Storytelling in narrative VR experiences – Traditional techniques and uncharted territories

Abstract

This dissertation examines how the art of screenwriting needs to adapt to accommodate the needs and expectations of the novel methods of storytelling in Virtual Reality (VR). I highlight how traditional screenwriting and cinematic techniques are often applied to this emerging form of storytelling and through the application of concepts like immersion and interactivity, an evaluation of the strength of three VR narratives is made. The texts under investigation are The Great C (Secret Location, 2018), Halcyon (Secret Location, 2016) and Alien Rescue (Moore, 2019a). I prove that traditional techniques of visual storytelling are applied to the narratives and, in some cases, enhance the immersive experience. The relationship between immersion and interactivity is such that both elements are in constant flux, the one influencing the other. This dissertation also examines how emerging VR hardware technology is affecting interactivity and immersion. I examine how the introduction of agency leads to contested authorship in narrative VR texts. I examine how the introduction of agency for the player leads to contested authorship in narrative VR texts as the dynamic between the user’s perceived agency and the author’s control of the narrative can also affect immersion and interactivity.