Scripting Narrative for Interactive Multimedia
1997; University of Illinois Press; Volume: 49; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1934-6018
Autores Tópico(s)Multimedia Communication and Technology
ResumoA flood of interactive multimedia titles with complex story lines, detailed characterization, snappy dialogue, and sophisticated sets and props has hit the market. Some include stars, such as Margot Kidder, Brian Keith, and Robert Culp. Production companies, studios, and publishers have rushed to open interactive divisions. Talented writers, designers, and directors have moved from film, TV, and video games to this new medium, which some critics are calling the interactive movie. The development of more sophisticated and cheaper interactive technology is one cause of the growth of the interactive movie. New products, such as 64-bit game players, are more powerful than earlier generations of interactive equipment and less expensive than personal computer-based CD-ROMS. But even the personal computer has dropped radically in price while becoming more versatile. Interactive multimedia is now accessible to wider audiences at the same time that technical improvements have increased the amount of full-motion, live-action video that can be crammed onto a disc, making it possible to have live actors and realistic action. Technical innovaton has made these changes possible, but it is the financial success of interactive multimedia and a desire for a broader audience that are fueling the growth of interactive programming. The revenue from video games alone totals a billion dollars more than the gross box office of theatrical motion pictures. Although the audience for video games is still primarily young males, industry experts are hopeful that this audience will expand as the narrative lines of interactive movies become more sophisticated. This essay examines the following questions: How does writing the interactive movie differ from writing linear video narrative? What new challenges do these differences create for the writer? And what are some of the approaches being developed to meet these challenges? The Narrative Multimedia Experience Narratve multimedia is: striding main street at high noon as The Kid goes for his gun 20 paces away; searching an abandoned barn with a Boy Scout patrol, looking for a lost little girl; breaking down a dressing room door to save a torch singer from the Black Arrow Killer; calling the police on the corrupt billionaire-and earning a visit from his assassin for your trouble. All of these scenes are from narrative multimedia programs in which the player explores a story in much the same way the user explores information in an informational multimedia program. In the narrative, the player is often a character in the story and sees action from that character's point of view. But even if he or she is not a character, the player still has some control over what the characters will do and how the story will turn out. Interactive narratives can be used for pure entertainment or to present information in an experiential way. An interactive narrative should not be confused with a simulation or a worlds structure. These are three distinct forms. As David Riordan, the designer of Voyeur, pointed out in a January 1996 telephone interview, in a virtual world program, such as Myst, the participant explores an environment or an experience; in an interactive narrative, he or she explores a story. Interactive narratives have beginnings, middles, and ends, even though each user may experience these elements differently. There is nothing unplanned in an interactive narrative. If one plays the program long enough, one will eventually see all the material the writer created. An interactive narrative essentially allows each player to discover the story in a different way. Interactive narratives also differ from simulations, such as SimCity or the numerous flightsimulation programs on the market. A simulation allows the user to test many different possibilities in an environment or activity, such as flying a combat aircraft or building a city. …
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