Interactive Storytelling

Interactive storytelling has recently become increasingly popular in the video game industry, but the fact is that the history of interactive storytelling goes back as far as the 1940s. As its name suggests, interactive storytelling is any kind of storytelling that actively involves the person receiving it. This can include the reader choosing the next event in a story, being given options in the story that affect the outcome, or even creating their own characters and events.

Interactive Storytelling in Video Games

When most people think of interactive storytelling, they immediately think of video games. This is largely because choice-based video games have skyrocketed to popularity over the past decade. Some of the most well-known narrative video game franchises are interactive, allowing players to affect the outcome of the game and create their own experiences. Games like The Walking Dead and Life is Strange series have shown the world just how overwhelmingly compelling games with impactful choices can be, and many other video game genres have begun implementing the same mechanics.

The rise of mobile devices has also led to an explosion in popularity for interactive storytelling. With the massively widespread adoption of smartphones, anybody at any time can pull out their phone and begin playing an interactive story. Interactive story apps such as Episode, Choices, and Chapters are regularly at the top of the most downloaded game apps.

Interactive Storytelling In Other Mediums

While video games and mobile apps may be the most common mediums for interactive storytelling, there are many other ways one can engage with interactive stories. Many popular book series have branched off into the creation of interactive stories and online platforms for these stories abound. For example, popular role-playing books such as Dungeons & Dragons have interactive story platforms online, and there is a wide range of other interactive fiction platforms such as Twine, Ink, and ChoiceScript.