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Writing as Design: The Future of Houses, a Transformative Single-Player VR Experience

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Screenwriting for Virtual Reality

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

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Abstract

Over the last several years, significant screenwriting research has explored cinematic virtual reality (CVR) narratives; however, less work has considered the development of narrative-driven VR works with multiple interactive elements, such as those that move into the territory of game design or live performance. As a part corrective to this situation, this chapter presents an analysis of the writing process that gave rise to The Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy, an interactive, educational VR experience born out of a larger project seeking to communicate scientific research into ‘Energy Futures’. The writing process associated with the gamified element of The Future of Houses involved regular meetings over a period of approximately three months by a team of narrative designers with varying backgrounds and experience. In this chapter, I analyse an approach to narrative development that foregrounds spatial storytelling, the user’s journey and user experience (UX), and that highlights the challenges and opportunities of working with a multidisciplinary team.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Speaking in November 2021, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon suggested that Meta has sold 10 million Oculus Quest 2 headsets since the device’s launch in October 2020. See https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/16/22785469/meta-oculus-quest-2-10-million-units-sold-qualcomm-xr2.

  2. 2.

    According to the OECD, the building sector and construction materials are responsible for more than one-third of global resource production. As most buildings are demolished at the end of their life span, many of these resources, such as aluminium and cement end up in landfill, contributing to significant carbon emissions. See: https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/modus/natural-environment/climate-change/material-world.html.

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Acknowledgements

The Future of Houses was supported by a grant from Curtin University’s School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry. The project was granted Human Ethics Approval at Curtin University, reference number HRE2021-0619.

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

    Kath Dooley

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  1. Kath Dooley
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Correspondence to Kath Dooley .

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  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. (2024). Writing as Design: The Future of Houses, a Transformative Single-Player VR Experience. 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_6

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