Digital Storytelling: A creator's guide to interactive entertainment

by Carolyn Handler Miller

Digital Storytelling shows you how to create immersive, interactive narratives across a multitude of platforms, devices, and media. From age-old storytelling techniques to cutting-edge development processes, this book covers creating stories for all forms of New Media, including transmedia storytelling, video games, mobile apps, and second screen experiences. The way a story is told, a message is delivered, or a narrative is navigated has changed dramatically over the last few years. Stories are told through video games, interactive books, and social media. Stories are told on all sorts of different platforms and through all sorts of different devices. They’re immersive, letting the user interact with the story and letting the user enter the story and shape it themselves. This book features case studies that cover a great spectrum of platforms and different story genres. It also shows you how to plan processes for developing interactive narratives for all forms of entertainment and non-fiction purposes: education, training, information and promotion. Digital Storytelling features interviews with some of the industry’s biggest names, showing you how they build and tell their stories.

Genres: Game Design, Writing, Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Games

568 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the large Focal Press 'how to' guides. It is basic and clear, and in its second edition. There are some useful sections on the configuration of a narrative and interactivity. However the elements that were less useful involved the implementation of gaming strategies and structures in digital storytelling. I would have preferred more attention to convergence rather than interactivity. Indeed, while much of interactivity is based on the pitch of the content, without careful convergence, the audience will not be drawn to the digital story. However, it is a good book to gain ideas in structuring and planning a story.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear and filled with cool examples. Very insightful and still quite current even though it was written more than a decade ago. This was for sure one of the best books I read whilst trying to develop my dissertation, would recommend.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The tribal shaman as a proto Dungeon Master. That and other superstitions in an impressively shallow book.

Anyway, the title says storytelling. Yet it's all about some observations on interactivity.

[Abby Epplett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was thorough well-written resource. Carolyn Handler Miller is clearly an expert in the field. However, the book was published a few years ago, so it is dated due to changes in technology.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a 'top down' presentation of digital storytelling. Miller has not dealt with the community media elements of digital storytelling. Instead, she has explored the more neutral (and often corporate) renderings of the phrase.

Where the book has great value is in the area of interactivity. This overused word is more carefully considered in this book. There is also attention to content generation and the role of users through the digital storytelling process. However the section on educational storytelling (and edutainment) is not good. It is lacking research and statements are made about working parents and single-parent families that seemed pretty inappropriate - and without evidence - to me.

But for a guide in content management, user engagements and good definitions and deployments of interactivity - this is an effective entry into the field.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important and complex topic. Miller provides one of the only comprehensive looks at the intersection of story with digital technology available, dealing with interactive media of all sorts in a cogent and accurate fashion. It works as a textbook, which I would certainly assign to any introductory class. Plus, it's good, actually a wonderful read, even given its considerable length, due in large part to Miller's exhaustive research, masterful organizational coherence and elegant and clear writing style. Underlying it all, Miller has a clear voice that tells readers that she cares an awful lot about helping people understand this stuff, because she cares about it herself.

[Nikolas Rex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy reading this textbook for my Interactive Media class and would not have done so if it had not been required of us for a decent grade. "Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Storytelling, A Creator's Guide to Entertainment" can be summed up in two words... "Padded Tripe."

[Charnita · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far this book is soooo boring. A lot of facts but it just doesn't really interest me :(

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very comprehensive resource for creating interactive digital stories for children, adults,corporate training and promotional strategies.

[Dini]

currently reading few chapters for my master degree's final project