. In addition to the physical setting, elements of the topos also include the social, technological, economic, political, and legal systems of the story or storyworld.
Typically the topos is somewhat broader at the storyworld level than at the story level. The physical setting at the storyworld level might consist of a broad description like that used in the first of the Star Wars films with begins with the introduction “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” and continues with the now iconic crawling text that says
The use of the text crawl was continued at the beginning of each of the subsequent Star Wars films, providing audiences with a brief overview of the setting for each story. These introductions are excellent examples of how a short piece of text can provide a great deal of information about a story’s mythos and topos.
The third element of setting is the ethos, which consists of the social values and laws, implicit and explicit ethics, and codes of behavior within the storyworld. The ethos provides the knowledge needed to “know how to behave in the world” and defines what is acceptable or inappropriate behavior (Klastrup & Tosca, 2004).
Setting can provide numerous opportunities for expansion across multiple media. These transmedia opportunities can range from relatively simple encyclopedia-style entries about particular aspects of the storyworld’s setting – articles on its flora, fauna, geography, and so on – to more detailed “travelogues” that highlight some aspect of a particular setting for the storyworld’s equivalent of the Travel Channel to “ethnographic” studies of cultures within the storyworld.
- Make reader involvement more intense
- Enhance story unity
- Tighten plot structure
- Make suspense more intensive
- Provide character motivation
Mythos is the established conflicts and battles of the world, the characters of that world, its stories and rumors, and its creatures (Klastrup & Tosca, 2004). The mythos should also include the “official” history of the happenings within the storyworld. In The Lord of the Rings, for example, the mythos includes the creation of the One Ring in the year 1600 of the Second Age, the battle in the year 3434 of the Second Age in which the Dark Lord Sauron has the ring taken from him, and other events that take place well before the beginning of the first novel’s story time. This history sets out the various factions and creatures – factions like Dark Lord Sauron’s forces and those of Men, Elves, and Dwarves; creatures like the Orcs and the Hobbits – and is closely linked to the events on the storyworld’s timeline.
The topos is the setting of the storyworld or world in a specific period and geography. In addition to the physical setting, the topos deals with the physical laws that exist in the storyworld – for example, laws that govern whether faster-than-light travel is possible, or whether magic exists. The topos should tell the audience whether the story is set in a futuristic technological world, the middle ages with magical elements, or a crime-ridden underworld in the present day. In addition to the physical setting, elements of the topos also include the social, technological, economic, political, and legal systems of the story or storyworld.
Typically the topos is somewhat broader at the storyworld level than at the story level. The physical setting at the storyworld level might consist of a broad description like that used in the first of the Star Wars films with begins with the introduction “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” and continues with the now iconic crawling text that says
It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…. (ALL Star Wars Crawls Episodes I-VI , 2008)
The use of the text crawl was continued at the beginning of each of the subsequent Star Wars films, providing audiences with a brief overview of the setting for each story. These introductions are excellent examples of how a short piece of text can provide a great deal of information about a story’s mythos and topos.
The third element of setting is the ethos, which consists of the social values and laws, implicit and explicit ethics, and codes of behavior within the storyworld. The ethos provides the knowledge needed to “know how to behave in the world” and defines what is acceptable or inappropriate behavior (Klastrup & Tosca, 2004).
Setting can provide numerous opportunities for expansion across multiple media. These transmedia opportunities can range from relatively simple encyclopedia-style entries about particular aspects of the storyworld’s setting – articles on its flora, fauna, geography, and so on – to more detailed “travelogues” that highlight some aspect of a particular setting for the storyworld’s equivalent of the Travel Channel to “ethnographic” studies of cultures within the storyworld.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - Events
Events are a change in the state of an entity such as a setting or character. External events (outside of a character in the story) may be the result of an uninitiated change (out of the control of a character in the story). An uninitiated change could be a natural disaster or a man-made disaster which is caused by someone who is outside the scope of the story.
A war story, for example, may have the war as an uninitiated change if the main characters are ordinary soldiers on the frontlines. An event may also occur as the result of an initiated change, which is the result of the actions of a character in the story. For example, if the actions of a leader that take a nation into war are part of the narrative, the war would be an example of an initiated change.
The interaction of two characters or a character and an event may result in internal events that are the changes to the character. These “mental events” are an important element of the storyworld (Ryan, Storyworlds Across Media, 2011). They involve the emotional reactions, psychological transformations, and other internal changes in the characters. Internal events are typically the result of a character’s interaction with external events, settings, or other characters.
Events, once published, become part of the “official” history of the storyworld and should not be changed except perhaps if the author intends to create an alternate storyworld.
Events have a temporal dimension; they have a start and end point and span a period of storyworld time. Events can also be nested inside other events. For example, a particular battle in a war story can take place within a broader war event. This nesting of events provides an opportunity to use a transmedia approach to expand the storyworld.
The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell and adapted as a television series by ITV encompasses more than 25 novels and short stories that chronicle rise of Richard Sharpe, a fictional character, in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars (Cornwell, n.d.). Although not a transmedia narrative, the Sharpe series illustrates how the nesting of events can provide additional detail to a storyworld and the characters within it. The short story “Sharpe’s Christmas” published in the Sharpe’s Christmas takes place towards the end of the Peninsular War, while the short story “Sharpe’s Ransom” published in the same book occurs after the Battle of Waterloo. These two short stories fill in gaps in the timeline between individual stories – after the storytime in Sharpe’s Regiment in the case of the first short story and after Sharpe’s Waterloo in the case of the second.
The events of the storyworld can be used to extend the transmedia narrative by having encyclopedia-style articles of History Channel-style documentaries. It is also possible to use the nesting of events to create a narrative that delves more deeply into a particular event that is incidental to the story of a broader event. Although Cornwell has not done so, it would certainly be possible to nest a story of a fictional commando raid (like Sharpe’s Siege) within the storyworld time that is already occupied by another story that spans a broader period of time.
A war story, for example, may have the war as an uninitiated change if the main characters are ordinary soldiers on the frontlines. An event may also occur as the result of an initiated change, which is the result of the actions of a character in the story. For example, if the actions of a leader that take a nation into war are part of the narrative, the war would be an example of an initiated change.
The interaction of two characters or a character and an event may result in internal events that are the changes to the character. These “mental events” are an important element of the storyworld (Ryan, Storyworlds Across Media, 2011). They involve the emotional reactions, psychological transformations, and other internal changes in the characters. Internal events are typically the result of a character’s interaction with external events, settings, or other characters.
Events, once published, become part of the “official” history of the storyworld and should not be changed except perhaps if the author intends to create an alternate storyworld.
Events have a temporal dimension; they have a start and end point and span a period of storyworld time. Events can also be nested inside other events. For example, a particular battle in a war story can take place within a broader war event. This nesting of events provides an opportunity to use a transmedia approach to expand the storyworld.
The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell and adapted as a television series by ITV encompasses more than 25 novels and short stories that chronicle rise of Richard Sharpe, a fictional character, in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars (Cornwell, n.d.). Although not a transmedia narrative, the Sharpe series illustrates how the nesting of events can provide additional detail to a storyworld and the characters within it. The short story “Sharpe’s Christmas” published in the Sharpe’s Christmas takes place towards the end of the Peninsular War, while the short story “Sharpe’s Ransom” published in the same book occurs after the Battle of Waterloo. These two short stories fill in gaps in the timeline between individual stories – after the storytime in Sharpe’s Regiment in the case of the first short story and after Sharpe’s Waterloo in the case of the second.
The events of the storyworld can be used to extend the transmedia narrative by having encyclopedia-style articles of History Channel-style documentaries. It is also possible to use the nesting of events to create a narrative that delves more deeply into a particular event that is incidental to the story of a broader event. Although Cornwell has not done so, it would certainly be possible to nest a story of a fictional commando raid (like Sharpe’s Siege) within the storyworld time that is already occupied by another story that spans a broader period of time.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Storyworld Level Design Tasks - Significant Objects
Significant objects are the second type of existents (Ryan, Storyworlds Across Media, 2011). To qualify as a plot-significant object, an object must have a substantial impact on the story’s plot. The One Ring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an example of a significant object. Without the ring, the plot would be entirely different. The Holy Grail is another significant object and has been used in many grail quest stories. Money, treasure, a submarine, and atomic bombs are among the significant objects that have driven the plots of a wide variety of stories.
A character-significant object has meaning to a character. It may satisfy an emotional, religious, or other need for the character.
This back-story can provide an opportunity to develop one or more transmedia narrative extensions that delve more deeply in the significant object. These extensions can be relatively simple works that are the equivalent of an article in an encyclopedia or as complex as a narrative with the significant object at the center of a previous or subsequent story. The history of the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings has it come into the possession of several characters, only to be lost again. Each of those situations could be expanded into a separate story with the One Ring at the center of it.
Similarly, the submarine in Hunt for Red October could be the significant object at the center of a sequel in which it is used, perhaps, to penetrate Soviet territory on an ultra-secret, highly dangerous mission.
A character-significant object has meaning to a character. It may satisfy an emotional, religious, or other need for the character.
Character-significant objects do not need to change the course of the plot, but they do need to be described in enough detail that the reader understands their value or importance to the character. (Rosenfeld, 2008, p. 48)A significant object has a set of physical characteristics and has value – monetary, symbolic, or as a source of power – to the characters in the story. In many stories, the significant object has an extensive history. The One Ring in The Lord of the Rings, for example, was forged “in the year 1600 of the Second Age to gain power over other rings held by the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves” (Wikipedia, 2011) and has a history that spans more than 4500 years of The Lord of the Rings storyworld time. In the movie The Hunt for Red October the significant object is the Soviet Union’s newest and most powerful submarine. In the novel and movie The Da Vinci Code the significant object is both an object and, in an interesting plot twist, a person. In each case, the significant object has a back-story that is directly relevant to the story’s plot and/or one of its characters.
This back-story can provide an opportunity to develop one or more transmedia narrative extensions that delve more deeply in the significant object. These extensions can be relatively simple works that are the equivalent of an article in an encyclopedia or as complex as a narrative with the significant object at the center of a previous or subsequent story. The history of the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings has it come into the possession of several characters, only to be lost again. Each of those situations could be expanded into a separate story with the One Ring at the center of it.
Similarly, the submarine in Hunt for Red October could be the significant object at the center of a sequel in which it is used, perhaps, to penetrate Soviet territory on an ultra-secret, highly dangerous mission.
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