ABSTRACT
An interactive narrative foregoes the tight sequence control of a traditional story and in its place puts emphasis on whom or what is driving the story. In a game/virtual reality (VR), the narrative may be driven by player, plot, interactive mechanics, or the character. It is essential to clearly establish who or what is driving the interactive narrative. Interactive stories differ dramatically from those in animation. In animation, everyone is on board to realize the story. The strength of interactive games is its immersive flow. Games and animation both gauge progress by rewards attained or obstacles overcome. The concept of narrative is the story "telling", not the story. In animation, the order in which images are perceived changes the meaning. In a game/VR, the narrative may be driven by player, plot, interactive mechanics, or the character. The scale of the space in VR and Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) games transforms designers from storytellers to narrative architects.
