The Art of Interactive Narrative, Table of Contents
The Art of Interactive Narrative, Table of Contents
Introduction The changing forms of narrative. Perspective is the basis of narrative.Chapter 1.2 - Perspective The evolution of dimensional perspective. The relationship between emotional and dimensional perspectives. Inside-the-skull and outside-the-skull interactions. The individual perspective as it shifted to social perspectives, then back to individual. Subjective and Objective perspectives. The Perspectivist Approach.
Chapter 1.3 - Narrative The potential of narrative in emerging media types. Aristotelian definition of narrative. The Freytag triangle and the dramatic arc. How readers are becoming investigators. Computer applications seen as an interactive form of reading and writing. The GUI as an extension of this. Use-case scenario considered as plot. Opinion and perspective revisited. Tropes and other forms of telescoped tales. Imagery considered as a non-linear form of reading. The emerging population of visual narratives.
Chapter 1.4 - Interaction Forms of interaction considered. The roles of rules. Three principles of interaction presented. Four steps of interaction presented. Symbols discussed as the foundation of decision-making. How different readers bring different times to what is being read. How time's role in narrative is changing. The tyranny of interaction design. The natural intersection of interaction and narrative. Television and the Internet's roles reviewed.
Chapter 1.5 - Interactive Narrative Interactive narrative's episodic nature. Interactive Narrative defined. Plot structures and how they can be used. Nodal Plot Structures. Modulated Plot Structures. Open Plot Structures.
Chapter 1.6 - Summary The nature of interactive narratives. The accelerations of narrative and interaction. Story as an Algorithmic form of logic. Narrative considered as interface design. Non-interactive narrative presented as a subset of narrative.
Chapter 2.1 - Introduction The various relationships of words and imagery.
Chapter 2.2 - Perspective Points of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd person), the role of the camera, the Perspectivist Approach. The function of different points of view. Different kinds of camera angles. The power of the abstracted image and the character. Time in narrative. Forms of telescoping perspectives in narrative and visual imagery.
Chapter 2.3 - Narrative The line of sight and its importance in graphic novels. The narrative importance of saccadic and peripheral vision. Memory generates meaning. Composition in imagery. Eight examples of Narrative Imagery. The importance of symbols and redundancy. Developing new themes. Visual functions.
Chapter 2.4 - Interaction Items that visualize interaction: microscopic and macroscopic; subdivisions; feedback; composition. The relationship of these items. Acquiring information. Discovering information. Redistributing information. The importance of image in interaction.
Chapter 2.5 - Examples and Interviews Interview with Scott McCloud. Examples of AI Internet Game, Liquid Stage, Monster Without a Mouth, Jimmy Corrigan, Banja, The Devil's Tramping Ground, and Memex Engine.
Chapter 3.1 - Introduction The longstanding relationship of narrative and architecture. The Acropolis and Holocaust Memorial.
Chapter 3.2 - Perspective The spatial implications of perspective. How space influences story presentation. Perspective determines understanding. Buildings considered as narratives. First, second, and third person perspectives. Mimesis. The relationship between proximity and meaning considered. Theater and Movie compared. How video games combine these narrative forms. Movement and space increase interaction. Why 3D is important.
Chapter 3.3 - Narrative The architect considered as narrator. Architectural forms of narrative and vice-versa. Fort Scott, Kansas. Kelly Collins considered as technology.
Chapter 3.4 - Interaction Walls presented as an important part of dimensional narrative. Walls as separators of information. Visual cues as joiners of information. Human interaction underscored. Acquiring information. Discovering information. Redistributing information.
Chapter 3.5 - Examples and Interviews Interview with Marcos Novak. Examples of La Noche de Santa Inés, Deus Ex 2, God is Flat, Ultima Online, Top Agent, and Virtools.
Chapter 4.1 - Introduction Formal rules and guidelines given second seat to impact on reader.
Chapter 4.2 - Design Considerations IonStorm's system design approach. IonStorm's reality-checks reviewed. Interactive narrative includes multiple forms of storyline. Banja's approach as an example of excellence. Software Requirement Documentation (SRDs). Approaches offered toward delivery and performance goals. Primary design constraints reviewed: Responsiveness vs. Resolution; Optimization vs. Ubiquity; Customization vs. Design. The role of metaphor.
Chapter 4.3 - Narrative How character role combines literary, visual, and interactive perspectives. The importance of investment and interest in interaction and narrative. How design constraints steer story development.
Chapter 4.4 - Interaction The history of the Interactive Media Festival and Construct Internet Design. Lessons learned from that process. Interaction and narrative must be concurrently developed. Forms of interaction that can later be added.
Chapter 4.5 - Summary The adoption and hybridization of emerging forms of narrative. The Snowcrash Dream. The emerging trends of procedural development and artificial intelligence. The marriage of plot and interaction. The authors' new roles reviewed.