Databased Narrative
Lecture and Demonstration
Module 2: Friday, July 12 th 2002
Abstract
- Interactive narrative, non-linear storytelling and emergent narrative
- Databased Narrative using the Korsakow System
- demonstration of how to work with the Korsakow System
In the first lecture different types of narrative are placed interactively in
a spectrum of interactivity. I will further explore what interesting relationships
between user and narrative material can be established.
On the least interactive side of the interactivity spectrum there would be a typical
branching-tree type of narrative environment, where the user has no other options
but to choose between prepared hardlinked material. This sort of environment is
very suitable for certain narrative strategies (and certain type of narrative
content) but its limitations have to be cleverly played to avoid disruption of
the immersion in the storyworld.
On the most interactive side of the spectrum there would be environments for multiple
player roleplaying, where only a brief outline of a story exists that is filled
in realtime with action and dialogue by improvising players. This type of environment
facilitates the emergence of the story, but does not necessarily have a specific
story built in.
Databased narratives using the Korsakow System would be somewhere in the middle.
In the KS one can build tightly structured polemic issue spaces, but also unpredictable
narrative behaviour, as if a narrator freely associated his story together, led
by the user's preferences.
In all forms of interactive narrative the story emerges, to some extent, in relation
to the action of the user(s). The key quality of any interactive narrative is
this relation between the user's action and the emergent narrative. The session
concludes with some remarks and thoughts on this relationship.
In the second session Florian Thalhofer will present the Korsakow system and several
projects made with it, that all use a different narrative logic: thematic, spatial,
associative, temporal, etc.
In the third session Klaas Kuitenbrouwer and Florian Thalhofer will demonstrate
how to work with the Korsakow Engine.Using prepared film material we'll demonstrate
the use of keywords, the timing and numbering of offered links, the presentation
and contextualisation of links: insert text, preview text and preview icons, and
we'll show how to deal with starting and ending a databased narrative.
We'll conclude with a discussion on how the users actions can be integrated meaningfully
into this non-linear storytelling.
Course Outline
Day 1
Morning session:
10.00 - 11.30 Lecture by Klaas Kuitenbrouwer
11.30 - 13.00 Presentation by Florian Thalhofer
Afternoon:
14.00 - 16.00 Demonstration of the Korsakow System
16.30 - end. Group discussion on the meaningful integration of the user in the
storytelling.
Media
Media Studied During Session
Some brief examples of narrative projects on the www, Korsakow projects of social
relations among players of a game.