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This demo is the first outcome of the research project VR for Diversity. The theoretical backgrounds for the project are shortly discussed and the concept for Amelia’s Dream is presented. Amelia’s Dream is a VR experience that is filmed using volumetric video capture technology, in which a young woman shares some of her dreams and concerns, relating to issues of gender equality. Focusing on how parasocial and physical interaction may impact the persuasive effects of VR, the research plan shortly elaborates on how the installation will be used for experimental studies into the possibilities of VR as a perspective shifter.

Initial expectations about the interactive affordances of VR were often inspired by science fiction and technological fantasies rather than based on actual technical possibilities. In these futuristic accounts of VR, interactors would have the opportunity to fully engage with the characters that inhabit the story world, in ways that would feel so natural that it would be indistinguishable from reality. In ‘real’ reality however, the actual production of VR has turned out to be considerably more complicated. To provide a realistic impression of the actual possibilities of VR, this study presents four widely acclaimed contemporary VR experiences (Wolves in the Walls, The Line, Down the Rabbit Hole and A Fisherman’s Tale) and reviews them from a media theory and communication science perspective. We discuss whether and how the concepts identification, parasocial interaction, ‘breaking the fourth wall’ and spatial and narrative presence can still be applied to these VR case studies, eventually aiming to contribute some rudimentary insights into the range of possible media conventions that narrative VR may contain.

The 18 full papers and 17 short papers, presented together with 17 posters and demos, were carefully reviewed and selected from 99 submissions. The papers are categorized into the following topical sub-headings: Narrative Systems; Interactive Narrative Theory; Interactive Narrative Impact and Application; and the Interactive Narrative Research Discipline and Contemporary Practice

With the renewed interest in VR, new questions arise for content creators, as existing cinematic practices cannot simply be transferred. In this paper, we describe two experiments investigating which voice-over perspective elicits the best sense of presence for viewers of cinematic VR content. For the first experiment different voice-over narrations in first, second and third person perspectives were added to a VR video. This test showed that viewers preferred the voice-over in second person perspective, as this provided them with the strongest sense of presence and a feeling of ‘being in the story’. In the second experiment, we used a short 360° documentary with a first person voice-over perspective, and compared it to a version of the same documentary with a second person voice-over, using a quantitative survey. In this experiment, however, no significant difference was found between the two groups of respondents. In our discussion, we explore several possible reasons that may have contributed to this outcome.

To help fill the gap in pediatric communication tools and support child-centered care in pediatric hearing care, we designed and evaluated a novel narrative transmedia tool for facilitating communication with children during pediatric audiology and speech- and language therapy appointments. The digital tool integrates methods from narrative and play therapy, and applies a novel transmedia narrative framework using 360-degree video and smartphone-based Virtual Reality (VR). The tool was evaluated in three case studies. The findings suggest that the tool was effective in engaging the children in conversation about their hearing, supporting the specialists in exploring the functional impacts of the children’s hearing loss. Through co-participatory design, implementation and evaluation with hearing care specialists, it became clear that such a multi-platform transmedia tool, combining interactive digital narrative and emerging narratives, represents a promising avenue for facilitating child-centered communication during pediatric hearing care appointments

Interactive cinema appears as an enticing blend of cinema and games. However, active control has been argued to disrupt the appeal of the cinematic experience, and so-called lean-back interactions have been proposed. Such experiences seek to increase narrative immersion without posing demands to the user, or them necessarily being conscious of the control. This paper seeks to investigate how such mechanism can be designed by leveraging attention-measuring Brain-Computer Interface to cater to individuals’ interests and increase narrative engagement for interactive films. This is done by skipping seamlessly ahead to the next exciting plot point when detecting drops in viewer’s attention, thereby tailoring parts of the film while keeping the overarching story. A short prototype film was produced with virtual production techniques and evaluated in a between group experimental design (n = 24). Participants in the experimental condition watched an interactive version of the film, which contained skippable segments based on viewers’ level of attention, while those in the control condition watched a non-interactive version with an edit matching one from the experimental group. The results showed no significant difference in narrative engagement; however, the experimental group showed a significantly higher overall attention than the control group. This suggests that attention-based skippable segments could have some impact on viewer engagement, and it may be beneficial for creating personalized edits for viewers, although further investigations are needed.