Different characters play different roles in a story. These roles fall into three categories (Card, 1988, p. 59), with the major characters identified in more specific roles: Major characters: The major charactersdrive the plot through its twists and turns and move the story forward. The major characters fill a varietyContinue Reading
The second category of existent is the characters (human or otherwise), which are sentient beings with the ability to feel, perceive, or to have subjective experiences. Characters have a number of properties that help define them. These include: Physical characteristics: The physical characteristics are what the character looks like. TheContinue Reading
Significant objects are one type of existent. There are two types of significant objects: Plot-Signficant: A plot-significant object has a substantial impact on the story’s plot. Character-Significant: A character-significant object has some sort of significance to a particular character but does not have a significant impact on the story’s plot.Continue Reading
Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the first (transmedia project) and second (storyworld) level design tasks. Once work at these levels is substantially complete, it is time to move on to the next level of tasks. The third level of design tasks occurs at the storyContinue Reading
Ryan’s description of the contents of storyworlds (Ryan, 2011) provides a starting point for the development of a systematic structure for the narrative elements of transmedia narratives. Ryan identified the content of storyworlds as existents, settings, events, mental events, physical laws, and social laws (Ryan, 2011). Chatman proposed a storyContinue Reading
Wireframes allow designers to create the structural elements of the transmedia narrative project’s interfaces. A wireframe typically lays out the position and function of major components on web pages, applications, game scenes, and printed materials. A wireframe is an early planning document and will often be the basis for moreContinue Reading
I’ve uploaded a brief (20 slide) PowerPoint presentation that provides a quick overview to processes for engagement, interaction and narrative design for transmedia narratives. Transmedia narratives an overview View more presentations from Peter von StackelbergContinue Reading
User Control of Characters While it may be tempting to design a transmedia narrative so that users can play the role of a major character, research has shown that the audience response to that approach is generally negative. A study of the British television series Spooks and its associatedContinue Reading
The synopsis is a one- to two-page outline that describes how the story elements and user experience will unfold over time. It should clearly define the storyworld and concentrate on the narrative threads, introducing key characters, significant objects, settings, and events. The synopsis should be storyworld-focused, but should also beContinue Reading
A setting is the backdrop within which a narrative occurs, but it goes far beyond the physical characteristics of a place in which events happen. Setting includes the historical background, cultural attitudes, and mood of the time (Bickham, 1994, p. 1). Well developed settings can (Bickham, 1994, p. 3): MakeContinue Reading