Interactive Storytelling in a Mixed Reality Environment: How Does Sound Design and Users’ Preknowledge of the Background Story Influence the User Experience?

Abstract

Abstract.Interactive storytelling in a mixed reality environment merges digital and physical information and features. It usually uses an augmentation of the real-world and physically-based interaction to create an immersive experience that corresponds to the dramatic storyline of the interactive narrative influenced by the actions of the user. Immersiveness is a crucial aspect of such an installation, and can be influenced by multiple factors such as video, sounds, interaction and, finally, the density of all combined stimuli. We used one of the stages from our interactive ALICE installation to investigate immersiveness and its contributing factors in a between-group design with a special focus on the effects of interactivity, and the feedback and feedforward stimuli of the environment on the users' experiences. The study was carried out with 41 participants and the results showed that immersiveness not necessarily depends on the modality of stimuli, but instead on their time-density.

“El lenguaje sonoro en los relatos digitales interactivos”

“…El carácter exploratorio y experimental de los mismos, implica que resulte difícil aún encontrar patrones claramente definidos que permitan trazar con precisión los límites formales, estructurales y narrativos de estos, como han señalado Koenitz, Haahr, Ferri & Sezen (2011: 360). Precisamente por ello, resulta especialmente útil el esfuerzo de establecer propuestas tipológicas que contribuyan a comprender, mediante categorizaciones, los modelos organizativos y la formalización sistemática que subyace a los productos que se están desarrollando, más aún dada la escasa atención que, a pesar de contar con décadas de investigaciones, ha producido aún el ámbito sonoro (Szilas, Axelrad & Richle, 2012), centradas esencialmente en la influencia de este en la experiencia de usuario (Nakevska, Funk, Hu, Eggen, & Rauterberg, 2014).…”

Hybrid Books for Interactive Digital Storytelling: Connecting Story Entities and Emotions to Smart Environments

“…Furthermore, Nakevska et al [24] proposed the concept of interactive storytelling in a mixed reality in which users do not directly use a computer and interaction devices. They provided three different stages, equipping all stages with sensory devices originating from a so-called ALICE installation [4], thus enriching these stages with different relevant sounds.…”