The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

There are many contributors to an interactive story. Inter-actors, directors, designers, and authors all play important roles. But at its heart, an interactive narrative is the spect’s story.

Playing the spect’s story doesn’t mean that everything goes the way that spects might wish. Good stories need obstacles and setbacks as well as goals and successes. It’s not even about happy endings. It’s about the co-creation of an experience that resonates for the spect.

The story is a gift you give to the spect. Like any good gift, it’s not about what you like, it’s what the spect likes.

Let’s be honest. There are many story elements that are out of spects’ control. As an inter-actor, you introduce the story world, you endow spects’ characters, and you determine obstacles and outcomes. You even get spects to do things without them realizing it. So how is it really the spect’s story?

Here’s how—Everything you do is to help spects co-create stories that they’ll enjoy. Yes, some story elements are prescribed because spects need structure within which they can create. Some interactive techniques give spects the illusion of autonomy and agency. Why? To build their confidence so spects can assume real autonomy and agency. You create obstacles and outcomes designed to match spects’ unique strengths and abilities.

So how exactly do you make it the spect’s story? Simple. Keep the focus on what the spect is pursuing and how events affect the spect. Don’t let the story become about your character, except as it impacts the spect’s journey. Attend to the spect’s choices, ideas, and behaviors.

When it comes to interactive stories, people often think it’s all about choices. Choices can be good. Give players options and let their choices drive the narrative. Choice-driven narrative is the foundation of Choose Your Own Adventure books.

If you go to town, turn to page 83. If you look in the shed, turn to page 15.

Choices work well when you need to limit options, but what if someone wants to do something other than go to town or look in the shed?

To play the spect’s story, you also need to incorporate spects’ ideas. They might be anything—backstory, characters, actions, goals, strategies. Allow room for spects’ contributions. Invite their ideas with priming questions. When they make offers, accept, follow, build, amplify, and reify. Make their ideas an essential part of the narrative.

Perhaps the most overlooked interactive input is spects’ behaviors. Choices and ideas are about who, what, when, where, and why. Behaviors are about how. If a spect has to fire someone, she may not have a choice about what to do, but she always has a choice about how. Does she break the news gently or say it straight up? Is she apologetic, matter-of-fact, or aggressive? Interactivity can be deeply informed by the “how.”

Read spects’ behaviors and adjust the story based on your observations. Look for how spects enjoy playing and give them more of that. Cater to spects’ play styles to make stories more their own.

Spects’ choices, ideas, and behaviors all work in concert to make it the spect’s story. At the center is the spect’s character. Spects’ offers build out the story world. How they engage affects the way that scenes play out. Goals grow out of spects’ priorities. Obstacles match their capacities. Story lessons are built on their values. Even the final outcome caters to the taste of the spect.

All this may seem doable when playing “blue sky” where nothing is pre-established. But what about when playing from a scenario? How can a spect shape a scripted narrative? The answer lies in how scenarios are written. They’re designed to flex and flow based on the spect. Plot points may be dictated, but how they play out is up to the spect. The spaces between prescribed elements give spects opportunities to make the story their own. Skilled casts and crews can even rewrite scripts on the fly to make it more the spect’s story.

Whether scripted or improvised, interactive stories are tailored to fit the spect. This doesn’t mean that spects become dictators. Rather, they become your guides in a co-creative process. Everyone plays together to a create a singular experience—the spect’s story.