Interactive Story Structures

The structure of interactive narratives are fundamentally different to many other forms of media. Whereas movies, novels and comics primarily deal with linear narratives, interactive stories can have all kinds of non-linear and playful structures.

Below we will look at three common forms of story structures in interactive media and games.

Linear Narrative

*Linear structure goes from A to B to C to D.*

Linear narratives are what we are most familiar with, as it’s what we experience with most media. The story progresses from plot point to plot point, with no variation or alterations based on player choice.

But even though there are no explicit choices made by the player, linear structures can still be a very effective structure for interactive stories.

Think about interactive poems, campfire stories, “corridor” action games, and exploratory narrative games.

Examples: Uncharted, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Portal

Branching Narrative

Branching narratives are what we generally think of when we talk about interactive story structure. The player is presented with at least one choice at almost every plot point, allowing the story to diverge and flow in completely different directions.

Branching narratives are best at simulating freedom of choice. However, it also relies on a lot of content to be written, of which much of it won’t be experienced by the player in a single play-through! In even the basic example above, three sets of decision points results in six different endings.

Think of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, and intricate role-playing games.

Examples: 80 Days, Fighting Fantasy and CYOA books

Parallel Narrative

*Story flowing between rivers and pools.*

The parallel structure is perhaps the most common found in video games, and is an effective hybrid of linear and branching systems. It allows for player choice and branching out the narrative, but pools back to critical plot points that keep pushing the story forward.

Games and interactive stories that use the parallel structure are effective at telling dramatic stories that twist and contort based on the player’s decisions. Choices are respected, but there is a consistent critical plot path that all players will experience.

Think of Telltale-style adventure games, open world sprawls, and Bioware RPGs.

Examples: The Wolf Among Us, XCOM, Mass Effect series