Story and storage – narrative theory as a tool for creativity in augmented reality storytelling

Abstract

Digital domains render possible new forms of narrative creativity. This article explores to what extent it is practicable to inform the invention of new storytelling techniques in location-based media, such as augmented reality (AR). Doing research & development with explorative storytelling in indirect AR one often encountered a returning problem: When digitally reconstructing and displaying sequences of historical events in situ, a paradox tend to emerge: The linear sequence of actions and events might often benefit from in-depth information about historical contexts of various sorts. However, the moment the user embarks on a contextual digression to seek a better understanding, the sequence itself is abandoned and/or fragmented. This is a type of conflict where the designer must make difficult choices in order provide a prolific story experience. How may we best combine and balance sequence and access, storytelling and in-depth exploration, to the benefit of rich locative perceptions and adventures? In the following we consult narrative theory to find a design and implement the solution in three different simulations of historical events on site. These are selected from antiquity and World War II. We discuss the challenges and elucidations so far, as well as feedback from visitor's testing the situated simulation AR applications on location.

Implications of Virtual Reality in Arts Education: Research Analysis in the Context of Higher Education

“…In this sense, VR is being considered for its creative possibilities in the educational process [41][42][43], recognizing among its advantages being a mixed reality that integrates in real time and incorporates information from various digital sources. This endows it with a high level of interactivity, which enriches and distinguishes it from other virtual environments, connecting positively with students [44] and their motivation [45].…”

“…These four lines of research bring together all the concepts related to the implications of VR in arts education in the context of HE, since it includes various aspects related to technologies [89,90], their applications in different sectors of virtuality [36,41,91], their application in HE [25,92], and with the use of technologies in the educational sector [93,94]. Figure 6 shows the evolution of each keyword cluster by differentiating the period in which they were incorporated into the research.…”

Augmented Reality Storytelling – Narrative Design and Reconstruction of a Historical Event in situ

“…We will continue to work on the D-Day material extending the reconstruction of the battle both to larger areas of the beach as well as towards the full duration of the battle. There are many obvious improvements and extensions related to upcoming versions: enhancing access to linked material, exploring alternative voice-over narration dependent on position on the beach, reconstructing personnel and weapons in the German positions, individualizing soldiers, improving visual detail and narrative complexity [31]. We are also focused on collaboration with the local museums, so that the simulation not only brings objects and actions back to the battleground in digital form, but conversely, that the reconstructed environment can be included in the museum displays and provide a rich and dynamic context to the artifacts in the exhibition [32].…”

Audiovisual Industries and Tourism: Forms of Convergence

“…The documentary genre from film and TV also saw early adaptation in experiments with the hybrid form of 'situated documentary' (Höllerer, Feiner, & Pavlik, 1999), which more recently has been applied to AR storytelling recounting historical events on location. Although such experimentations with (genre) prototypes have proved popular and promising in controlled testing (Liestøl, 2018a), it remains to be seen whether it will manage the critical leap from invention to innovation.…”