ABSTRACT
Structure is the unseen but all-important method of organizing a work of digital storytelling. It functions much like the bones in human bodies. Structure plays an important role in every type of narrative, whether the work is linear or interactive. A branching structure is made up of a great many interconnected if/then constructs. It works a little like a pathway over which the user travels. The critical story path makes it possible to reveal key pieces of information in an incremental way and at an optimal time. It facilitates dramatic intensity. The JumpStart edutainment games typically employ a hub-and-spoke structure. Sometimes no ready-made model exists for the type of interactive narrative one have in mind, and in cases like this, one need to invent their own structural model. Often professionals use different names to describe the same models because of the evolving nature of digital media.
