On Divergent Storytelling.

When writing a story, traditionally, the story follows a linear fashion. Whether this story is written as a book, a movie, a TV show or series, a comic book, this will still be the case. There are instances where we have multiple stories linking together; a sort of mesh and interweaving of stories; however, the way that these are told is ultimately linear.

The exception to this rule, that you may have thought of (within books, at least) is Pick-A-Path stories. In Pick-A-Path books, the reader will, at regular points (often after only a page or two) be given a choice of specific directions that they can take. After choosing which to take, they are told to turn to a specific page, whereupon they continue that line of the story, it having been effected by their choice of path to take. In this sense, there is a feeling of creating the story as it’s being read; of interaction with the story being told. There is, of course, only a limited number of stories that can be told; however, there are Pick-A-Path stories that are incredibly complex and intricate in the way they weave through and around each other. Often, readers will go back to try and get the ‘best’ ending; many endings seem to end with the main character dying prematurely, and so this encourages retrying.

For those familiar with gaming, this may seem surprisingly familiar; and, indeed, it could even be ventured that Pick-A-Path stories were almost akin to the first Role-Playing Games (RPGs). Apparently, the first of these stories were out near the time that Dungeons & Dragons was first released, one of the first modern RPGs. However, computer/video games didn’t reach this level of storytelling until a bit later on.

But the significance of divergent storytelling, and the impact that it has on the participant - because it is an interaction, and no longer a one-way reading or viewing - is something that is a lot greater than many seem to realise. This is what we shall concern ourselves with in this writing.

The power of story is something that has been known for centuries. For a long time, stories were how things were taught, passed down; a vocal tradition is all that was kept, because writing was so scarce. In some cultures, such as the American Indians, or the Indigenous Australians, this vocal tradition very much continues through to more recent times. Homer may never have written a word himself; he may well have been just another in a long line of storytellers.

The Greeks certainly knew about the power of story; the size of their amphitheatres were colossal. Greek plays were the great works of the time; comedies, tragedies - this was where they were born, in the ancient Greek theatre. Playwrights were important members of society; because the Greeks knew the power of story.

Eventually, the theatre broadened, and started to include musicals as well as plays; the printing press was invented, and books flooded the world - stories came into every person’s own home. Reading became the new fashion; literacy had never been so popular. Then, there was the motion picture - movies, and then television; like the theatre, but with so much more potential for entertaining the masses. Stories were proliferated at a ridiculous rate, and continued to do so, to the point where it seemed that every story under the sun had already been written.

However, another kind of story has also arisen, and the potential of it is perhaps greater than any of those already mentioned. The story of the individual. It’s why there are so many biographies, and auto-biographies, and memoirs of people’s lives; why the church puts so much emphasis on the individual testimony. Because they know the power of a person’s story. It carries the same potential as any other story that you might have heard; but it’s true. And you can relate to it, connect to it, all the more because of it. There’s real honesty there, a true grit to it that you can’t properly put down on a page or act on a stage. You need to have experienced it first.

And many times, people may have questioned why it is that people connect with stories so greatly. Why it is that books are still being sold in their millions, authors are still earning a living, even in this age of the computer. Some argue that we are seeking an escape from our difficult or mundane lives; others say that we are seeking an explanation for its strangeness, or a validation for our struggle. Perhaps we want to learn the lessons of life, without having to live it ourselves. But whatever the reasons are for this connection, the power that story holds over every person can clearly be seen in the world, even today.

Divergent storytelling, however, offers something a bit different. It almost blends the narrative and excitement of the traditional story with the connection from a personal story; it offers interactivity. Customisation. A level of choice; of being able to seemingly create the story as it is being experienced. It is no longer just being read, or heard, or seen; it is being experienced, almost lived. It becomes decidedly more real for the person.

This divergence can be on many different levels. At one end, in can be quite set in stone, like the Pick-A-Path books; the divergence is still there, but the creative feeling is somewhat illusory. At the other end, however, nothing is set in stone; people may choose to react however they decide to, and the story will adjust and change accordingly. Some things, perhaps events, may remain constant; but the way or fashion in which they unfold could vary greatly depending on the decisions made.

While a fully divergent story, on that end of the scale, is (almost by definition) impossible to pre-construct, writers continue to push further in that direction. And it is in gaming, particularly in video and computer games, that we see this exploration occurring. And, perhaps, this is the only place it could occur - the closest we could get to this in a movie, television show or book would be akin to a Pick-A-Path. Theatre does have improvisations,  and there are examples of these being in response to audience suggestion at times; however, this is notably different to one specific person being able to control a whole story.

Perhaps the best way to see how great an impact this divergent storytelling has, is to look at some of the people that it has impacted on; the gamers. One of (arguably) the best examples of this in recent years has been the Mass Effect trilogy. In this game, participants play as Commander Shepard, attempting to bring together and lead a crew on his ship on a mission to save the galaxy from destruction. Actually a series of three games, in each game players are presented with many, many choices, from seemingly small to very important. However, a grand number of these - hundreds, according to many - have repercussions in the following game/s. These choices also effect the character of Shepard himself, through something known as the Paragon/Renegade scale; it’s not so much good/bad, more “leave no man behind” / “get out of my way”. Some players will try to play to one side of the scale, but often you will find people making choices as they would in that given situation.

One of the people who worked on the project told a story about a player he was watching play through one scene in particular. (He was live streaming it on the internet, and many others were watching as well.) This particular gamer had been playing to a Renegade character the whole way through the game, and was now in Mass Effect 3. At one point, however, he is talking to one of the female shipmates (called Tali), that Shepard has known since the first Mass Effect game. As such, there is a significant connection there. The player has the option to make the Renegade choice, and spite/tease Tali, or make the Paragon choice and say something a bit nicer. At this point, the player hesitates. They have made Renegade choices for all the games so far. They write something on the chat feed - “Guys - what should I do? I don’t want to be mean to Tali.”

These people are no longer just reading a story, or watching a show or a movie. They are immersed in an experience; in this unfolding series of events that they themselves have had a hand in creating, in shaping. That’s something that you can’t do with any book, with any movie. That’s the power, the potential that divergent storytelling has.

Storytelling, in and of itself, is so diverse. There is the book; the play; the musical; the movie; the television show; radio dramas, which I didn’t mention before; and personal stories, testimonies or biographies. And all of these things, in and of themselves, have such great power, and potential.

However, divergent storytelling does something more; it immerses the person inside the story; makes them the creator, not merely a partaker. They are an active participant, and not just a passive reader, listener or watcher. And this world has so many stories to tell.

The universe is made, not of atoms, but of stories. — Muriel Rukeyser