Skip to main content

Interactive Narrative, Plot Types, and Interpersonal Relations

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 5334))

Abstract

The design of an interactive narrative begins with the choice of a type of story. In this paper I examine the potential of three kinds of plot for active user participation: the epic plot, which focuses on the struggle of the individual to survive in a hostile world, the dramatic plot, which deals with the evolution of a network of human relations, and the epistemic plot, which is propelled by the desire to solve a mystery. I distinguish two basic types of immersion—ludic and narrative, the latter subdivided into spatial, temporal and emotional variants, and I discuss the ability of the three kinds of plot to generate these various forms of immersion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Aristotle: Poetics. Penguin, London (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Cavazza, M., Charles, F., Mead, S.: Characters in Search of an Author: AI-based Virtual Storytelling. In: Balet, O., Subsol, G., Torguet, P. (eds.) ICVS 2001. LNCS, vol. 2197, pp. 145–154. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. de Jong, I.: Epic. In: Herman, D., Ryan, M.-L., Jahn, M. (eds.) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory, Routledge, London (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Zancanaro, M., Cappelletti, A., Signorini, C., Strapparava, C.: An Authoring Tool for Intelligent Educational Games. In: Balet, O., Subsol, G., Torguet, P. (eds.) ICVS 2001. LNCS, vol. 2197, pp. 61–68. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Lazzaro, N.: Why We Play Games: Four Keys to More Emotions Without Story, www.xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf

  6. Mateas, M., Stern, A.: Façade, http://www.interactivestory.net/download/

  7. Murray, J.: Hamlet on the Holodeck. The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Free Press, New York (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Nitsche, M.: Video Game Space. MIT Press, Cambridge (2008)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Ong, W.: Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, London (1982)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Propp, V.: Morphology of the Folk Tale. University of Texas Press, Austin (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Ryan, M.-L.: Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electonic Media. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Sternberg, M.: Telling in Time (II): Chronology, Teleology, Narrativity. Poetics Today 13, 463–541 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Ryan, ML. (2008). Interactive Narrative, Plot Types, and Interpersonal Relations. In: Spierling, U., Szilas, N. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5334. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89454-4_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89454-4_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-89424-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-89454-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics