This is creative development for builders!
Writers, game designers, developers, aspiring artists and the intellectually curious… This is for you!
If you fall into one of those camps keep reading. If you don’t then follow this link back to the start of the internet and you’re lame.
The following contains the blueprint for a simulation narrative structure. It is presented through the gaze of Western narrative structures and assumes knowledge thereof though some time is spent on recapitulation to provide a working definition of story.
This guide aims to bridge the gap between traditional narratives and emergent simulations narratives. It is meant for those who are familiar with story structures however, do drop me a line if you like it, hate it or find the material confusing at any point.
Structure. Structure. Structure.
There are as many ways to build a story as there are writers. One method that’s been extremely helpful is following a detailed story structure methodology. Below is a diagram I created which maps out a coupe of the most popular western story structures in one graph. Namely Howard’s 8 sequence structure taught at USC, Syd Field and the Blake Synder’s Save the Cat work. Download it here.
This chart has proven immensely helpful for me in my writing and development work. I post it here to provide a working definition of story such that everyone will know what it means and also how to adapt it to their own work and methodology.
Throughout the podcast I will reference stories using this language. Another feature not explicitly mentioned above is the idea of tension in an audience. Tension is best defined as hope vs. fear in relation to the characters in the story, the interplay of which is the primary feature of what defines a Western story, conflict.
Writing / Development Process
Themes first.
Why the hell are you telling this story and why the heck should anyone watch it! These are the takeaways that you must map to the human condition.
Characters second.
Who are we on the journey with and how are they both relatable and unique. What are their thought processes and how do these thought processes provide a inherent conflict with other characters.
Structure third.
What is the structure of the story. What journey do the protagonists go on, struggle with and potentially overcome. This will change as you write as it’s meant to be a starting point.
Interactivity fourth?
If you’re making simulation narrative this is the last step. Authentic interactivity is best left after you know your characters, what you want to say and a basic overall narrative structure. This is help yield a. more authentic interaction design which will increase engagement.
Simulation Narratives
Building upon the same model listed above, our task is to build a simulation narrative with story element tests as opposed to discrete narrative elements. In this regard many stories are possible as viewer agency is maximized in the world. The chart below helps to illustrate this concept.
Around the circumference of the circle we have our narrative structure sequences just as we had above for a linear narrative. If we imagine each circumference sequence block extending down like a pizza slice, then each white dot in the center denotes a story element test within a particular sequence. The connected colored dots then represent a singular story within all of the possible stories in the story world. In this particular model player agency is only limited by the technology (PC, Phone, Gaming Console) and written out narrative tests (scenes, characters, games etc) planned out in advance.
Story Element Tests
- A test performed on the viewer or player in an interactive medium to determine the affect of a narrative element.
Story element tests are a way to gauge the effectiveness of story elements in the simulation. Closely monitoring the results of each test provides a way to determine the best possible story path for a particular viewer based on how effective the story element is given our narrative structure. For example, let’s design our narrative to have multiple characters who can be the protagonist . Then let’s place these characters in an area and let them interact.
In this set up a potential story element test can be:
Who is the protagonist?
Who is the antagonist?
What genre is most appealing to my viewer?
Each of these specific questions require a specific narrative approach and data model in order to build a test. For simplicity, let’s define a Western narrative structure as our approach and a data model based on viewing habits and realtime biometrics. Then we can contruct the following tests for the aforementioned:
Who is the protagonist? For a given equal screen time for all characters, which character does our viewer look at the most? Additionally can we detect any change in heart rate, temperature or any other biometric? Does the biometric result correlate with a particular character? Is this result a positive affect?
Who is the antagonist? The same protagonist questions apply except in this instance we’re looking for negative affect.
What genre is most appealing to my viewer? A look toward historical viewership data (genre’s watched vs. time of day) to determine the best genre for the viewer.
Data Model for Story Element Tests
We basically need to measure affect. Fortunately we can do it with biometric sensors and a simple computer. It doesn’t require any specialized equipment. We all have the perfect device in our pockets or likely in your hand while you’re reading this. In the affective computing field I particularly enjoy the work of Rosalind Picard.
Essentially what our data model needs to tell us:
Is the viewer experiencing a strong emotion?
Is this emotion positive or negative?
We can obtain this type of information from available emotional models based on facial analysis and heart rate along with other more invasive biometrics such as EEG, GSR and fMR in a VR environment.
Viewer Models
At the most basic level the viewer is the person watching the show. But that only scratches the surface.
Newer viewer models include, “players” where the viewer controls a disembodied avatar. This is the primary model for games which becomes more immersive as you increase the illusion of embodiment through multiplayer voice interaction.
The newest model is the “embodied” viewer models where the viewer is a character in the show. I like to call these viewers player actors because it reminds me of how to handle them, basically like an uninformed improvisational actor. This model is prevalent in VR/AR and also in mobile games where the viewer plays themselves.
Viewer models are extremely important because they help inform the best ways to implement story structure and story element tests.
Managing Conflict in Simulation Narratives
Conflict management depends on the preferred viewer model. The potential is that we’re able to achieve conflict detection in player actor model where we’re able to measure nervous system responses in real time.
Other Narrative Models
A conflict based narrative model is not the only narrative model for player actor. The more agency yielded to viewers/players demands a variable narrative model. In this regard Kishotenketsu (起承転結) is more appropriate in that it naturally supports the discovery of conflict in the viewer/player in the narrative.
For the more technically inclined…
I’ve written a few articles on a very similar approach here and here. There are also several patents listed near the bottom on my LinkedIN account where a tremendous amount of detail is included.