Story

2nd Transmedia Zurich Meetup – Narrative and Story in Games and Media

The second Transmedia Zurich (www.transmediazh.ch) meet up took place on June 27th, with a focus on Narrative and Story Structure in Games and Media at CoLab Zurich. We had Matthias Sala from Gbanga, who gave some awesome insight into mixed reality game development and nonlinear plot development, while I talked about classic story structure, including a focus on The Hero’s Journey.

Story Structure

Why is it that you can predict the key points of a sitcom without knowing all the details of the plot line? Mainly because we’re fead the same plot lines and story structures, reflected in myths we’ve been told since before we could speak.

  • Basics of classic story structure
  • Influence of Joseph Campbell (The Hero with a Thousand Faces)
  • Choosing a narrative can be used to target the emotional design of a product
  • Intro to the Hero Journey applied to game design

Mix Reality Game Design

Games as a form of interactive media require new story structures than from a traditional narrative, and in his presentation, Mathias Sala (Gbanga) discussed linear stories and stories with decision points, leading to nonlinear narratives and the challenges in creating such a project. Other main points included:

  • History of transmedia and mixed reality games
  • Development of Gbanga Famiglia
  • Complexity of non-linear plot development in games

Next Meetups

If you’re interested in more info on Transmedia and the intersection between story and technology, join the Zurich Transmedia meetup group or signup for the release of the Transmedia Toolkit.