The narrative braid: a model for tackling the narrative paradox in adaptive documentaries

Abstract

The Narrative Paradox is a theory that describes interaction and narrative cohesion as being in tension, and asserts that the structure of a narrative is disrupted by user adaptivity, leading to possible incoherence as the system accounts for interaction. We propose an approach that may reduce this disruption. Specifically, we propose to model a narrative as a collection of threads, woven together into the final discourse as a narrative braid. By separately maintaining logical coherence within a thread and thematic coherence between threads we believe it is possible to introduce interactivity while maintaining a strong narrative structure. We discuss how this may be applied to adaptive documentaries which, with a wide base of recorded material and diverse plot threads, provide a rich medium for initial experimentation in this area.