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An Introduction to Screenwriting for Virtual Reality

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Screenwriting for Virtual Reality

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting ((PSIS))

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Abstract

This introductory chapter presents an overview of recent developments in virtual reality as an entertainment medium and a review of related academic scholarship on ‘writing’ for VR. This term is used to refer to a range of activities involved in the conceptualisation and development of VR media. In the last decade, a new wave of high-profile VR work has appeared at screen festivals, online, in galleries and in other venues, giving rise to significant industry discourse and academic scholarship exploring the affordances, aesthetics and experience of this immersive medium. To begin interrogating the subject of writing for VR, this chapter presents an exploration of concepts drawn from scholars working in the areas of screenwriting, human–computer interaction, game studies and interdisciplinary fields. It concludes by introducing the new scholarship featured in this anthology, Screenwriting for VR: Story, Space and Experience.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) involves images that are projected on all 6 walls of an enterable cube-sized room, immersing participants in a virtual environment.

  2. 2.

    We note the endurance of French and Canadian VR studios Atlas V and Felix and Paul.

  3. 3.

    Sandbox VR offers users the ability to enter virtual worlds based on US productions such as Star Trek or Dead Wood. For more information see: https://sandboxvr.com/

  4. 4.

    For a comprehensive review of literature on the conceptualisation and development of narrative-based VR projects, see Dooley, Kath (2023), ‘Conceptualizing and developing narrative-based virtual reality experiences: A review of disciplinary frameworks and approaches to research’, Journal of Screenwriting, 14:3, pp. 229–49, https://doi.org/10.1386/ josc_00132_1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Kath Dooley

  2. Media Arts and Production, School of Communication, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Alex Munt

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  1. Kath Dooley
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  2. Alex Munt
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Correspondence to Kath Dooley .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of South Australia, Adelaide, WA, Australia

    Kath Dooley

  2. University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Alex Munt

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Dooley, K., Munt, A. (2024). An Introduction to Screenwriting for Virtual Reality. In: Dooley, K., Munt, A. (eds) Screenwriting for Virtual Reality . Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54100-1_1

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