Take Me There An Exploration of Narrative Structure in Virtual Reality
Open Access
Author:
Palumbo, David
Area of Honors:
Interdisciplinary Digital Studio
Degree:
Bachelor of Design
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Andrew T Hieronymi, Thesis Supervisor Simone Osthoff, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
vr virtual reality narrative virtual reality storytelling story game design gamemaking
Abstract:
As the market for consumer-level virtual reality (VR) experiences begins to open up, content producers aim to fill the market space with experiences best suited for the new medium. So far, the virtual reality content that has been produced fits within the definition of computer games that have been laid out by previous generations of technology. This thesis project documents the process of creating a narrative experience for virtual reality platforms to explore the storytelling capabilities of VR. Here, I have adapted H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter” and produced a short narrative experience to be displayed to users by employing the Oculus Rift head mount display. This thesis discusses the process of creating this experience, as well as the theory of the player-protagonist spectrum that informs the content. In the future, this project may act as a jumping off point for future developers to explore narrative VR as a medium.
