Location-based storytelling in the urban environment

Abstract

Reality is everywhere. It is right there in our face when we wake up and it continues to sneak up on us throughout our day, in the car, in our offices, and at the dinner table. In recent years it has even invaded our TVs through eternal news streams and endlessly boring reality TV shows. However, people cannot live by reality alone. In fact, we spend quite a lot off effort on escaping reality. We daydream and immerse ourselves in imaginary worlds and stories. We immerse ourselves in fiction. Inspired by this view, we report on our research into the design and user experience of a new genre of mobile location-based services, which uses peoples' physical surroundings as a backdrop for storytelling as they move around an urban environment. We present a prototype system developed to explore the user experience of location-based interactive stories, and the use of interaction designs aimed at blurring the boundary between reality and fiction. Based on qualitative data from a series of field trials, we discuss potentials and challenges for this class of location-based services.

(Re-)Localization of Location-Based Games

“…While games admittedly work in a different way than plots in cinema or fiction, in the sense that the story is not told linearly and is not (entirely) in the hands of the game designer, narratives do play an essential role in game localization [27]. The reason is that in LBGs, players often understand the environment in terms of a narrative, and thereby project the game onto the environment.…”

A Narrative Architecture for Story-Driven Location-Based Mobile Games

“…During the last few years a broad range of such applications was developed, ranging from virtual tourist guides [17] to location-aware multimedia storytelling [15]. The settings, in which locationaware applications are employed, range from the user strolling freely in the urban or countryside environment [16] to the user being a passenger on a journey, upon which he or she exercises no control [5].…”

“…For example, the Who Killed Hanne Holmgaard? project [16] engages the player in a detective game, while at the same time familiarizing him or her with the history of Denmark under the Nazi occupation. From the other hand, in the Voices of Oakland project [7] the guided tour is shaped as engaging encounters with ghosts.…”

MStoryG: Exploring Serendipitous Storytelling Within High Anxiety Public Spaces

“…People are governed more and more by hectic routines and tight deadlines, leading to increased stress and anxiety [9]. In an attempt to escape the limits of mundane reality, people look for a sense of wonder in their lives [41], more often than not through immersion in the imaginary world of fictional stories [40]. Storytelling is pervasive and ubiquitous; it was considered central to society long before humans could read and write, and represents a fundamental component of human experience.…”