Insights on Interactive Narrative and New Media
Discussion on the evolution of interactive narrative and new media, highlighting Janet Murray's work, the complementary skills of hackers and bards, the concept of the Holodeck as a universal fantasy machine, Janeway's Holonovel, and the early reactions to new media technologies. Topics covered included the potential for interactive storytelling, concerns about holoaddiction, and the societal responses to technological advancements.
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Notes on Write-Ups Due before class begins, accepted up to 1 week late. Separate the three sections Summary Something learned Something did not understand or disagree with Summary does not have to be long but should provide enough detail to convey main points of the day s readings Other two sections can be 1-2 sentences.
Hamlet on the Holodeck Who is Janet Murray? Worked at IBM Suits and hackers Musical printer PhD in English Literature from Harvard Victorian scholar Novel as ultimate form Not into deconstruction New Media Researcher Established first university course in interactive narrative at MIT(1990s) Since 1999 at Georgia Tech professor in the school of Literature, Media, and Communication Into constructionist educational software
Hackers and Bards Complementary skills The spirit of the hacker is one of the great creative wellsprings of our time, causing the inanimate circuits to sing with ever more individualized and quirky voices The spirit of the bard is eternal and irreplaceable, telling us what we are doing here and what we mean to one another.
The Holodeck A universal fantasy machine Illusory world open to individual programming that can be stopped, started, or turned off at at will Vision of a computer as a story-telling genie in the lamp A generally positive vision of the future of interactive narrative How does it compare to today s games?
Janeways Holonovel Lucy Davenport https://youtu.be/PUp5bsDhhRE?t=8 More leisurely, and open ended exploration Presented over several episodes Stories were not always positive As a replacement for the real world Holoaddiction
Reaction to New Media Early reaction is generally negative Fear of change Also, culture needs to adapt Brave New World Talkies, Movies, and Feelies Fahrenheit 451 Vision of reality tv? The televisors are evil because they create an environment as real as the world. Books are better their meager sensory input makes their illusions easier to resist. McLuhan s hot and cold
Reaction to New Media TekWar Vision of virtual reality the source of addiction, destitution, bad trips, overdose deaths, and gangster violence. Computer Games A film critic complained that his sons quit reading to play video games that offer a kind of narrative, but one that yields without resistance to the child's desire for instant gratification.
Utopian and Distopian Visions Bridging the Hopes and Fears enticing but not enslaving Neither vision of the future refutes the other. Eventually all successful storytelling technologies become transparent : we lose consciousness of the medium and see neither print nor film but only the power of the story itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7wE8snf2E
Computer as Meta-Medium Computers enable many existing forms of communication Existing representations being digitized Typical of a new medium Incunabula recorded prose and poetry of oral storytelling Movies were recordings of plays At the incunabula phase of narrative computer
Towards a Real Life Holodeck How to support movement within virtual spaces in small spaces A large scale tracking lab with VR headsets Redirected walking and control algorithms Large multi-directional treadmill https://youtu.be/7ZPs7knvs7M?t=325 See @ 5:30 11
Computer as Meta-Medium Computers enable many existing forms of communication Existing representations being digitized Typical of a new medium Incunabula recorded prose and poetry of oral storytelling Movies were recordings of plays At the incunabula phase of narrative computer
The Multiform Story Presentation of alternate paths/narratives Sound and the Fury Different viewpoints It s a Wonderful Life Showing the world with and without George Bailey The Garden of the Forking Paths Multiplicity of alternatives
The Multiform Story Groundhog Day Repeating time Changing choices Dictionary of the Khazars No linear narrative story is constructed in the reader s mind
The Active Audience Changing the author-reader relation Authors talking about or changing their decisions Gives insight into the goals and indecisions of the author Readers remixing content or writing new content Reorderable pages Fan fiction
The Active Audience New forms based on author s world (LARP) Participatory dinner theater MUDs, MOOs, and MMORPG Different players want different things Role playing servers
3D Movies Early examples Used motion, fright Included jarring effects Now it is commonplace What have we learned? The potential for 3D sound and images to present external and internal content Riding the movies (limited simulation)
Taking 3D Movies to Extremes? 4DX theaters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IPanvJaZ0I http://www.cj4dx.com/aboutus/aboutus.php
Drama in Games Many games include narrative in cut scenes between player activities/challenges Floyd the robot in Planetfall Myst the role of sound What are some more recent examples?
Story Webs Hypertext Reader gets to choose Make your own story books Afternoon by Michael Joyce I want to say I may have seen my son die today. Reader confusion to match character confusion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djIrHF8S6-Q Electronic literature exhibition publicity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVsPu2k7khI Victory Garden sampler: http://www.eastgate.com/VG/VGStart.html
Computer Scientists as Storytellers Technology is now common Shared virtual worlds, avatars, force feedback, computer characters Magic Mirror Murray vs. Tomlin CMU s OZ group Interactive Drama AI techniques (as DM) Computer keeps the story moving forward; finds most satisfying/ interesting narrative paths
