How AI is shaping the future of interactive storytelling

With the rise of digital storytelling, interactive narratives are becoming more popular than ever. Generative AI tools can provide significant assistance to authors and content creators worldwide, allowing interactive storytelling to become as immersive, engaging, and diverse as possible. 

• Interactive storytelling is a prevalent narrative genre with many applications.
• Although predominantly used for entertainment purposes, interactive narratives can also provide educational assistance and help people develop a better understanding of the world.
• Rapid advancements in AI technology, particularly generative AI, have led to a new age regarding the quality and diversity of interactive narratives. 

What is interactive storytelling?

Interactive storytelling is a narrative genre where the audience plays an active role in developing the plot. In contrast to linear storytelling, where the plot is already predetermined, interactive storytelling allows the audience to influence and alter the direction and outcome of the story. 

Key aspects of interactive storytelling include:

• User agency (choosing a character’s words or decisions).
• Multiple pathways (the presence of varying paths that lead to different outcomes).
• Immersive experiences like virtual or augmented reality.
• A feedback loop (immediately showing the outcomes of choices).
• Replayability (the opportunity to repeat the story). 

Interactive storytelling is used for various purposes, including entertainment, literature, psychology, education, and marketing. Its popularity among audiences of all ages has allowed it to emerge as a leading narrative genre, with video games and even films also implementing interactive elements into their plots. 

Due to the advancements and accessibility of AI tools, many writers and content creators are able to choose more creative and personalized directions in their interactive narratives, including animation, sound effects, and more.

Examples of interactive storytelling

Regardless of whether you’ve heard the definition, it’s likely that you’ve come across interactive storytelling at some point in your life. 

Popular examples of entertainment and media that incorporate interactive storytelling include video games like “The Witcher,” role-playing games like “Dungeons and Dragons,” interactive films like Netflix’s “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” Choose Your Own Adventure books, and interactive theater performances, where the audience can influence the direction of the show.

However, interactive storytelling can take many forms. Imagine sound effects in your ear as you read an audiobook or a digital cartoon jumping off the page. It could be a book turned into a movie, enhanced by AI.

But before we explore the opportunities that artificial intelligence presents to all this, let’s review some key benefits of interactive storytelling. 

Interactive storytelling benefits

Interactive storytelling is used across many industries and entertainment genres, and for good reason. This narrative genre provides participants with a more engaging and immersive experience and breaks the fourth wall between creators and audiences. 

Likewise, interactive stories can also be used for educational purposes and to link specific actions with potential consequences. 

Education and eLearning

Interactive storytelling can significantly benefit children and young adults, from general knowledge to morality. Common ways interactive stories are incorporated into education include interactive quizzes and infographics, educational games, eBooks, digital video storytelling, and classroom scenario activities.

In addition to being entertaining and engaging, interactive storytelling also facilitates improved information retention. Children (and learners in general) are more likely to remember what they’ve learned when they’re focused, interested, and emotionally invested. Plus, interactive storytelling techniques can make use of tools such as AI narration to tap into additional learning experiences and improve retention.

Check out the Great Gatsby below, for an example of this in action.

Empathy development

Viewers who can directly engage with and influence the actions of different characters are more likely to develop a stronger emotional connection to the characters and scenarios at hand, enhancing their ability to empathize with people.

Although this aspect helps children learn about empathy, interactive storytelling can also benefit psychological evaluations and therapy sessions, allowing observers and specialists to understand an individual’s motives and feelings.

Higher engagement

Whether you’re releasing an ebook, video game, or marketing campaign, incorporating interactive storytelling into your work will help viewers stay around for longer. At the end of the day, humans are curious and will often revisit an interactive story to explore alternative endings. 

As well as this, offering your storytelling in unique languages, accents, dialects, and voices, can really improve people's engagement. International audiences love to hear stories in their native language, while some might prefer a local accent for specific stories. AI tools like dubbing can help this happen, building interactive storylines without the higher costs associated with higher engagement.