The Carnival - Final Cut

Author’s Statement

The Carnival explores the potential for thematic consistency existing within an interactive medium. The development of this story defined storytelling in general as a form of propaganda to keep a consistent throughline, despite the lack of romanticism in such a clinical context. Propaganda, as defined by Encyclopedia Brittanica - is the “dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumors, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion” (Smith). Interactivity serves to draw out more tangible emotions within the distribution due to the autonomy the player receives. Twine interactivity relieves the player of a greater sense of autonomy. I decided to call to attention how such an imbalance of autonomy between the author and the player can take away the potential emotional power of interactive storytelling. 

I took a carnival setting from my playgroup’s experience during Wanderhome, in which a character was faced with the existential terror of an omnipotent deity atop a mountain. I provided a metafictional foundation in which the deity atop the mountain was the author of the work. There's a pervasive sense of intentional authorial insecurity that almost becomes severely detrimental to any kind of authentic roleplay as each time the story seems to be entering some sort of conflict or resolution, sardonic narration substitutes any opportunity for satisfaction. I wanted to explore and somewhat satirize two aspects of interactive, non-linear storytelling that interest me; the relationship between the player and the author. 

This particular format of play provides the author with more storytelling opportunities than usual regarding other forms of roleplay. However, an illusion of choice within the player must still be maintained which is significantly more difficult with such an imbalance of autonomy.  I decided to put an overt amount of specificity in character description in terms of emotional state. This self-reflexive disconnects one player between their character. This draws more attention to an authorial voice. I allegorized the act of reflecting on oneself through the example of looking at your reflection. While the author oftentimes attempts to reflect the readership towards themselves to effectively promote their propaganda, such an attempt may also reflect more of the author’s ideology through the filter of fiction. The deity - a fictionalized variant of myself - was meant to hold similar insecurities to myself which do not reflect on a player. As the play continues, it feels progressively more as if any attempt at legitimate storytelling has been replaced by a vanity project by a particularly insecure person.

It is a common statement within our interactive meeting philosophy that authors present a shortened variation of infinity for the players to reside within. I wanted to show the parameters of this significantly shortening infinity, in a medium that does not support much choice. While such games as Gods of Rock contained limitations that crafted a structured story while still maintaining player imagination at the forefront of the thesis being presented, the structured format of The Carnival not only restricts player imagination but actively discourages it to the point of annoyance. All endings provide the character with the chance to discover more opportunities in which player imagination takes center stage. None do. The story is structured to lack a cohesive ending due to a looping narrative reality. While at first glance, such an approach might be nihilistic. Why try again and again if nothing would change? I intended this aspect of play to be more oriented to supporting interactive mediums that encourage the player to interject play with their imagination, due to the frustration a player could feel searching for something more satisfying in such a limiting format. I intentionally reflected this metafictional restriction to Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which is very commonly associated with limitations of interactive mediums in more mature circles of entertainment consumption. Bandersnatch addresses the clash between linear and interactive fiction through its metafictional approach to the story being told. While non-linear fiction has advantages over linear fiction, I believe that interactive storytelling can intensify feelings of empathy; even when those feelings are directly rallying against the format in which they are being delivered in.

(I don't think I succeeded in this art project, but I had a bunch of fun trying. I loved it.)

Works Cited

Watson, Patrick, and Nat Mesnard. “Gods of Rock.” Level 1 2022. 9th Level Games. 22 September 2023.

Morrow, Thomas. “Gods of Rock (Playthrough).  CRWR 312: Interactive Storytelling. University of British Columbia. 21 September 2023.

Smith, Bruce Lannes. "Propaganda". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/propaganda. Accessed 15 December 2023.

Slade, David. "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch." Netflix, 2018. https://www.netflix.com/.

Dragon, Jay. Wanderhome. Possum Creek Games. 2021.

Morrow, Thomas. “Wanderhome.  CRWR 312: Interactive Storytelling. University of British Columbia.  30 November 2023.