Made for NFTS Zoom as part of Open House

1. Online Drama &
Interactive Storytelling
Tim Wright
@moongolfer
timwright@xpt.com

2. THE RUNNING ORDER
17:00
• About Me
• Digital Landscape: the Last 25 years
17:10
• Early 2000s - Basic Concepts of Interactive Drama: Online Caroline
17:25
• Questions
17:35
• Mid 2000s - Social Media, Audience Participation & Contribution: Oldton & #SuchTweet
17:55
• Questions
18:00
• Early 2010s - Live Streaming & New Forms of Performance: Kidmapped!, Longitude, Better Than Life
• The Future - The Internet of Things & Immersive Technologies – Hello World, Inspection Chamber etc
18:20
• Final Questions/Discussion

3. Original interactive content

4. Broadcast properties & projects

5. Writing: TV, web, brands & radio

6. Creative R&D, Teaching & Training, Process & ‘Play’

7. AGENCY – PAID-FOR CONTENT – CD-ROM – WEB 1.0 NETSCAPE1994 - 1998
NOHO DIGITAL MINDGYM MSN PRIVATE EYE EQ [XMASPRESENT]
1998 – 2003
XPT ONLINE CAROLINE MOUNT KRISTOS PLANET JEMMA [OLC2]
2003 – 2004
trAce OLDTON: [THE NUUK] STORYSPINNER
WEB, PRINT, RADIO [HULDER] MOBILE SPOOKS
2005 – 2007
[LOST GENERATION BBC CASTAWAY: [GOLFONTHEMOON] C4 CYBERSKIVING
& C4 MEMO] REMOTE CONTROL
2007-2008
R4 TODAY TELECTROSCOPE [BBC/KINDLE DEVELOPMENT]
2008 – 2010
CBBC & R4 SWYWTH KIDMAPPED! #SUCHTWEET CBBCNEWSROUND [4iP]
2011 – 2013
[THEHAUNTER] R3 PROMS MUSICWALK RSC#DREAM40 SCIENCEMUSEUM [COMPOTETREE]
2014 – 2016
FOOTBALLERS UNITED ROTSADVENTURE CLUB LONGITUDE STORYBOx BETTERTHANLIFE
2017 – 2019
NFTS CPDP INSPECTIONCHAMBER UNRD CURIOUSLYSPECIFIC MOMENT OF MADNESS
DOTCOM STARTUP – DIALUP CONTENT – WEB 1.0 – BROADBAND GOOGLE
FREELANCE DIGITAL WRITER – UGC - BLOGS – WAP – WEB 2.0 FACEBOOK
CROSSPLATFORM BROADCAST – DIGITAL TV + WEB + MOBILE - YOUTUBE
DIGITAL RADIO – NEWS - SOCIAL MEDIA – TWITTER + FACEBOOK TWITTER
TRANSMEDIA WRITER – SMARTPHONES – TABLETS - GEOLOCATION IPHONE MAKERBOT
SOCIAL MEDIA - LIVE PERFORMANCE – INTERNET OF THINGS - DATA-DRIVEN STORY IPAD KICKSTARTER
CONSULTANT/TRAINER - SMART SPEAKER – PODCAST – IMMERSIVE ECHO OCULUS MAGIC LEAP
DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER - DIGITAL/PHYSICAL – ROBOTICS – DRAMA/DOC – HYBRID FORMAT MAKERGEAR M2 NETFLIX

8. THE DIGITAL MEDIA LANDSCAPES TENDS
TO CHANGE EVERY 2-3 YEARS
Don’t take 5 years to make anything.
It’ll be out of date at the point of launch.
Design for near-future audiences & platforms - not for now
Be prepared to pivot/change
Start anywhere. Start NOW.

9. “THE ILLITERATE OF THE 21ST CENTURY WILL NOT BE THOSE WHO
CANNOT READ AND WRITE, BUT THOSE WHO CANNOT LEARN,
UNLEARN, AND RELEARN. ”
– Alvin Toffler

10. TELEVISION
EVERYWHERE
ONLINE VIDEO + SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

11. THIS IS NOT TELEVISION
STORIES (‘CONTENT’) + TECHNOLOGY/CODE + *ACTIVE* AUDIENCES

12. COMPUTERS: BASIC
• Processors
• Disk Space – Storage
• Memory - ROM - RAM
• Monitor – Screens - Graphics Cards
• Mouse - Keyboard
• Speakers – Microphone

13. COMPUTERS: POSSIBILITIES 1990S
• Processors: IF>THEN> BRANCHING - PROGRAMMING – CODE
• Disk Space: DATA – CHOICES – USER RESPONSE (e.g. ‘clicks’ ‘keystrokes’)
• Monitor: GRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENTS – MULTIMEDIA
• Mouse: POINT & CLICK – DRAG & DROP - TYPING – WRITING
• Speakers: AUDIO – MUSIC (MIDI) – SFX - VOICE

14. COMPUTERS: POSSIBILITIES 1990S
BRANCHING: PERSONALISATION: ALTERNATIVE
OUTCOMES/’YOUR STORY’
CHOICES & USER RESPONSE: 1-to-1 COMMUNICATION: EMAIL
MULTIMEDIA: MOVING IMAGE: WEBCAMS!
POINT & CLICK LINKING: WEBSITES – WORLD BUILDING – GAMES!
AUDIO: SOUNDTRACKS (AND SILENCE)

15. JENNICAM, WIPEOUT & MYST
GAMES {PS1} + THE INTERNET {MODEMS} + LAPTOPS {NO SMARTPHONES}

16. First ever BAFTA for Interactive Drama

18. TELEVISION

19. COMMERCE

20. Big Brother – Kate Modern – Anna’s Phone - LonelyGirl15 – KarenApp - The Annie Broadcasts
FORMATS

21. BRANCHED NARRATIVE
• Basic Yes/No, Left/Right Choices – implications for character development
• The Illusion of Choice – loop all branches back into the story eventually
• More nuanced choices can reflect & reveal player mood/personality
• Use personal data – watch and store all the responses (inc speed of response,
obtuseness etc) and use them
• Free text entry vs Forms – how to tell what people are saying (n.b. swearing)
• Games, puzzles and exercises (false goals) – more data!
• Replayability - reward different styles of interaction and persona

22. WRITING INTO SYSTEMS

23. WHAT DO I WRITE WITH?
MS WORD – EXCEL – PPT - XML – SCRIVENER – TWINE – HTML…

24. INTERACTIVE STORYWORLDS
• Boundaries – where is the edge of your world? Where does it end?
• Where to start – discovery and onboarding (wormholes)
• The rest of the internet and ‘search’ – one click away from a cat playing a piano
• Onion Skinning & Unexpected Connections
• Character & Plot Development – playing things out of order
• Blurring Fact & Fiction, Actors & Audience – game vs ‘reality’
• Content as part of a Service – working inside other ‘worlds’
• Maintaining logic & integrity: finding & training other writers

25. END OF PART ONE
QUESTIONS?
OBSERVATIONS?

26. THE WEB: HERE COME OTHER PEOPLE
THIS IS NOT THE INTERNET

27. • OTHER COMPUTERS, OTHER DISKS
• MORE DATA, MORE PROCESSORS
• TRANSMITTERS/RECEIVERS
• LINKING AND EMBEDDING
• STREAMING
• SHARING – MODIFYING – STEALING
• OTHER PEOPLE’S SH*T… ER.. CONTRIBUTION
THE INTERNET & THE WEB

28. • OTHER COMPUTERS, OTHER DISKS - CONTENT & DATA SHARING/PIRACY
• MORE DATA, MORE PROCESSORS – PERSONALISATION/BIG DATA
• TRANSMITTERS/RECEIVERS – SOCIAL INTERACTION/PHISHING
• LINKING & EMBEDDING - MULTI-SOURCE DOCS/TRUTHINESS
• STREAMING - MULTIMEDIA/TELEVISION
• SHARING & MODIFYING MASHUPS/ATTRIBUTION/THEFT
• OTHER PEOPLE’S SH*T… ER.. CONTRIBUTION CO-CREATION/DEBATE/ABUSE
THE INTERNET & THE WEB: POSSIBILITIES

29. THE SOCIAL ELEMENT

31. DEAR TIM,
DO YOU REMEMBER THE ALLOTMENTS?
I CAN'T PLACE THEM ANYWHERE BUT
OUR UNCLES AND OUR GRANDADS HAD
THEIR SHEDS THERE, WHERE OLD
PICNIC CHAIRS TOOK ON THE AIRS OF THRONES AND DENTED THERMOS
FLASKS GAVE OFF A SCENT OF SUGARED MILK.
WE ATE PEAS THERE, FROM THE POD.
(NEARLY) EVERYONE’S A WRITER
“THIS PARK BENCH LOOKS REMARKABLY LIKE
THE ONE IN YOUR FIRST OLDTON PICTURE. I
USED TO HANG OUT ON IT WHEN I WAS A BORED
TEENAGER WITH NOTHIN BETTER TO DO THAN
DRINK CIDER, SMOKE MENTHOLS AND SNOG THE
LOCAL BOYS (THERE WAS A BOY CALLED TIM
BTW WHO I REALLY FANCIED)”
“OLD MISS SEEWOOD, OVER
150 YEARS OLD AND LIVED BY
THE RIVER. SHE CAUGHT ME
THROWING STICKS AT HER
HORSE CHESTNUT TREE AND
INVITED ME IN TO HER
COTTAGE. THINKING SHE WAS
A WITCH I AGREED.”
IS THIS MY DAD HARD
AT WORK IN THE BRUSH
FACTORY AS A LAD,
MAYBE?

32. USER GENERATED CONTENT
• It’s messy - unless you limit what can be contributed.
• It takes time to find a shape or become ‘formatted’.
• Who owns the content? Who owns the story?

33. • The cost of adapting to different platforms (web, print, radio)
• The role of the storyteller - where did my story go?
•What is ‘good’ content?
•You set the format. You set the tone.
USER GENERATED CONTENT

34. Sometimes audiences will trade their content
for ATTENTIONrather than MONEY
80% VIEWERS
16% LURKERS
4% PLAYERS

35. SUCH TWEET SORROW

36. DRAMA…? POETRY!?

37. WHO’S THE WRITER?

38. AUDIENCES TAKE CONTROL

39. MEMES & MASHUPS

40. STORY GRIDS

41. FRAGMENTATION
• knowing where & when to look
• filling in the gaps
• providing obvious routes
• easter eggs, surprises, live action
• coherence
• automation & algorithms
• actors as writers
• set text - knowing the story

42. END OF PART TWO
QUESTIONS?
OBSERVATIONS?

43. KIDMAPPED!
WRITING IN THE WILD

45. • production out in the field
• mobility - 2 x phones, a Flip, tripod and a laptop
• free/lowcost services: GoogleMaps - Typepad - Youtube - Flickr -
Twitter - Instagram - pbwiki – podcast
• episodic, located, predictable, findable
• social activity - a trip or an event
• writing, reading & performance
• a sense of time and place
• atmosphere & nature
STREAMING FROM ANYWHERE

46. LONGITUDE
LIVE STREAMING

47. • Characters on Hangouts in London, Barcelona & Lagos
• On the street, on boats, on the beach, in cars…
• Water smugglers meeting once a week (Monday nights)
• 4 x 30 mins eps weekly with social media updates in-between
• Storyline influenced by actor improv and audience suggestion
• Chat window for audience comment
• Installations at Watermans Arts Centre & Tate Modern
• Lots of problems: TV on an arts theatre budget; low-rez
mobcams and poor connectivity & audio; lack of dramatic
tension – camera angles/cuts; clash of styles/lack of
coherence; lack of take-up/audience
LONGITUDE

48. BETTER THAN LIFE
MULTICAMERA
LIVE STREAMING

49. NESTA R&D
https://research.gold.ac.uk/13925/1/Coney-project-report-1.pdf
• multi camera live streaming
• remote control, automation & robotics
• choreography, timings & missing things
• audience behaviour & navigation
• competition for attention and resource
• business model

50. • Held at a ‘secret’ location in London, with 12
people attending and entering the fictional
world of the “Positive Vision Movement”
(PVM)
• In the live space, the audience promenaded
through the world of the PVM, following
three actors playing, solving puzzles,
chatting, debating and witnessing magic.
• Online, people spoke and instructed
characters, made comments, spoke to each
other, made choices and switched camera
views at will.
• At times, the online audience could even
take control of lighting in the space in order
to create specific atmospheres, or shine light
on a particular place or person.
BETTER THAN LIFE
Space A In Use
Source: Coney

51. THE SECRET LOCATION

52. TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

53. WebpageScreenshot
Source: Coney
ONLINE AUDIENCE VIEW

54. BETTER THAN LIFE
• Interestingly, interactivity - the ability to ‘take control’ of a situation, make a
decision about plot or performance or change the mood through lighting or
sound - was not rated as highly by any of the audiences, as much as the
opportunities to socialise and engage with each other.
• Data suggests that the online audience, in particular, enjoyed the ability to form
strong social bonds with each other, and that they favoured elements of the show
in which they were able to connect and communicate directly with
performers in the show.
• This would suggest that this new kind of hybridised digitally-driven storytelling
and play environment is seen, first and foremost, as an opportunity to connect
with others in a theatrical context, interacting with each other
more as one might do at a music festival or house party.

55. THE FUTURE:
BOTS, AUTOMATION,
IMMERSION & AI

56. THE INTELLIGENT FRIDGE

57. FRIDGE AS
STORYTELLER

58. SMARTOBJECTS IN THE HOME :
THE INSPECTION CHAMBER
• GOOGLE HOME and
AMAZON ECHO
• VOICE-DRIVEN APPS
• INTERACTIVE AUDIO
DRAMA

59. a building that learns to speak
& talk about itself
barton_bendish
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

60. light detection:
the sunrise hitting the stones
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

61. audio detection:
bells, music, birdsong
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

62. presence detection:
doors, movement, people
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

63. site-specific interaction:
highly localised audio
lighting/projection
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

64. site-specific interactions:
triggering online media
ringing the bell
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

65. site-specific interaction:
secret spaces unlocked
THE INTELLIGENT CHURCH

66. sensor data
online conversation
& interaction (social media)
specific events
WHAT DOES
THE CHURCH
SAY?
WHAT’S THE
STORY? HOW
richer site-specific experience
a writer/editor

67. AI SCRIPTBOTS

68. IMMERSION: VR, AR, MR

69. IMMERSION: MULTISENSORY EXPERIENCE &
DRAMA

70. AI & PERSONAL DATA
• Velocity – Distance – Steps – Calories
• Heart Rate – Sweat - Blood Sugar
• Tension/Pressure
• Mood – Happiness – Smile
• Sleep Patterns – Brain Waves
• Proximity – Relative Happiness - Environment
• Gender – Ethnicity – Class

71. ONLINE PLANTS – VIRTUAL PLANTS
WHAT IS SUCCESSFUL STORYTELLING FOR A PLANT? Plant Values
Growth – Propagation – Pest Control
- Resource Sharing – Environmental Control - Cell
Chemistry

72. ONLINE HUMANS – VIRTUAL HUMANS
WHAT IS ‘SUCCESSFUL’ STORYTELLING FOR FUT?URE HUMANS? Media Values
Attention – Reach – Sharing – Approval/Likes
– Comment - Behaviour Change – Cultural Autho
– Revenue –– Trust – Brain Chemistry

73. "We're in one of those 50-year windows when an entirely new medium is being
created and no one knows what to do with it. All you can do is throw stuff out there
and experiment".
- Frank Rose, author of The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is
Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the Way We Tell Stories
Tim Wright
@moongolfer
timwright@xpt.com
FINAL QUESTIONS & OBSERVATIONS?