Interactive Storytelling Summer 2022

Interactive Story Ideas (by: Madeleine Joly)

My interactive story will be based on a true crime narrative, where the Player is the detective (the protagonist of the story). It will take place within a religious context, and include related commentary and perspectives. As such, this work will be elaborating upon serious and sensitive content. One that has many intricacies, and whose details will really come to fruition during the creation process. 

This idea was sparked by the non fiction book by John Krakauwer entitled Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. There has also been a related true crime television miniseries created by Dustin Lance Black on the matter. The two starring detectives of the murder are Andrew Garfield and Gil Birnimgham. This series has received great reviews for its commentary on such a complex subject. Though my story will be based on the narrative of both the book and film, I am unsure as to how closely it will stay true to the original narrative. Regardless, this story will give me the foundation for a very complex, multilayered, and interesting story. 

In terms of interactivity, I have a couple of ideas as to how I will implement it into the narrative. To begin, by the end of the game, the player will have to choose who is guilty of the crime. Depending on their choice, there will be 4 – 5 potential narrative endings. In addition, I will use a variety of connecting structures including the string of pearls and branching. I will also utilize a funneling effect to ensure that I end off with 4-5 endings instead of let’s say 20. 

Something that I found very interesting in the game Depression Quest is the use of optional links within the text providing the reader with additional information. After selecting them, they are then able to return to the main narrative and then select the different actions (ex: choices A or B). I think it would be interesting to have a different narrative voice for the in text links (retun), and the branching links (move forward). This would also give the reader an opportunity to explore more of the written material if desired, and immerse themselves in the story. Finally, in terms of platforms for the game, I could use the blog and achieve the appropriate branching. I could also use an interactive story platform as discussed in class. Overall, I am looking forward to exploring this story through an interactive storytelling process. 

Here are some drawn images of the brainstorming:

References:

Dustin Lance Black Director. Under the Banner of Heaven. Aggregate Film, Imagine Television, FXP, 2022. 

Krakauwer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. New York, Penguin, June 2004. 

Quinn, Lindsay, and Schankler. Depression Quest, 2013, http://www.depressionquest.com/dqfinal.html Accessed 12 July. 2022. 

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5 responses to “Interactive Story Ideas (by: Madeleine Joly)”

  1. juanpablo.lozanosarm Avatar
    juanpablo.lozanosarm

    I’m already intrigued by this idea! I think having the player play as a detective is a great idea and full of potential! I am curious to know what serious topic(s) you had in mind for the story.

  2. selena.tran1 Avatar
    selena.tran1

    I love this idea! I have dabbled in only a few true crime stories and am not really well versed in them but, I think that this idea for an interactive story is really brilliant and you could make great things out of it! I’m looking forward to your story!

    I do have one question though. You mention that it’ll take place within a religious context and I want to ask if there is any particular reason why you chose to include this in your story and how will it contribute to or enhance your true-crime narrative?

  3. madeleine.joly Avatar
    madeleine.joly

    Hey there, thank you for your comments and questions. The seriousness of the text will come through mainly because the characters involved in and surrounding the crime will be linked to a high demand religion. I still have to map out all the characters and details. Regardless, this idea of fundamentalism is one that can highly influence the psyche of people. As a consequence, they can easily gain a superiority complex, and then end up hurting the people around them. The reason that I have decided to set the narrative within this context, is because we often don’t know why criminals do the things that they do. However, in this context of taking religion to the extreme, we can see how the characters unravel and ultimately take the actions that they did. As well, both the novel and film that I discussed in my blog post are based on a true story. I think it would be really interesting to see how this narrative can be explored within a context of interactive fiction. Ultimately though, this is a topic that I personally find interesting, and would like to explore. I appreciate your feedback, as you can see, there is a lot to think of!

  4. binghuan.zhang Avatar
    binghuan.zhang

    Wow, what a cool idea! I think story that is based on a true story is very interesting and attractive! But at the same time, it will have more research work to do to implement the story. I’m looking forward to see your final project. Good luck!

  5. hayden.ockey Avatar
    hayden.ockey

    My first thoughts seeing your post were of the Ace Attorney and other games like it where the player had to gather evidence. The concept of horizontal travel seems really interesting when compared with the branching model we all know and love. As someone who is very impatient, I really like that you are trying to let the player talk to as many or as few people as they like.

    Paige and I just watched the TV version of Under the Banner of Heaven a few weeks ago. I’m not usually interested in true crime, but that one had us completely hooked. Good luck tackling the horizontal storytelling, I’m excited to see what crime you’re going to explore in your project!

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