The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

Fiction isn’t real, but spects still need to care about it as if it were. Stories are more compelling when everyone cares about the fiction. This is why spects need to become invested.

How to create investment

In the beginning of a story, here are some things you can do to help spects get invested.

Play for keeps – To get spects invested, you need to be invested. Play for keeps. Commit to the fiction. When your emotions and behaviors seem genuine, real feelings show up in spects. Be invested yourself, and spects become invested as well.

Keep things real – Don’t assume that a spect will care about something just because it makes sense in the narrative. Look for what the spect truly feels, not what their character “ought” to feel. The best motivations are real for the spect as well as the character. Real thoughts, real feelings, and real effort lead to spects’ investment.

Energize their default mode – Spects have specific ways that they tend to engage in play. They may be thinkers or feelers, leaders, followers, or loners. Some keep the peace, while others like to argue. Look for the way that spects tend to engage and create opportunities for them to do that more. When they can engage in a familiar way, spects become more invested.

Play to their strength – Spects get invested in things that they know about. Watch for clues or thin slice them and make a guess. Does the spect seem like someone who knows about graphic novels or sports? Do they make a passing reference to music or science? Focus on things that seem to be in the spect’s wheelhouse. Playing to their strength is a good road to spects’ investment.

Amplify relationships – Note how spects feel about the characters they encounter. If they like someone, develop that feeling even more. If they dislike someone, make that character even worse. When spects love or hate other characters, it’s easier to get them invested.

Deepening investment

As you progress through the story, your strategy changes. In the beginning, you make things easy to get spects invested. Then, as they start to care about characters or situations, you deepen their investment by creating challenges. Here are some ways to do that.

Push back – When deepening investment, it helps to get a measure of spects strength. Start off with a pushback that is just a little stronger than the spect’s commitment. A common way to do this is with a direct challenge. If spects back down, they still need support. If spects stand up to the pushback, they’re ready to face stronger forms of resistance.

Yesenia announces that she’s going to start exercising. Kendra rolls her eyes and replies, “No you’re not.” Yesenia becomes more resolute. “Yes, I am. I’m going to sign up for a yoga class.”

Challenge their values – Spects’ principles can be used to get them more invested. As they engage with the story, you can infer spects’ values based on the ways they respond. Challenge these values, and spects will work harder to uphold their beliefs.

Addison’s behavior has established that fair play is important to him. When his campaign manager smears the opposition using disinformation, Addison pulls the ads and fires his campaign manager.

Endanger their priorities – Look for the things that matter most to spects. Deepen their investment by putting these things at risk.

Yandel has shown that his daughter is his priority when he foregoes the football championship in order to attend her recital. When the conservatory threatens to cancel his daughter’s scholarship, nothing can stop him from facing down the headmaster himself.

Employ passive resistance – When spects are pursuing something that matters, passive methods can also be employed. One way is to sidestep the issue by shifting the focus to something else. Another approach is to be apathetic about what they’re after. When spects have to work to get you on board, they become more invested in their goals.

Destiny wants Luna to drive her to the poetry slam before the entry deadline expires. Luna is ready to help, but her social media feed keeps distracting her. As the time ticks away, Destiny becomes more emphatic that they need to get to the contest in time.

Raise the stakes – When spects put more on the line, it deepens their investment in the outcome. For stakes to be compelling, they need to feel real. Imaginary things, like money and jobs, don’t always make good stakes. Imaginary stakes become more compelling when tied to a stakes character—someone the spect cares about who will be affected by the outcome.

Nadia helps her favorite nephew get a job at the hospital where she works. When he is falsely accused of stealing drugs, Nadia is drawn deep into the world of drug trafficking in order to clear her nephew’s name.

When spects get invested in the fiction, their emotions come in to play. They know that it’s pretend, but they play as though it’s real. They’re doing what all good actors do: Behaving truthfully within fictional circumstances.