These are online workshops, and sitting too long in front of the screen can be punishing. That’s why we will take breaks as often as we need them, and will tailor the length of the segments to suit our needs.
Day One
Saturday
| Start of the Workshop | (45-60 min) – We meet, introduce ourselves, and talk about our approach to narrative design – We set expectations and needs for the workshop – We agree on a contract for the workshop |
| Break | (15 min) |
| What Stories are Made of? | (1,5-2h) – Hero, world, challenges – Traditional story structures – Stories and the cognitive process – Five acts, midpoint – The question of the moral |
| Break | (15 min) |
| End of Day One | (45-60 min) – Discussion – Case study – Homework |
Day Two
Sunday
| Start of Day Two | (45-60 min) – Looking back at day one – Discussing the homework – Plans and expectations |
| Break | (15 min) |
| Experiencing Stories | (1,5-2h) – Games as aesthetic experiences – Play, stories, and the cognitive process – Decision spaces, anticipatory play – Three modes of engaging with stories – Basic player motivations |
| Break | (15 min) |
| End of Day Two | (45-60 min) – Discussion – Which tools can I use in the coming week? – Homework |
Day Three
Saturday
| Start of Day Three | (45-60 min) – Looking back at the week – Discussing homework – Plans and expectations |
| Break | (15 min) |
| Interactive Stories | (1,5-2h) – Interactivity in games and other media – Static and dynamic elements of the narrative – The topology of interactive narratives – Non-linear story structures – System rhetorics – Fractal nature of stories – Co-authorship of the moral |
| Break | (15 min) |
| End of Day Three | (45-60 min) – Discussion – Case study – Homework |
Day Four
Sunday
| Start of Day Four | (45-60 min) – Looking back at day three – Discussing homework – Plans and expectations |
| Break | (15 min) |
| Designing Experiences | (1,5-2h) – Defining the language of expression of the game – Capturing the vision – The synopsis and the story graph – Mapping the vision for the production – What makes for an engaging experience? – Options, context, decisions, dilemmas |
| Break | (15 min) |
| End of the Workshop | (45-60 min) – Which tools can I use in my current project? – Discussion – Plans for the future |