This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Multidimensional storytelling an analytical framework for digital, interactive and transmedia narratives Spinelli, Simona Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). 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Oct. 2021 Multidimensional Storytelling: An Analytical Framework for Digital, Interactive and Transmedia Narratives Simona Spinelli Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, King's College London, University of London Faculty of Arts & Humanities King's College London UK November, 2019 1 Abstract This thesis provides a unified framework { i.e., Multidimensional Storytelling (MDS) framework { that can be used to investigate, in a unified analytical environment, hybrid new media narratives, which combine elements of digital, interactive and transmedia storytelling. The research questions of this study are: What are the common features and patterns shared by digital, interactive and transmedia narrative artefacts? Is it possible to unify digital, interactive and transmedia storytelling within a common conceptual framework? Is there any significant change in the different narrative dimensions of new media sto- rytelling projects from 2000 to 2015? The ultimate goal of the thesis is to develop a framework that researchers interested in new media narratives can use to examine hybrid new media narratives in a standardised way. To address the research questions, I have used a mixed research method- ology that combines the study of academic literature, expert interviews, and the analysis of 61 case studies. I initially identified the shared narrative and technological patterns found in digital, interactive and transmedia narratives. I leveraged these insights to design and implement the MDS framework. The MDS framework comprises both qualitative and quantitative analytical de- vices that researchers can use to perform detailed examinations of hybrid new media narratives. I tested the MDS framework performing quantitative and qualitative analyses, respectively, on 36 and three new media stories pub- lished between 2000 and 2015. Beyond testing the framework, the goal of this empirical analyses was to identify changes in the narrative and technological components of the projects over time. The thesis provides multiple contributions. The MDS framework can be used to perform reproducible and comparable analyses which measure the level of hybridisation of new media narratives at scale. The framework also provides 2 concepts and a terminology that researchers, professionals and the audience can use to discuss new media stories accurately and productively. From an empirical perspective, the analyses of the case studies has revealed that there has been an increase in the level of hybridisation of new media narratives from 2000 to 2015. 3 Table of content 1 Introduction 16 1.1 Context . 16 1.2 Background . 20 1.2.1 Definition: Digital storytelling . 21 1.2.2 Definition: Interactive storytelling . 22 1.2.3 Definition: Transmedia storytelling . 22 1.2.4 Overlaps in digital, interactive and transmedia storytelling 23 1.3 Defining Multidimensional Storytelling . 26 1.4 Research aims and questions . 28 1.5 Research methodology . 29 1.6 Why a mixed approach is needed for the MDS framework . 32 1.7 Quantitative methodological tools . 36 1.7.1 Encapsulation . 37 1.7.2 Feature vector . 38 1.7.3 ANOVA . 40 1.8 Chapters' summary . 43 1.9 Summary . 44 2 Theoretical perspectives 47 2.1 Overview . 47 2.2 Multimodal theory . 47 2.3 Narratology . 50 2.4 Intermediality, transmediality and intertextuality . 55 2.5 New media studies . 57 2.6 Interactive theory . 62 2.6.1 Defining interactivity . 62 4 2.6.2 Key debates in interactivity applied to narratives . 65 2.6.3 Interactive media formats . 68 2.7 Internet studies . 71 2.8 Participatory culture and convergence . 75 2.9 Summary . 79 3 The MDS framework 82 3.1 Overview . 82 3.2 Towards a unified framework of new media narratives . 83 3.3 The MDS object . 85 3.4 The structures of the MDS framework . 87 3.4.1 Encapsulation in the MDS framework . 89 3.4.2 Topic and format . 90 3.4.3 Genetic Storytelling Code and storytelling type profile . 93 3.5 Summary . 98 4 The categories and principles of the MDS framework 100 4.1 Overview . 100 4.2 Categories . 100 4.2.1 Interaction . 106 4.2.2 Platform . 109 4.2.3 Media . 111 4.2.4 Text . 114 4.2.5 Agents . 116 4.3 Principles . 121 4.4 Principles of Interaction . 122 4.4.1 Ludification . 122 4.4.2 Narrative interaction . 123 4.4.3 Interface . 124 4.4.4 Agency . 125 4.4.5 Multisensorial experience . 126 4.5 Principles of Platform . 127 4.5.1 Pervasiveness . 127 5 4.5.2 Technological integration . 128 4.5.3 Social infrastructure . 129 4.5.4 Convergence . 130 4.5.5 Analogue landscape and digital landscape . 130 4.6 Principles of Media . 132 4.6.1 Multimediality . 132 4.6.2 Visuality { Still and moving images . 133 4.6.3 Effects and animation . 134 4.6.4 Audio { Music and sound design . 134 4.6.5 Text-based communication . 134 4.7 Principles of Text . 135 4.7.1 Character centrality . 135 4.7.2 Narrative fragmentation . 137 4.7.3 Domain hybridisation . 138 4.7.4 Adaptation . 139 4.7.5 Microcontent . 140 4.7.6 Customisation . 140 4.8 Principles of Agents . 141 4.8.1 Communication paradigms: many-to-many vs one-to- many............................. 141 4.8.2 Participative storytelling . 142 4.8.3 Community involvement . 143 4.8.4 Fan-driven content and user-generated content . 144 4.9 Summary . 146 5 The MDS framework in practice 149 5.1 Overview . 149 5.2 Qualitative analysis . 151 5.3 Quantitative analysis . 164 5.4 Applications of qualitative and quantitative analyses . 164 5.5 Guidelines for the analysis . 169 5.6 A step-by-step guide for analysing new media narratives . 171 5.7 Summary . 178 6 6 Quantitative analysis of 36 MDS projects 180 6.1 Overview . 180 6.2 Selection criteria for the 36 case studies . 181 6.3 Experimental design . 184 6.4 The trends of MDS principles over time . 185 6.5 Quantitative comparison of three sample case studies . 218 6.6 The evolution of DS, IS and TS over time . 231 6.7 Summary . 243 7 Qualitative analysis of three MDS projects 245 7.1 Overview . 245 7.2 Capture Wales . 246 7.3 Dim O' Gauble . 257 7.4 The Lizzie Bennet Diaries . 265 7.5 Summary . 286 8 Conclusion 288 8.1 Overview . 288 8.2 Evaluation of research questions and aims . 288 8.3 Summary of contributions . 291 8.4 Benefits of the MDS framework . 295 8.5 Possible applications of the MDS framework . 296 8.6 Limitations and future research . 298 8.7 Final remarks . 301 A Expert interviews 302 A.1 Interviewee-1 . 302 A.2 Guy Gadney . 314 A.3 Colin Harvey . 325 A.4 Kim Baumann Larsen . 337 A.5 Robert Pratten . 345 A.6 Kate Pullinger . 357 A.7 Linsey Raymaekers . 365 7 B Interview template 374 C List of case studies 376 C.1 Cruising ............................... 382 C.2 Capture Wales ............................ 382 C.3 Red vs Blue ............................. 382 C.4 Bristol Stories ............................ 383 C.5 Figurski at Findhorn on Acid ................... 383 C.6 Fa¸cade ................................ 383 C.7 Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) ................... 383 C.8 Inanimate Alice: China ....................... 384 C.9 The Beast .............................. 384 C.10 Freakylinks.com ........................... 384 C.11 24: Conspiracy ........................... 385 C.12 Perplex city ............................. 385 C.13 Lonelygirl15 ............................. 385 C.14 Dim O'Gauble ............................ 386 C.15 Flight Paths ............................. 386 C.16 Nightingale's Playground ...................... 386 C.17 Like Stars in a Clear Night Sky .................. 386 C.18 Fallen London ............................ 387 C.19 The Path ............................... 387 C.20 Dear Esther ............................. 387 C.21 Lost: Missing Pieces ........................ 388 C.22 Why.