Engagement, Interaction & Narrative Design for Transmedia Storytelling
By Peter von Stackelberg
December 2011
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
Transmedia narratives are one or more related stories told across two or more media.
The Matrix includes feature films, comic books, video games, and animated shorts set in the same “storyworld”.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A fundamental question designers of transmedia narratives face is “How do you tell an effective story across multiple media?”
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
Concept maps show the objects, entities, and concepts that comprise a transmedia narrative and relationships between them.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The design of transmedia narratives can be broken into three sub-processes – narrative, user engagement, and interaction design.
Transmedia Narrative Design
Narrative Design
User Engagement
Design
Interaction Design
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The transmedia narrative design process occurs at four levels – transmedia project, storyworld, story, and scene/sequence level.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The design tasks at the transmedia project level shape the overall transmedia narrative project.
Transmedia Project Level Design Tasks
• Initiate transmedia project
• Create transmedia project tagline
• Identify the purpose of the project
• Identify audience demographics
• Develop audience psychographic profile
• Identify content consumer type
• Identify user gratifications
• Identify audience media usage
• Identify user segments
• Identify media/platforms that will be used
• Determine project type
• Determine if the project is intercompositional or intracompositional
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The storyworld level design tasks shape the “universe” within which the transmedia narrative(s) play out.
Storyworld Level Design Tasks
Narrative Design Engagement Design Interaction Design
• Create storyworld
• Develop storyworld tagline
• Select storyworld genre
• Determine if storyworld is
fictional, non-fictional, or hybrid
• Create characters
• Create significant object(s)
• Create events
• Create settings
• Develop storyworld synopsis
• Determine desired level of
user engagement
• Determine degree of user
agency
• Determine user control of
characters
• Determine user role (internal
or external)
• Apply principles of human
centered design
• Develop “rules of
engagement” synopsis
• Develop design aesthetic
• Develop style guides
• Develop preliminary wireframes
• Determine entry points to
transmedia narrative project
• Map storyworld level navigation
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The story level design tasks are used to create the individual stories within the storyworld.
Story Level Design Tasks
Narrative Design Engagement Design Interaction Design
• Develop story concept
• Develop dramatic question
• Develop controlling idea
• Select general story structure
• Select narrative point of view
• Select story mode
(presentational versus
representational)
• Select general plot structure
• Develop sub-stories
• Select story timeframe
• Select characters and roles
• Develop character arcs
• Develop preliminary
storyboards
• Identify media/platforms
• Develop user journey diagram
• Develop preliminary calls-to-
action plan
• Compile preliminary assets list
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The scene/sequence level design tasks guide the development of the elements within each story.
Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks
Narrative Design Engagement Design Interaction Design
• Develop detailed storyboards
• Create scene/sequence
• Select/create characters
• Select/create settings
• Select/create significant
object(s)
• Determine narrative
perspective
• Design user participation • Identify media/platforms for
individual sequences/scenes
• Design information cascades
• Develop calls-to-action
• Develop cognitive maps
• Design information field
• Develop detailed asset list
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
The storyworld consists of existents, events, and settings that exist at certain points in storyworld time.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A story establishes a timeline within storyworld time, with the story’s “present day” typically occurring when the story starts.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A number of existents, events, and settings from the storyworld are selected for use in the story.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A different combination of existents, events, and settings results in a different story even when the time span of the story is the same.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
Using a different timeframe for the story provides a different set of existents, events, and settings to use in a different story.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
This storyworld structure makes possible the “layering” of stories and the development of dynamic characters and settings.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A variety of story structures like Freytag’s Triangle (with or without flashbacks) are possible with this storyworld framework.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
A variety of media can be used for different stories or sub-stories, creating a transmedia narrative.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
Different media can be used to provide more detail on different existents, events, and/or settings.
IDT 599 – Masters Thesis © 2010-2011 Peter von Stackelberg
Individual elements of the storyworld can be explored in detail – “tourist guides” for fictional settings for example.