1.
@KentBye
Elemental Theory for Experiential
Design & Immersive Storytelling

2.
Text
From Information Age
to Experiential Age

3.
Pine II, B & H. Gilmore, James. (1998).Welcome to the Experience Economy. Harvard Business Review. 76. 97-105.
Moving from
Delivering intangible & customized
SERVICES on-demand to
To
Staging memorable & personal
EXPERIENCES that are revealed
over a duration of time.

4.
Welcome to the
Experiential Age!

5.
Mental & Social
Presence
Active
Presence
Emotional
Presence
Embodied
Presence

6.
Air Fire
Water Earth

7.
Thinking Intuition
Feeling Sensing

8.
Air
Fire
Water
Earth

9.
Thinking
Agency
Feeling
Senses

10.
Thinking
Behavior
Feelings
Senses

11.
Mental & Social
Presence
Active
Presence
Emotional
Presence
Embodied
Presence

12.
Text
Using Elemental Theory
for Experiential Design

13.
Mental & Social
Presence
Active
Presence
Emotional
Presence
Embodied
Presence

14.
•What are the rules?
•How can you connect?
•What will you learn?
•How can you participate?
•What actions can you take?
•What can you explore?
•What emotions are invoked?
•What’s the story?
•What’s the vibe?
•How are you immersed?
•Who do you become?
•Where do you go?

15.
Active Presence

16.
SUPERHOT
•Embodied Puzzle
•Rule: Body Movement
Moves Time
•First-Person Shooter
(Vanquishing Enemies)
•Cinematics Between Levels
(Context Switch to Story)
•Embodied Gameplay
•YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER!

17.
Player Unknown Battle Grounds
•100 People: Battle Royale
•Co-op: Duos, Squads
•Many Strategies to Play
•First-person shooter
•Mechanics Force Interaction
•eSport Fun to Spectate
•Emotional Rush
•Natural Drama & Tension
•Open World Exploration
•Collect Items
•Customize Avatar

18.
Soundboxing
•Puzzle of where to punch •Exercise
•FLOW STATES
•Rhythm Game
•Emotion of Music
•Embodied Movement

19.
Flow States

20.
Twitch.tv
•Chat with Users
•In-Game Co-op Dialog
•Live!
•Performance
•Use Gaming as Quest
•Authentically Express Emotion
•Color Commentary Narration
•Play Archetypal Characters
•See the Body Language
•Yin Currency of Donations

21.
Social & Mental
Presence

22.
VRChat
•Social Meet-ups •Explore Worlds without
teleporting
•Emotional Transfer from
interactions
•World-Building by Users
•Custom Avatars/Identity
•Hand Movements

23.
Rec Room
•Casual Social Play
•Collaborative Games
•Quiz Shows
•Social Games & Activities
•Quests
•Create Your Own Game
•Embodied Gameplay
•Avatar Ready Room
•Emotional Transfer from
interactions

24.
I Expect You to Die
•Solve Puzzle to Escape •Combine Objects
•Narration Tips & Backstory •Escape Room

25.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
•Collaborative Social Puzzle
•Communicate Abstractions
•Ask Lots of Questions
•Diffuse the Bomb
•Tension of Diffusing Bomb
•Laughter & Fun
•War Stories
•Asymmetrical Co-Op Play

26.
WebVR
•Pull Information from Web
•Ephemeral Experiences
that don’t require an app
•Cruise the Metaverse
•Interconnected Worlds
(Metcalfe’s Law)
•Mobile Phone
•Limited Embodiment
•Location-Based Stories

27.
Embodied
Presence

28.
Google Earth
•New Perspectives on
Where You’ve Lived
•Explore the World
•Nostalgia of Memories
•Awe & Wonder
•Experience Architecture
•Embodied Cognition
•See Geography of Earth

29.
Pokémon Go
•Randomly Meet People
•Play With/Against Friends
•Physical Exercise
(Dopamine)
•Explore Physical World
•Memories of Characters •Location-Based Game
•AR is Window into World
•Collecting Virtual Objects

30.
Mixed Reality Spectrum

31.
Woorld
•Decide What to Put Where •Objects Interact
•Decorate Space
•Story Unfolds Through
Character Interactions
•Changes How You Look at
Your Surroundings
•Add Beauty & Cuteness

32.
Mindshow
•Great for Written Skits •High Agency
•Create Your Own Stories
•Not Optimized for Improv
•Tell Your Own Stories
•Storytelling Sandbox App
•Embody Characters
•Record Your Embodiment
•Act with Yourself

33.
Emotional
Presence

34.
360 Video
•Decide Where to Look •Gaze Changes Experience
•Great for Storytelling
•Great for Empathy
•Closest Analog to Film
•Transported to Another Place
•Not Volumetric (3DoF)
•Great for Mobile Phones

35.
Pearl
•Decide Where to Look •Move in 6 DoF
•Music Video
•Time Lapse
•Compassion (Giving Tree)
•Frame of Car Helps Edits
•Car is a Character
•Volumetric CGI Experience

36.
Virtual Virtual Reality
•Solve Puzzles
•Lite Branching Decisions
•3DoF Mobile Interactions
•Volumetric Storytelling on
Mobile
•Great Writing
•Lots of Humor
•VR Incepted in VR
•Limited Embodiment

37.
Text
The Future of
Storytelling is
Immersive &
Interactive

38.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

39.
(Lebowitz, Josiah and Klug, Chris. "Interactive Storytelling forVideo Games." Focal Press. 2011)
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

40.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

41.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

42.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

43.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

44.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

45.
Authored
Narrative
Generative
Narrative

46.
Asteroids
•Decide How to Respond to
Prompts for Interaction
•Act out of Compassion
•Play Fetch with Character
•You Play a Sidekick Character
•Authored Narrative with Lite
Emotional Branches
•Teleport around Ship

47.
Life of Us
•Modulated Voices Changes
Social Interactions
•Interact with Objects
•Fly, Swim, Run
•Dance
•Music Video
•On-Rails Narrative like a
Theme Park Ride
•Embodied as Animals
•Voice is Modulated
•Changes Sense of Self

48.
6x9
•Educational Experience •Gaze Triggers Actions
•Addressed in 2nd Person
(“You will see cracks in wall”)
•Guided Tour
•Story Revealed in Environment
•Inspired by Audio Tours
•Connects you to the space

49.
Four Types of Immersive Stories

50.
Perspective
•Beliefs Can Shape Perception •Decide What to Look at
•First-Person Film
•Addressed as a Character,
but no Impact
•Situated Knowledges
•See Same Story Different POV

51.
Sleep No More
•Ghost with no relation to
the characters
•No Dialog (non-verbal)
•Ghost with Local Agency
(Decide Where to Go & Who to Follow)
•No Global Agency
(Choices don’t change story)
•Cyclical Story Repeats
•Characters Move Through
Space
•Environmental Storytelling
•Embodied Dance to Tell the
Story of MacBeth

52.
Then She Fell
•Rule: Don’t Open any Doors
•Rule: Only Speak When Spoken To
•Limited Agency
•Decide What to Watch
•Some Improv Interactions
•One-on-One Interactions
•Emotional Intimacy
•Everyone Sees Similar
Narrative Shards, but in
Different Order
•Site-Specific Immersive Theater
•Embodied Dance
•Drinks Have Taste
•Clockwork Structure

53.
Draw Me Close
•Opportunity to Interact
with a Live Actor
•Open Window
•Draw on Floor
•Get Tucked In
•You’re a Character without
Impact
•Emotional Intimate Memoir
•Live Actor Hugs You
•Mixed Reality in VR
•Passive Haptic Feedback

54.
Living Stories
•Socretes: Written Word is
“Dead”
•Theater Performances
Change with Each Audience
•Live Performance
•Elements of Improv
•Emotionally Present
•Authentic Congruence
•Embodied Communication

55.
Starship Commander
•Uses AI & NLP
•Speak and Ask Questions
•Dialog as Worldbuilding
•Asking Questions Deepens
Mental Presence
•Gameplay: Diplomacy
•Build Emotional Relationships
with AI
•You are a Character with
Impact

56.
Rick & Morty Simulator
•Puzzles as Mental Friction
•Interruptable Characters &
Story
•High Agency
•High Plausibility
•Interactive Vignettes
•Enter into Rick’s Garage
•Play with mythic objects from
show

57.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
•Communicate while Role
Playing Characters
•Have to Collaborate to Win
•Role Play Different Roles
•Story Arc of a Mission
•Dramatic Turns
•Builds on Nostalgic Memory
•Embodied as a Character on
the USS Aegis
•Hand Interactions

58.
Dungeons & Dragons
•Theater of the Mind
•Use Imagination
•Social Interactions
•Ultimate Global Agency
•Improv
•Collaborative Storytelling
•Dungeon Master is the
Drama Manager
•Different Imaginal Worlds in
Each Person’s Mind
•Collaborative Worldbuilding

59.
Mental & Social
Presence
Active
Presence
Emotional
Presence
Embodied
Presence

60.
@KentBye
Questions?