The Living Stories Lab is not just about creating a new way to experience stories; it's about building the tools and frameworks that will empower creators to bring those stories to life. In this post we will delve into the innovative format, development principles, and the step-by-step process that define the Living Stories Lab, positioning it as a pivotal force in the evolution of digital storytelling.
The Format: Bridging Linear and Non-Linear Storytelling
So what is a Living Story?
In simple words, it is a story that is happening in real-time, simultaneously for many people, where the audience can input their feelings and biases into the narrative, actively shaping how the tale evolves.
While it shares a lot of common DNA with story-driven games, it differs from them in the fact that it is intrinsically made to be experienced and “played” by many people at once. While this also happens in multi-player video games, the focus of Living Stories is not to put everyone in the same digital space through specific game mechanics, but to tell a story with deep emotional resonance and complex themes, where the audience feels compelled to make choices that affect it in tangible ways.
The Living Stories format is an entirely new approach to narrative, designed to merge the structured storytelling of traditional films with the dynamic, player-driven nature of video games. By allowing audiences to interact with and influence the story in real time, this format taps into the growing demand for immersive, participatory content.
Imagine a typical movie theater experience, with a large audience consuming a story at the same time. Bespoke interaction moments prompt them all to vote or choose an aspect of the story and the results of the interaction are instantly visible on the screen.
The live nature of the format also differentiates it from other forms of interactive films that have been created in the past. These films were always bound by the footage and content created for it, and the interaction stopped at making choices in branching narratives. A Living Story can vary the type of input it receives with every interaction moment, including sound, text, directional, scales and many more. It can choose how many people can interact in that specific point in the story to fit the narrative (from 1 to 1000 people), it can open live channels that are receiving inputs constantly from the audience and changing small and big details in the story as we go.
While this is one way to describe how a Living Story can work and be consumed, our tools and development mindset is more open and our goal is to develop tools that are flexible and powerful enough to allow you to create variations of interactive live experiences that follow the same principles.
Principles of Interactive Stories and Our Development Process
The Living Stories Lab's framework is built on three core principles that guide the creation of interactive narratives:
- Procedural: Providing building blocks to craft rule-based stories that evoke emotions and react to an audience's bias by changing the environment, characters, sounds or direction of the story.
- Live: Not a frame or a render, but story happening in real-time, allowing for micro-interactions and changes. The story streams anywhere in the world with minimal hardware required.
- Shared: Made to be experienced by audiences in the same space, reminiscent to live theater, oral storytelling and theme-park rides. It can be shaped by the emotions many, incentivizing interesting discussions.
The development of these principles is not just theoretical. The project has spent extensive time researching, prototyping, and validating these ideas, drawing inspiration from pioneering works such as Janet H. Murray’s "Hamlet on the Holodeck" and modern innovations in gaming and immersive media.
Another very important principle for the project is for the medium to be author-driven. We are building tools for creators who want to explore new shapes of story in the changing world. By definition, our interest is to put these tools in the service of authors and innovators that help push these ideas forward. The nature of these interactive experiences will give the challenge to creators to make “sandboxes” around themes of storytelling, allowing them to explore those themes with the audience, creating a back and forth that creates discussion between participants.
Phases of Creation and Tools to Develop
The Living Stories Lab’s development framework is divided into three key phases: Story Creation, Production, and Distribution. Each phase is supported by specialized tools designed to streamline the creative process and foster innovation.
Story Creation
This phase is where the magic begins. It’s about conceiving the story and writing it in a way that leverages the interactive nature of the medium. Traditional screenwriting tools aren’t equipped to handle the branching, non-linear narratives of interactive films, so the Living Stories Lab has developed a new type of software, the Story Portal.
Story Portal
This online platform is inspired by screenwriting and collaborative tools but adapted for interactive storytelling. It allows creators to outline their narrative, build decision trees, and incorporate interactive elements such as user inputs and branching paths. Creators can also collaborate with teams, share drafts, and receive feedback in real time.
Key Features:
- Write interactive, non-linear stories with built-in templates and guidelines.
- Seamlessly integrate written scripts with production tools like Unreal Engine.
- Document interactive patterns and input options, such as phone inputs, wearables, and motion controllers.
Production
Once the story is fleshed out, it moves into production, where the narrative elements are brought to life using real-time game engines. The Living Stories Lab’s toolset integrates directly with leading platforms, particularly Unreal Engine 5, but remains adaptable for other engines like Unity or AI-driven generative solutions.
Unreal Engine Plugin
This plug-in connects the Story Portal directly with Unreal Engine, allowing creators to import their narratives and begin visualizing them instantly. It provides the scaffolding needed to transition from script to interactive experience, including scene creation, input mechanics, and logic integration.
Production Tools:
- Create level sequences and visual layouts based on the story’s branching structure.
- Real-time updates between the Story Portal and the engine, ensuring a seamless workflow.
- Access to Blueprint tools for advanced input handling and live session management.
Distribution
The final step is getting these interactive stories to audiences. The Living Stories Lab is developing a robust distribution framework that allows creators to present their work in various settings—from theaters equipped with gaming PCs to cloud-based streaming solutions.
Distribution Tools:
- Upload finished interactive films to the cloud for on-demand streaming.
- Enable remote inputs from devices such as smartphones or bespoke controllers, making interactive sessions accessible anywhere.
- Middleware services handle session management, audience input data, and real-time feedback to the narrative.
This phase addresses one of the biggest challenges of interactive media: scalability. By making it easy for creators to share their work, the Living Stories Lab aims to democratize the distribution of interactive films, making them as accessible as traditional movies.
A New Chapter in Digital Storytelling
The tools and frameworks developed by the Living Stories Lab aim to create a big shift in how stories can be told, produced, and experienced. By empowering creators with accessible, flexible tools, the project seeks to pave the way for a new era of interactive storytelling that meets the evolving expectations of today’s audiences.
The future of film and media is not just about watching but engaging, interacting, and participating.
As we continue to develop and refine these tools, we invite creators, technologists, and audiences alike to join us in exploring the limitless possibilities of interactive narratives.
