Oldal 55 [55]
54] Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education
the video they want to continue the story with. The 61-episode show-play
narrative has 31 possible outcomes. The involvement of the viewer, and
thus a more intense experience of interactivity, is reinforced by a cinematic
language trick: the use of a subjective camera. The main characters of the
story are the robbers, played by a famous American YouTuber Markiplier
(Mark Fischbach) and the viewer. Markiplier is constantly talking to the
viewer, creating a virtual quasi-conversation while looking into the camera."
The creator has previously published a similar style of interactive comedy
entitled A Date With Markiplier, which was released on Valentines Day in
February 2017."
In the late 2010s, HBO sought to take advantage of the latest technology to
achieve viewer interactivity. After the second season of the highly successful
Westworld series, in 2018 it launched a game on its 360i platform called
Westworld: The Maze.'* In the game, the interactors can select the elements
using their own voice. The game features 60 narrative paths and 32 different
deaths that the interactor can experience.”
On Netflix there are more and more animated and feature films featuring
interactive versions, where viewers can navigate through non-linear sequences
using remote controls, game consoles and smart devices. The streaming service
first launched a standalone interactive narrative for adults in 2018 with the
longest episode of the famous Black Mirror series entitled Bandersnatch. The
narrative has twenty possible endings and varies in length from 40 to 90
minutes depending on the viewer's choices. Through the choices, the viewer
is placed in moral dilemmas while watching the film; if the viewer feels that
the wrong choice has been made, he or she can return to the point of the
previous decision (Päträscanu, 2021). In the case that the viewer does not
make a choice, the next scene is chosen randomly. Another interactive show
on Netflix is Bear Grylls’ eight-episode interactive reality show You vs Wild."
2.2 Narrative Video Games
Video games are built on narrative schemas to varying degrees. Narratives
are least common in casual, task-solving games played on mobile devices,
and are more common in video games where the player is asked to unravel
the mysteries of a story. The majority of video games, however, fall between
these two extremities and are characterized by a narrative framework for the
tasks performed in the game.
4° https://thestoryfix.blog/2019/10/23/trailer-youtubes-first-interactive-series/
5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyU_1JD2wuA
16 https://www.360i.com/work/westworld-maze/index.html
7 https://www.dentsu.com/hu/hu/munkaink/case-studies-360i-hbo
® https://www.netflix.com/huftitle/80227574