The World Building Framework for Immersive Storytelling Projects

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

In this paper, we treat VR as a new writing space in the long tradition of inscription. Constructing Virtual Reality (VR) narratives can then be understood as a process of inscribing text in space, and consuming them as a process of “reading” the space. Our research objective is to explore the meaning-making process afforded by spatial narratives—to test whether VR facilitates traditional ways of weaving complex, multiple narrative strands and provides new opportunities for leveraging space. We argue that, as opposed to the linear space of a printed book, a VR narrative space is similar to the physical space of a museum and can be analyzed on three distinct levels: (1) the architecture of the space itself, (2) the collection, and (3) the individual artifacts. To provide a deeper context for designing VR narratives, we designed and implemented a testbed called RealityMedia to explore digital remediations of traditional narrative devices and the spatial, immersive, and interactive aff...

2015

How are virtual worlds conceived? What is their relation to actual worlds? What devices do designers employ to construct these worlds? How are they represented? Do different disciplines construct their worlds differently, or are there shared elements, relationships, and intentions? How do their audiences experience, and re-experience, these spaces? Does the audience participate in the world’s making, or do they inhabit an already made world? Correlating game developers’ intentions of behind emulation of reality and the dichotomous relationships between real spaces and virtual narratives versus virtual spaces and real narratives. Analysis of how perception and memory within these realms describes a state of existence. Within the disciplines of architecture and video games, virtual spaces deploy devices of coercion, irony, satire, and performance as a means of restructuring our perception of the existing real world.

2000

In this paper we discuss issues involved in creating art and cultural heritage projects in Virtual Reality with particular reference to one interactive narrative, 'The Thing Growing'. In the first section we will briefly discuss the potential of VR as a medium for the production of art and the interpretation of culture. In the second section we describe 'The Thing Growing' project. In the third section we discuss building an interactive narrative in VR using XP, an authoring system we designed to simplify the process of producing projects in VR. In the fourth section we will discus some issues involved in presenting art and cultural heritage projects in VR.

PRESENCE: Virtual and Augmented Reality, 2023

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies offer unparalleled opportunities for embodied presence in immersive digital environments. While these platforms are primarily discussed regarding their technological capabilities for simulating ctional scenes or enabling interactions with virtual entities, their profound implications on storytelling and narrative comprehension remain underexplored. The narrative dimension is instrumental as factors like interactivity, stereoscopic displays, and user mobility de ne what details become available and in what sequence, generating each user's unique vantage point and experience. In order to address the limited theoretical and methodological accounts on immersive virtual storytelling, this special issue brings together multidisciplinary perspectives spanning engineering, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and digital activism. With the proposed novel conceptual frameworks, technologies, applications, and inclusivity initiatives, the contributions examine immersive visual narratives in an expansive manner. Thereby, this special issue aims to provide a novel understanding of how virtual, augmented, and mixed reality platforms can be leveraged to craft and experience narratives in profoundly immersive ways. By providing insights into how immersive qualities transform narrative comprehension, this special issue advances our knowledge of the complex relationship between story, technology, and the human experience.

International Journal of Transmedia Literacy, 2018

Immersive Stories From Technological Determinism Towards Narrative Determinism, 2024

This article is part of the issue “The Many Dimensions of Us: Harnessing Immersive Technologies to Communicate the Complexity of Human Experiences” edited by Nicholas David Bowman (Syracuse University), Dan Pacheco (Syracuse University), T. Makana Chock (Syracuse University), and Lyndsay Michalik Gratch (Syracuse University), fully open access at https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.i455 Abstract Following the wave of immersive production that occurred between 2015 and 2018, and in the face of new virtual, augmented, and mixed‐reality devices, this article discusses the need to move from a technology‐ or device‐focused perspective in the analysis and use of immersive technology towards a story‐focused or story‐first perspective. It starts with a technological perspective, contextualising the evolution of immersive technologies and their interpretation from a technological determinism point of view. Secondly, the ecological perspective provides an integrative reading of the technique, its use, and its experience, based on the concept of the environment. Finally, and after acknowledging previous research on the effects of immersive media on the audience, the article considers the narrative elements that are reinforced by immersive technologies in journalism and nonfiction, based on the qualitative analysis of projects. The article highlights narrative resources associated with the social character of the story, the spatio‐temporal framework, and the emotional impact. It suggests a shift towards “narrative determinism,” which would allow us to analyse and employ immersive resources in terms of their contribution to storytelling and to overcome the limitations of perspectives that are highly dependent on specific platforms or technologies. Keywords immersive storytelling; immersive technology; journalism; narrative; virtual reality

2021

This introduction to the monographic section on "VR Storytelling" aims to outline some of the principal transformations that VR is imparting to audiovisual language and experience, with a particular focus on the impact of these innovations on storytelling. The essays of the section span a variety of theoretical approaches and backgrounds, argumentative styles and case studies (e.g. documentaries, games, art), but all of them share a similar rhetorical attitude: underscoring the potential and novelty of VR but, at the same time, identifying a series of remediations and limitations. In particular, they will show that most of the contemporary discourses on VR need to be reframed critically in order to reflect more objectively on complex notions and dynamics such as screen, interactivity, immersion, presence, embodiment, illusion and empathy.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2019

Today, more than ever, audiences are surrounded by imaginary worlds in which a wide variety of products and activities can be fully explored through multiple media windows. Imaginary worlds allow members of the audience to enter vicariously in the narrative space, spending a certain amount of time in speculative and explorative activities, experiencing the 'possible world' through the stories set within it. According to this, it is possible to differentiate between story and storyworld. While ' stories' are self-enclosed arrangements of causal events that come to an end in a certain period of time, ' storyworlds' are mental constructions shared between recipients and authors in which new storylines can be developed. This paper aims to discuss the implication of world-building activity for the design practice. Considering narratives and world-making practices as a matter of design, this essay will tackle the following question: how can a designer use the creation of storyworlds in his practice to activate new perspectives on specific contexts? In doing so, the first part of the essay is a brief summary of how imaginary worlds have evolved through the decades. Then, the second part is devoted to the

Animation Practice, Process & Production, Volume 7, Number 1, , 2018

The discussion will explore the aesthetic of hand drawn animation and the qualities this brings to the animation story through the analysis of selected practitioners in the field who bring drawn qualities that (could) crossover into 360°. Through the analysis the discussion will demonstrate the convergence of narrative structures and strategies from conventional animation and film narrative theory that are commonly present, applied or adapted within the emerging film syntax and grammar for VR. The article will go on to discuss how these theories and strategies might aid approaches to creative practitioners to enhance the possibilities for immersive storytelling by utilizing the hand drawn aesthetic in storytelling for the VR/360° world. First, to open the discussion, there is a question of the immersion experience and aesthetics present in the emerging media for 360° and VR and aspects of the whole immersive experience that are opening up for artists and audiences.

Virtual Reality, 2003