The Long Walk From Linear Film to Interactive Narrative

Advances in hardware and software for virtual reality and 360-degree video afford new opportunities for immersive digital storytelling, but also pose new challenges as players seek an increased sense of meaningful agency in fictional story-worlds. In this paper, we explore the interaction designs afforded by voice-controlled interactive narratives, where players speak their intended actions when prompted at choice points in branching storylines. We describe seven interaction design patterns that balance the player's need for meaningful agency with an author's goal to present an intended storyline. We argue that these structural designs are orthogonal to the content of a story, such that any particular story may be effectively restructured to use different patterns. By way of demonstration, we describe our efforts to remix and restructure a 360-degree film entitled "The Long Walk", transforming it from a largely linear narrative with minimal interactivity into a voice-controlled interactive narrative with meaningful player agency.