Information, Technology, and Society in Asia 416

Interactive digital narrative (IDN) – on social media, in video games, through various smartphone apps –has become the culturally and economically dominant form of storytelling, having far surpassed the influence of literature or film. In this seminar, we will explore IDN through an interdisciplinary approach that combines software studies, media studies and narratology. What is conceptually specific about interactive storytelling, how is it evolving, how do affordances and limitations of media, hard- and software shape how and to what purposes stories are told? In Part II and III, participants will give short presentations on relevant apps and technologies and use cases of their choice. We will be joined by two guest speakers who work with and on IDN in theory and practice.

PLEASE NOTE that you are not expected to produce a work of interactive storytelling yourself, but you are welcome to do so in lieu of a regular term paper.

<Learning Goals>
After successfully completing this seminar, participants will
-understand the specifics of interactive digital narrative (IDN) as compared to other forms of storytelling
-be able to analyze how technologies and media such as social media, AI, and virtual reality inform storytelling practices
-be familiar with representative current software, domains and use cases of IDN
-be able to apply concepts from IDN to analyze narratological, technical, cultural and social aspects of digital stories.