story telling

Introduction to Gamification Part 10: Narrative

by
Intro to Gamification Part 10 Introduction to Gamification Part 10 Narrative

Narrative is in my opinion, one of the most powerful yet underrated ways of improving almost anything! A good story can carry you through the most boring of times by creating the most exciting of images in your imagination.

However, building stories into certain, less “play” compatible environments can be a challenge. So can creating stories that fit with the very “stop/start” nature of many gamified environments.

What is Narrative?

First, let’s look at what narrative actually is. Put over simply, a narrative is just a story. However, the way I like to look at the difference between a narrative and a story is that a narrative is happening now, whereas a story has already just happened (and a collection of stories is a history…). Read More ...

Narrative Atoms, Story and History

by
History banner Narrative Atoms Story and History

A revisit to an old set of thoughts I had on what Narrative is. My general thought is that narrative is real-time telling of a first person experience as it happens. A story is all of the narratives put together from the first “Narrative Atom” of the story until the last! History is the collection of all of the stories and all of the narratives up until now. Beyond that, you are looking at the future.

When I started to look at this concept again, I decided that it was easier to record a little video about it than it was to write! However, the basic idea is that you can imagine history as a lake. When our lives start it is like a pebble being dropped into the lake. Each ripple is a narrative atom in our story. These ripples move out from the centre, touching the stories of others, creating an interconnect web – a collective history. Anway, watch the video to get more of that. Read More ...