Ever wondered how stories in games differ to those in television or film? Want to learn the nuts and bolts for creating interactive theatre scripts? This Masterclass will explore ways to script interactive digital narratives, taking you from concept, through structure, to a finished draft. If you want to create experiences like Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More or hit apps like Zombies Run, dive into this introduction to writing for immersive media with game designer and interactive theatre-maker Adrienne Mackey, of the critically acclaimed transmedial performance company Swim Pony.
Interactive performance and digital gaming have exploded modern storytelling, exposing the linear plot as just one of a nearly infinite number of shapes a tale is able to take. When you invite audiences into a more collaborative relationship with your fiction you offer them a chance to go beyond passive consumption of storylines and into active exploration of the narrative landscapes you construct. Adrienne will bring to this masterclass her cutting-edge expertise in designing stories that use mapping, collage, and layering as narrative tactics to tell stories that unfold across time and space. Aimed at writers of any experience level, during this session, you’ll gain both theoretical and practical experience of the genre.
Adrienne will first explore some basic tools and theories that differentiate interactive writing from traditional linear construction and then challenge you to put those ideas into practical application, constructing a narrative tour of your own life in the real-world spaces it unfolds in.
Note: you are encouraged to prepare for the session by reflecting on a few personal memories connected to the surrounding space you’ll be physically present in during the workshop.
The Masterclass will be delivered via Zoom webinar, so you can take the session at your own pace, without the pressure of having your video or camera on. Sessions are also recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you will have access to the recording for a month afterwards.