With the advent of Virtual Reality through systems such as the HTC Vive, Occulus Rift and PlaystationVR, many industry creatives are beginning to question how exactly the role of narrative fits into this new immersive technology.
In traditional storytelling mediums, the rules have had a huge amount of time to be discovered and come to rest as industry standards. However, Virtual Reality is unfortunately not allowed to have this same luxury. Due to the current expensiveness of the technology, VR finds itself in a position where all its rules need to be learnt fast if it hopes to ever become the next big thing in entertainment.
2017 has been described as the "make-or-break-year" by many online for VR technology. Not only does the cost of the hardware need to become more affordable, but also the strength of the storytelling must increase for the technology to become "worth it" to consumers.
In the narrative context, there are major paradigms that need to shift. While there are many benefits to VR that are not found in other mediums (mostly revolving around audience agency) there are also several troubling aspects such as character movement (move too fast and players will grow nauseous), and action sequences (knocking a character over in the game, or slamming them against the wall, causes nausea and immersion problems if the audience/player is not being knocked over or slammed into something themselves).
So what is it that we can learn about narrative storytelling in VR? How do we conquer these issues? How do we create (and what does it look like?) an entirely new language of storytelling?
This week, we will look at an academic white paper compiled by industry professionals across various branches of immersive storytelling, and hopefully glean some insight. The white paper is entitled the VR Writers Room and has been authored by such experts as Tanya Laird (Star Wars, Marvel, Disney Princesses), Jeff Gomez (Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Halo and The Coca Cola Happiness Factory), Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider, Overlord, and Mirrors Edge), Charlie McDermott (Generation of Z, No Holds Bard, and Toys) and Andi Ewington (Dark Souls II, The Last Of Us, and Beyond)
These and several other contributors were invited to come together by the VR Writer's Room and provide ten hours of consultation and discussion. Six hours behind closed doors and four hours published as audio podcasts, with the final product being the white paper now being discussed.
The paper explains its purpose as:
specifically narrative." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 1)
Although this paper is written by experts within the industry, upfront they state that this paper is designed to offer more questions than it answers. As such, this is a really informative paper in discovering the future obstacles in the way of narrative designers when it comes to creating fully realized VR stories.
By far one of the most fascinating issues of writing for VR space is also one of its biggest opportunities for writers. That is, being aware of the space your story takes place in:
"When we write traditional screenplays, we get to be prescriptive about what the audience sees. We write shot by shot, we consider framing, we alone are furnishing the narrative drive . As writers, we must surrender that perspective when creating for immersive entertainment. Our focus becomes
the audience’s subjective experience of the narrative. The audience chooses what to look at and what they will explore; in other words, as with sandbox video games, they become the director of their own experience." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 8-9)
Traditionally, visual storytelling has been told as a collection of 2D squares. We sit in front of our TV or a Movie Screen and watch square after square after square of moving images. These frames contain only information that is directly relevant to the story and progression of plot. However, in VR, we are not viewing our stories through squares, rather it is as if we are sitting at the center of a large sphere. We can look all around us, 360 degrees. We can look up. We can look down.
"Writing for a 360 stage rather than a single central stage will require the x and the y axis to both be considered in creating a script structure..." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 13)
As a major upside, this allows for a fully immersive experience. The audience no longer has to suspend as much disbelief, for they can immersively become the character in the story, or alternatively experience a real sense of presence - of being there.
The problem comes into it however when we consider that the audience or player may not want to progress at the speed the writer is asking them to, or they may not want to progress at all. As the white paper states - the audience gets to choose what they look at. Meaning while one of our characters may be giving an important monologue in the scripted version of the game, the player may very well just wander off to the other side of the room and start rifling through loose papers on top of a desk.
"Because of this, we can no longer rely on plot alone to tell the story. Though VR, like traditional motion pictures, is a visual storytelling medium, our reliance on peripheral techniques to guide narrative becomes more interdependent." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 9)
The current work around for this, although there's really no guarantee that it will work every time, is through the use of subtle visual cues such as lighting and sound to direct the audience's attention to the area where plot progression is attempting to occur.
"To be clear, audio - foley , underscoring, effects, etc. - plays an integral role in storytelling in
traditional motion pictures. The difference for immersive entertainment is that we have the ability to determine where the sound emanates from, and the audience has the ability to turn and see the sound's source. Another technique for guiding attention in an immersive world is lighting. We have
the ability to determine the source of light and use that source as a way of guiding attention. An example of this is a door opening in a dark room; the sound of the door opening and the light spilling into the room directs the audience's attention toward the door." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 10)
The paper goes on to talk about several other components of narrative requirement unique to VR. The first being the need for a Transition Phase. This is the initial moment in which the player enters the Virtual World. Data has found that the audience or player actually needs an initial transition phase into the experience to allow them "mental breathing room"so that they can suspend disbelief and really start to feel their presence within the virtual world.
Secondly the paper points out the importance of creating strong characters that players can connect to and empathize with. The paper explains: "it is important to remember that empathy in VR is created through the medium’s capability of intensifying through direct presence our personal connection to individual characters." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 9)
There is also a need for what the paper terms Safe Harbors - either places within the experience or a game mechanic (such as a pause function) that allows players breathing room again where they are safe to rest and relax. The idea being too much intensity becomes too real and uncomfortable for players.
Another important point made by the writers is that "Context drives narrative integrity" page 10. What they mean by this is relation to the wider narrative world in which the plot takes place. The writers explore how it is important when crafting each scene within the gameplay that the wider narrative found within the story bible be considered and that immediate design and story choices be used to provide context for the wider on-goings of the story world.
"Just because we can see in 360 doesn't equal narrative depth, it is therefore important to maintain consistency to the rules of the world as set out in the story bible. To maintain suspension of disbelief continuation within the environment is essential. This requires a thorough knowledge of the timing of narrative across the entirety of the universe so that events continue to happen in a concurrent and consistent manner." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 11)
A typically large component of narrative design within any new project is that of the story bible. A story bible is the "Cornerstone of... ...immersive environments" and is generally a large encyclopedic document that houses all of the world - history, geography, ecology, economy and technology as well as philosophy, metaphysics, messages, themes and brand essence of the story. The idea being that this document "provides a single point of entry for any new creatives joining the narrative design pipeline." page 12 as well as a base world for equally important narratives to jump off from should the project choose to become transmedia or serial in nature.
Attention to detail within a story world is incredibly important as it allows players to have a "sense that something interesting and substantial... ...lies beyond it (creating) a sense of depth and completion for the world the audience is being invited into." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 12)
The writers also point out that: "As the medium becomes more sophisticated it will be possible to generate algorithms that allow for the viewer’s actions, however subtle, to ripple across the story world, influencing the dramatic narrative in small and significant ways." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 11)
Lastly, the paper discusses the potential for multiple character perspectives within VR, and how this "allows for mosaic storytelling techniques and provides re-playability." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 14)
This ability for mosaic storytelling is fascinating as it allows for potential co-operative game play between friends (allowing each to role-play as a different character within the game much like traditional Dungeons and Dragons game play) as well as progressively increased understanding of the plot and story:
"With each character explored or each replay, the audience learns something about the characters or central events that fill in the missing blanks." (Laird et al., 2016, p. 14-15)
Overall, though it doesn't necessarily answer the issues around narrative storytelling within VR, this white paper does set a good understanding for what is possible within this medium, as well as providing a framework of questions for future research in this topic. It is important in developing a new story language for VR that we consider such issues around agency, plot directive and overall storyworlds in future research.
References:
Laird, T., Pratchett, R., Gomez, J., McDermott, C., Wallace, K., Ewington, A., … Williams, K. (2016). VR Writers room white paper. Retrieved from Digital Jam website: http://www.digitaljamlimited.com/vr-writers-room
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