Carolyn Handler Miller in her book Digital Interactive Storytelling, relates modern interactive computer games, mmogs etc to ancient rituals, ceremonies, rites of passage and physical contests/games.
Four questions where raised on the topic of interactivity.
1. - What traditional ritual are you aware of that reminds you of some interactive narrative?.
If you could describe a music festival as a traditional ritual , then this could be represented by virtual 3d environments. These serve as a social meeting place for users, and offer a alternate version of reality - a fantasy wonderland that could be evocative of the twisted reality that is often experienced in the hedonistic ephemeral festival. Once inside the gates , festival goers find it easy to loose inhibitions, forget about the real world for the weekend and immerse themselves in their new environment, much like users of virtual worlds.
2 - What game or sport could be adapted to work as an interactive entertainment.
Most major sporting events have a computer game version, this is nothing new- early arcade games included 'Pong'('72) , racing game 'Gran Trak 10' ('74), and later games like althetic themed 'Track and Field' ('82). With the latest generation consoles, motion detection ha been built into the controllers (wii, and xbox 360 are releasing one). As these become more varied and sophisticated, so will the interaction become more tactile and physical. Events such as archery, javelin, curling, fencing, rowing, squash, rhythmic gymnastics (where the girls run about waving a ribbon) , shot put, badminton(to name but a few) will all have a new lease of life on the small screen
3 - What work of traditional storytelling contains a narrative technique that could be applied to a work of digital entertainment?
An interesting book to turn into a work of interactive film , would be Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. Although any kind of film of this book would be a challenge to make (in as much as it would be difficult to do this classic masterpiece any justice), the themes of free will, fate and rationality might be well suited to an interactive media. The disjointed and seemingly random series of events (as the hapless protagonist Billy Pilgrim travels through time to different periods in his life) could be made into a series of choices for the viewer, who has the ability to fast forward to future events ( or be transported to the forth dimension to Tralfamador) The odd twist would probably be that all the choices are arbitrary, the viewer has no idea where he will end up next - the links would have to be unlabeled, thereby further raising questions of free will and choice. So it goes. Billy's ability to 'time travel' through his own life means he always knows whats coming next as he's seen it before, and that every event is simultaneously happening at the same time. How does he have any choices in life when he knows what the outcome will be?
(anyway, if you haven't read it i recommend giving it a go - it's a short book and well worth the time)
4 - What work of traditional entertainment breaks the "forth wall" , and how could it be replicated in an interactive work ?
The idea that springs to mind first is the British tradition of pantomime. Every December we are blessed with a variety of these types of participatory theatre, where the audience (typically dominated by children) are encouraged to yell at the 'actors' and sing along to the choruses of the songs. Interaction is limited to pre-scripted to shouts of "he's behind you" and "no....other side" etc in response to the 'actor's' on stage antics.
This could be replicated in the form of children TV - with the newer digital format, viewers could input responses (via the remote control) to unfolding events, or select one of a few limited replies to prompts by the actors. This idea is flawed, as the amount of pleasure the children derive from participation is not due primarily to the fact interaction is possible, but more the fact they can interact at high volume with a large number of their equally vocal peers.
The panto format might have more success in virtual environments such as Second Life, where large group participation is possible, though this would work better if the 3D space had VOIP, as typing in "...Oh no it isn't !..." etc doesn't have the same appeal as yelling it. This again has its drawbacks, the age range suited to pantomimes typically aren't equipped with the necessary skills to use Second Life - a simpler child friendly version would be more useful in this case.
