trees are people too

After analysing the physical spatial issues in my own street compared to my Second Life street, I am also beginning to think about the concept of space more laterally – particularly in reference to narrative.

Following a discussion on computer ‘games’, I discovered there are various formats (think turn-based, multiplayer online games etc) which apply to each game. While each type of game has a narrative of sorts, some are far more controlled than others. For instance, we are all familiar with a game where you must complete a range of tasks before advancing to the next level (think traditional mario bros and other arcade games). These games maintain a linear narrative – there is not much opportunity to stray from the dictated plotline that has been assigned to you.

On the other hand, and increasing in popularity, are spatial narratives, games such as WoW, many RPGs, and, essentially, Second Life. A game featuring a spatial narrative can essentially be multi-linear, with the capacity to branch off in any direction at any time depending on your decisions. It comprises endless different variations (think of a tree branching out) and will be different each time you play it. Second Life has taken this one step further by emulating real life to such an extent that narrative becomes almost non-existent – unless you create it. You can wander around endlessly with no real plot or structure, other than that which you devise. This has strong links to the theories of hypertext and the concept of ‘choose your own adventure’ that hypertext provides, and also tends to develop in a more organic fashion, as opposed to the structured development of linear narratives.

A spatial narrative can be taken even more literally though. We can also derive narrative based on the spaces we inhabit, as pointed out in this University of Nebraska article. By simply inhabiting a space, ‘almost anything one does…”takes place” and becomes a “spatial practice” that shapes, and is shaped by, the social, economic, political, or cultural space of the [location]‘. The space that Second Life provides is a perfect example of this.

This is just another element I am considering while putting together our script (the actual narrative, in a conventional sense) and while inhabiting a spatial narrative such as Second Life.

Here is what a (very simplistic) spatial narrative structure looks like, just in case you were wondering (also called a tree narrative):

Courtesy of the very interesting Digital Worlds, a blog on interactive media and game design.