There was a golden age of computer games.
A time just before video game graphics were all the rage, and just after home computers became a reality for many…the days of interactive fiction.
Filmmakers, it’s time to bring those days back. To find out why, read on…
What’s Interactive Fiction?
Imagine a book that you don’t just read…you participate in. A story in which you become the main character, and your choices and decisions advance the game, or “story.” That’s interactive fiction.
It’s played on a computer, iPhone, or other device that has some kind of keyboard. You make your way through the story by telling the computer–or “story”–what you want to do. Here’s a silly example of what the start of a story might look like:
You are standing outside the gate of Universal Studios, carrying a script.
>_
You would then tell the computer (the story) what you want to do by typing something next to that little carrot-looking thinggy.
Playing the game might look like this:
You are standing outside the gate of Universal Studios, carrying a script.
You type:
>Look at the script
Story answers:
Your opus, SPACED, something you've pitched as "Pulp Fiction meets Star Wars." If only you could get a studio executive to read it...
You type:
>Go through the gate
Story answers:
A security guard jumps out and stops you. "Name, please?"
You type:
>say Biagio
Story answers:
The guard frowns. "That name's nowhere on this list, son."
And so the game, or story, would continue, with me, the hapless Biagio, struggling to get my fictitious script SPACED into the hands of a studio exec.
This silly example gives you an idea of how interactive fiction works, but you should know that there’s a wide range of “games” or “stories” to play out there, everything from simple treasure hunts to character-driven stories that rival published literature.
Best of all, these games are mostly free to play and to download. If you’d like, you can learn more about how to play/read interactive fiction, or where to find great titles to play, or what kind of titles are out there.
Why Interactive Fiction is Good for Indie Filmmakers
First, off, and let me be clear, NOTHING is more important than producing a great project. All the buzz, bells, and whistles in the world mean nothing if your project sucks. So let’s assume (a big assumption) your project is AWESOME and brilliant all on its own.
In a cluttered landscape of filmmakers trying to stand out, we’re all doing anything we can to get noticed…Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, Tumbler, etc., etc.
This is fine for letting people know about your project…but does it really do anything to connect potential viewers to the story you’re trying to tell, the world you’re creating, or the characters you’re bringing to life? Does it help people connect with your project on a level other than “I’ve heard of that?” Probably less than we’d all like.
How Interactive Fiction Could Change That
What if instead of just watching a trailer, a potential viewer could wander through your amazing universe (just think how cool this could be for an indie film like INK.) What if they could play the interactive version of your movie? How fun (and different) would that be for a character piece like Snow Bunny by Julie Keck and Jessica King? What if you could become another documentarian making your way through the world of mercenaries in an I.F. version of David Baker’s Mission X?
Ways Filmmakers Could Use Interactive Fiction
Just a few ideas:
- Create an interactive walkthrough of your amazing world with its own, unique story.
- Write a prequel story that allows a player to “live” your film up until the beginning of the movie.
- Create a one-room story where the player can hang out with a character from your movie. Could be the main character, or a colorful secondary character you wish you could’ve highlighted more in your film.
- Give players alternate endings to your movie, where they get to make a different decision at a critical moment, and experience several different outcomes.
But isn’t Programming Interactive Fiction Hard?
It’s a scary time. After all, people are learning to make their own iPhone apps to help their films stand out (something Who Shot Mamba by Brian Spaeth is actually doing really well.)
Many filmmakers groan at the thought of learning such a complicated skill, or paying someone who has the skill a lot of money. After all, the code to program an iPhone looks like this:
@interface JNBRequest : NSObject {
NSString* _URL;
NSString* _httpMethod;
NSData* _httpBody;
NSMutableDictionary* _parameters;
NSMutableDictionary* _headers;
But what if I told you getting started programming interactive fiction is as easy as typing this:
"My Screenplay Adventure"
The player carries a script. The description of the script is "Your opus, SPACED, something you've pitched as 'Pup Fiction meets Star Wars.' If only you could get a studio executive to read it." Understand "screenplay" as the script.
The guard is a man. He is in a room called The Studio Entrance. "You are standing outside the gate of Universal Studios, carrying a script."
Wait…am I claiming those regular looking sentences are computer code? Absolutely…if you’re using a language known as Inform 7, a computer language that uses natural looking sentences to help you program your interactive stories. We’ll talk more about that in part 2, coming soon. (Be sure to subscribe to Joke and Biagio or follow us on twitter so you don’t miss it!)
For now, I want to know from you, filmmakers…is interactive fiction a cool, different way to connect with your potential audience? What do you think?