Post on 19-Aug-2015
BUILDINGSTORYWORLDS
lance@lanceweiler.com @lanceweiler
New Media Producing Building Storyworlds: the art, craft & biz of storytelling in 21cClass 3 9.26.12
Columbia University - Fall 2012Taught by Lance Weiler Visit www.buildingstoryworlds.comReleased under a Non-Commercial ShareAlike Creative Commons License
ASK YOURSELF
1. What is the story about?2. What does the story mean to you?3. Why does the story need to be told?4. Where is the story best told?
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.comChart by Robert Pratten
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Like a bullet hole in glass start with your core idea and let it ripple out. Leave room for the audience to test & break it.
5 WHYS Why should I pay attention?
Why should I care?
Why should I share?
Why should I take the time?
Why should I return?
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Consider who you’re hoping to reach. Attempt to step into their shoes.
VALUE
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Establish design filters that you return to throughout the development, production and distribution process.
What gives your storyworld
STORYAS UTILITY
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
How can the stories you tell be more than entertainment? Can they help people discover things, learn, or connect with others? Value is what brings people back and fuels the spreadibility .
CARE
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
What is it that makes someone
EMOTIONALLYINVESTED
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
What gets someone
FUN
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Don’t forget to make it
SOCIAL & PARTICIPATORY
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
At the core it should be
An idea evolves & gains power with openness.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
A storyworld evolves & spreads whenpeople feel connected.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Leave room in your design for
Participation &Experimentation
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Emergent Narrative &Collaboration can be messy.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
OPEN
SHARED
FILTERED
CORE
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Much of the design makes use of collaborative layering. It helps provide guidance, improves qualityof creative submissions and gives participants a sense of accomplishment.
Collaborative Layers
The STORY LAYER
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
It is now possible to lay a story overtop of the real world.http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2012/01/listen-as-your-story-talks-to-the-internet/
Social Connected Personalized Pervasive
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
The Story Layer enables stories to become
Start by considering behavior.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Want to build immersive storytelling experiences?
How do animals search for food?
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
How do humans search for information?
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Information foraging theoryis based on the analogy of an animal deciding what to eat, where it can be found, the best way to obtain it and how much “energy” the meal will provide.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Applying Foraging Theory to how human’s search improves discovery and the usability of various user interfaces.
“Information Theory” by Peter Pirolli & Stuart Card 1999
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
People following a path are constantly asking themselves 2 questions.
1. What can I expect to gain following this path?
2. What is the likely cost to reach my destination?
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Chart by XCKD
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Storyworlds can have linear and horizontal timelines.
Storyworlds have character and user journeys.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Don't hold tight to your characters. When constructing a storyworld the themes that drive the story are often stronger. #sw21c
From “Building Storyworlds the art, craft & biz of storytelling in 21c”http://buildingstoryworlds.com/book
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Example of a series bible for Battlestar Galactica by Ronald D. Moorehttp://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Battlestar_Galactica/Battlestar_Galactica_Series_Bible.pdf
WHAT’S IN A STORYWORLD BIBLE
GAME-Game Types RPG, Social Games, Puzzle based, ARG, Narrative based-Collaborative / Competive -Reward / Conflicts-Win / Loose Conditions-Continuous Play?-Live or Scripted Characters-What will players do?-Why is that fun?-Replayability
CHARACTER -Motivations -Arcs-Backstory-Relationships -Notes-Dialogue -Experiences
CHARTING-Script Annotation-Flow Docs-Mindmaps-Points of Entry @lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Materials from the storyworld of Hope is Missing (HiM)
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
CHARACTERS LOCATIONS
THEMES
STORY
EVENTS
MOTIF
PROPS
SETTING DIALOGUE
Elements of a storyworld use common building blocks
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
THEMES
PROPS
MOTIF
SETTING
The following example from Hope is Missing builds from these core elements.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
During a closed beta we tested elements of the Hope is Missing (HiM) storyworld.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Find other survivors, scavenge for supplies and find shelter before night fall.
Participants step into the shoes of the protagonist by using a special mobile app.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Entry gameplay by dropping into an infected area.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Participants create their own spaces and shelters using the camera on their mobile deviceShoot in a 360 and we stitched it together on the backend to form a panoramic image.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Players navigate by moving the phone or swiping with a finger. Augmented elements lead to key story assets such as video, audio, text and a red “X” lead to another user created space.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Snap shot of the usage of the app over a limited period of time. Each marker represents a new user crated space
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
Over 50,000 downloads
2000+ spaces created
Data collected
- GPS data
- Make and model of handset
- OS of the handset
- Email address
- Phone number
- Amount of usage
CONTEXTUAL STORYTELLING
MEDIA SOCIAL GRAPH
STORYWORLD GATEWAY
STORY DETECTION
MOBILE APPS
BROWSER PLUGINS
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.comChart by Mike Dicks @ BleedinEdge
MEDIA DIETWired Magazine
Consider consumption habits and entry points.
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
STORYWORLD1. Take time to evaluate the story you want to tell. 2. Ask yourself the hard questions – why will anyone care? Is this the best way to tell the story?
3. Let go of a single POV.
4. Consider how you can show not tell.
5. Make it easy for your audience to become collaborators.
6. Don’t let the world get in the way of the stor.y
6 TIPS FOR BUILDING A
@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com
THANK YOU
SUGGESTED READING:
Treating Story as Softwarehttp://www.slideshare.net/lanceweiler/storyas-software-weiler
The Art of Immersionhttp://www.slideshare.net/lanceweiler/buo
“Learn Do Share” – storytelling, collaboration and social innovation in 21chttp://learndoshare.net
Building Storyworlds: the art, craft & biz of storytelling in 21chttp://buildingstoryworlds.com/book
Contact:@lanceweiler www.lanceweiler.com