The Motivational Appeal of Interactive Storytelling2
Ingredients of conventional entertainment:
Cinematics
Character development
User agency
Five experiential dimensions that have been found central in old entertainment use, with regard to interactive storytelling:
Curiosity
About pre-scripted story progress "What will happen next?"
About interactive story progress "What will happen if I do this?"
System response "How will they respond if I do this?"
Technological capacity of the system "How will the game visualize this if I go there?"
Can be about the progression of the story, but also the action possibilities that players can try out. Curiosity is pleasant in of itself and thus contributes to overall appreciation. Uncertainty comes with increased physiologic activation. Most user seem to enjoy not too strong temporary activation.
When uncertainty is reduces (user finds out what happens) they experience closure/completion, which makes the activation a positive experience.
If curiosity is followed by surprise/something unexpected, the user responses often turn into exhilaration.
Suspense
"Will they survive?"
Uncertainty, fuelled by aversive emotional components such as anxiety or empathic concern (For example, a player fearing the defeat of an ally)
Difference with curiosity is that user has a strong interest for a specific outcome. It's rooted in emotional involvement with characters.
Suspense is rather stressful mode of entertainment, but when desired outcomes occur, strong experiences of relief/satisfaction occur in most cases.
Interactive narrative can generate a perception of personal challenge, because of the responsibility a user can feel due to the choices they make and the consequences these have on the narrative.
Aesthetic pleasantness
"Beautiful"
This may refer to physical appearance of characters, landscape imagery, romantic episodes (relate to attributes that constitute a media application as a piece of art)
This aesthetic pleasantness may occur for users "entering the world of the story" (emersion) and user who remain "outside of the story" (analysing it as a piece of art)Aesthetic enjoyment depends on individual preconditions, such as expertise and absorptions tendencies.
Aesthetic pleasantness shares roots curiosity and suspense, yet is strongly shaped by individual factors, such as biography, sense of taste and social status.
Self-Enhancement
"We are great"
Games can increase players' self-esteem by providing experiences of success and reward.
Games can also affect the player's self-perception by identification.
Identifying with a game character allows to feel like somebody one desires to be. (A hero, for example)
If the user can feel like the have accomplished something through their interaction with the story, they experience competence and success.
Optimal task engagement ("Flow")
"Don't disturb me"
Flow is a state where the resolving tasks are exactly as difficult as the user can
handle if they work with full dedication, a middle between boredom and anxiety.
Flow is similar to immersion.
In an interactive story by making decisions and furthering a plotline can feel like such tasks, since there are set rules and limits to what the user can decide on and do.