What Could be the Radical Future of Immersive Storytelling?
On Friday 7th July 2023, I will be MC-ing the MIX 2023 Conference at the British Library. The day-long programme explores the very best of storytelling in immersive media and is co-hosted by Bath Spa University and the British Library to coincide with the British Library’s Digital Storytelling exhibition of digital literature and emerging formats. As well as opening with a keynote from Adrian Hon, game-designer and author of ‘You’ve Been Played: How Corporations, Governments, and Schools Use Games to Control Us All’, the programme will be jam-packed with an array of panels, talks and workshops exploring the future of immersive storytelling. I’m really forward to sharing the space with some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in not just immersive tech, but academia and storytelling in its myriad of forms to explore what the future holds for immersive storytelling.
As a storyteller myself and a multi-disciplinary producer who has worked across film, theatre, visual arts and even VR, I’d never really given much thought to the future of immersive storytelling - particularly what it means for audiences, creators, and more importantly, how we will organise. I thought I would share my thoughts as they are now.
What is Immersive Storytelling?
For those who aren’t familiar with the term ‘immersive storytelling’, it’s a term to describe storytelling practices, mediums and even technology that transports its audiences to different times, places, and realities. It’s often associated with the development of emerging technology like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D Audio, however it could be argued that it’s not just about what is new. There’s nothing particularly new about storytellers’ desire to immerse their audiences in to the stories they’re experiencing. It’s only now, in the last few decades that immersive storytelling as we have come to know it, has significantly shaped our ideas of technology, the future and what it will look like.
Radical Potential
I believe immersive storytelling and technology has the potential to support us to dream up radical futures, and do what Toni Cade Bambara describes as “mak[ing] revolution irresistible”. So many arguments against disrupting the status quo are built on the perceived risks and often it’s difficult for the masses to see what is possible. When used properly, immersive storytelling could be the hook to bring in more people who face barriers to traditional storytelling or those who are disillusioned by our current realities (everyone?). Immersive storytelling can and should play a fundamental role in designing and trialing more inclusive futures, without feeding into trauma porn, dark tourism or unethical voyeurism. If you search for an image of immersive technology, you’ll likely see thousands of images of a single person using a headset - these are limiting because a). immersive storytelling is more than just VR, b). it frames immersive storytelling as an individual experience, when storytelling by nature is immensely communal. That’s one part of the problem. I don’t think immersive storytelling is currently being used to reach it’s full potential, in fact, not even close - which presents us with an exciting challenge. Part of the reason for that is marginalised communities - those who are on the frontline of dreaming up those realities - are not in the picture, or even, the ones photographing it.
Who should use it and why?
Back in 2019, I spent a few months working as a supervisor at a Virtual Reality Theatre - the first of its kind in Europe. Despite feeling like we were on the cusp of shaking up the future off shared cultural experiences, the types of people that were engaging with it were from a very narrow demographic. Although more people are becoming increasingly familiar with immersive technology and bodies like Arts Council and BFI are investing more public money into funding this type of work, audiences are growing yet still quite niche. To the majority, immersive doesn’t consciously play a significant role in their lives for many reasons other than novelty. Might we build a future where this isn’t the case? Or will immersive storytelling always be relegated to enthusiasts, experts and special occasions? And is that a bad thing?
On one hand, novelty has its place for creating out-of-the-ordinary, memorable experiences. Immersive feels like one of the few places that can still bring an element of wonder and awe to already overstimulated audiences and consumers because it still feels new and novel. It has often made me wonder whether immersive storytelling is most impactful when it’s novel or is novelty a distraction? Do we have an opportunity to lean into this tension and continue to make it feel special, different and out of the norm without it feeling exclusive and disconnected from where audiences already are?
Where are the audiences?
The sceptic in me worries that the entertainment industry wants to be immersive for immersion’s sake without truly interrogating the value it brings to audiences or the stories themselves. Yes, it’s clear that immersive brings a lot of excitement, play and innovation for the creators - value of which cannot be underestimated - but is that the same for audiences? Should it be? I have always maintained (in my 5 minutes of having an opinion) that at the heart of immersive storytelling should be stories. Sometimes it feels like the technology is a nice, shiny distraction that further excludes and separates the curators from their audiences. We need to go back to audiences, find out what they want, and better yet hand over the reigns to them.
I remember asking Rabab Ghazoul, the CEO of Gentle/Radical, about '“what are some of the new, radical ways of doing leadership?” and she responded that often “what is most radical, isn’t new”. There’s something about us returning to the basics of what great storytelling is for audiences, the roles it plays in our lives and using technology to bolster that, not detract from that. Entertainment alone is low-hanging fruit - we need to be aspiring for more; entertainment and connection, entertainment and meaning, entertainment and expression, entertainment and consciousness raising etc.
Changing the industry
It feels like the future of immersive storytelling demands a radical shift within the industry to bring greater nuance between audiences and creators, and to create an infrastructure where there is genuinely shared responsibility, co-design, ownership and connection between all. Immersive technology feels incredibly gate-kept - creating a huge barrier between those who wish to use it as a tool. What would an immersive museum that employs a commons model like Wikipedia look like? How might people contribute to it and feel a sense of ownership over it? What about an educational resource that used mixed or augmented reality to help young people learn by testing things out in real life - where young people are part of shaping reality as much as they are learning about it.
How can we take immersive storytelling beyond an academic exercise to something that is owned by communities? Think of the ways that oral stories have reigned over communities, tribes and families. How can immersive storytelling be anchored within tradition, and the passing down of knowledge? How might immersive storytelling be used as a legitimate rite of passage within groups, be used to share cautionary tales or enable people to express themselves. How might children use it to share with their parents about what’s going on for them? How might businesses use it to pitch for investment by communicating the gaps they fill. What ways might immersive storytelling be maximised to nurture empathy, or maybe even be a tool within evaluation and reporting to funders? How might artists and entertainers use it to connect with and get closer to their fans? It’s important for us to understand what’s currently missing from storytelling, and how might immersion assist?
Responsible Futures
With great opportunity comes great responsibility. Just as immersive storytelling has the potential to dream up magical futures and realities - be a form of escapism and galvanise the masses, it can be used as a tool to pander to fear mongering, dark tourism, extreme propaganda and harm. How do we safeguard against the risks and ensure we keep people safe? One thing I’ve been reflecting on a lot recently is the increasing demands on creators and producers. How ravenous audiences are for content and where the responsibility lies for protecting and inspiring creators. How might we share some of this burden with the audiences themselves, give them control to tell their own stories and in turn nurture their own audiences. It’s important that we collectively interrogate our vision for the future, so we know what we need to be doing now so we can get there.
