Interactive Storytelling

Vincenzo Lombardo, PhD, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

Antonio Pizzo, PhD, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

Course Type: Survey Basic technical course

Keywords: Technics, Interactive stories,

University	Department	Level	Credits	Length	Medium
Università degli Studi di Torino	Department of Humanities Department of Informatics	Master level	6	36 hours	In-person

Course Description

Goal of the course is to learn the knowledge about the production models of interactive digital narrative (IDN), from the main elements to the software modules of the system architectures. In particular, students will learn

– the history and the main example of IDN

– the fundamental of the IDN systems

– the units and the agents of IDN

– the software architectures of the IDN systems

This course participates to various programmes of humanities, providing the basic elements of the IDN design.

Weekly Outline

Introduction to Interactive Digital Narration
The dynamic elements of the interactive narration: units
The dynamic elements of the interactive narration: agents
The engine for event sequencing
The display in the interactive narration
Practice of interactive storytelling on editor Storygraphia

Course Objectives

The goal of the course is the knowledge about the production models of interactive digital narrative, from the main elements to the software modules of the system architectures. The students will learn the formal elements as well as the practice with an editor for the realization of interactive stories.

IDN Artifacts

Eliza
- https://www.masswerk.at/elizabot/eliza.html

Adventure: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/000009/000009.html
- https://quuxplusone.github.io/Advent/

Afternoon, a Story
- http://www.eastgate.com/catalog/Afternoon.html

City in Transition: New Orleans 1983-86
- https://ic.media.mit.edu/icSite/icprojects/NewOrleansInTransition.html

Desert rain
- https://www.blasttheory.co.uk/projects/desert-rain

Can you see me now
- https://www.blasttheory.co.uk/projects/can-you-see-me-now

Façade
- https://www.playablstudios.com/facade

DramaTour
- https://dramatour.unito.it/

Nothing for dinner
- http://nothingfordinner.org/portal/

The Invisible Guardian
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/998940/_The_Invisible_Guardian/?l=tchinese&cc=cn
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Zu-fowE7I
Down the Rabbit Hole
- https://downtherabbitholegame.com/

Reading

Antonio Pizzo, Vincenzo Lombardo, Rossana Damiano, Interactive Storytelling, Routledge, 2023.

IDE and IDN Authoring Tools

Storygraphia
- https://www.cirma.unito.it/storygraphia/
Twine
- https://twinery.org/

Viewings

Fahrenheit 451
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAFGUEUVweU
Pokemon
- https://youtu.be/pIbFs0OKHFI
Angels
- https://www.digitalartarchive.at/database/general/work/angels.html

Major Assignments (being assignments whose value is of 25% or more)

<<Title1>>

Platform: Storygraphia, Twine

Purpose: Interactive narrative by using some narratological constraint (dramatic tension, preconditions-effects, Propp grammar)

Requirements:

- Project Length:

- Project Size: about 30 units/scenes

- Project Aesthetics: Treatment text

- Coding Proficiency: No coding

Evaluation:

- Interactivity: Selection of significant actions for the user to be put on graph edges
- Story and narrative: Being compliant to some constraint, describing unit tags and agents
- Production values: Three interesting linear plots to be produced

Course Best Practices

Merging theory and practice immediately
Working on the individual projects
Providing a context for the IDN
Presentation of interesting cases learned by experiences with IDN
Immediate relationship between course materials and assignments