The Future
Is Interactive

Interactive media is when a user, who would be a person, interacts with a story, influencing the layout of the story through their interactions. This is most commonly done on a computer but is not limited to a screen, as seen in formats like pop-up books. Interactive media transforms readers into participants by deepening the understanding and connection to the story. News articles and books can benefit from making interactive content as this creates engaging content compared to plain text. Reading long pieces of text can take time and it is easy to get distracted or uninterested in what is being read; making simple choice additions can reduce the issues by letting the user have a more active role in the text.Below is a fictional example of interactive media. This is taken from a show called Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake. The image shows a character who lives in dystopian world where “regular” books are guarded by lethal books. The “regular” books are interactive and the reader can affect the story through the choices they are given.

There have been a long history of interactive media and this is mostly seen in video games. One of the most basic forms of video games are text adventures. Since these have no visuals and have very simple controls. Visual novels are a step up from text adventures since they add images to the story but the choices are usually more limited then text adventures. Interactive movies are very similar to visual novels expect they use videos and have offer little choices. Those are some of the simplest games in terms of interactivity but have more in depth stories since they are usually adventure games. Role-playing games have more advanced gameplay and offer a vast story that is heavily influenced on choices made; these games are more focused on gameplay and players can easily skip or miss chunks of the story.The image below is taken from Minecraft Story Mode which is a interactive movie. This scene shows two choices given to the player that will affect what will happen in the story. Below the choices is a timer that will choose one choice if the player does not.

Many websites include a form of interactivity and this can be seen in product marketing, when there is a plus button for more information, compare products, dropdown, and scroll animations. Some news publishers have also made interactive articles that offer a way to immerse the reader into the news. This is done using scroll animation, interactive maps or graphs, animated visuals, and more. The goal when using interactive elements is to engage the user so they can better understand and retain the information presented to them.Below is a video of an interactive article from the Huffington Post. This is a great example of how an interactive article should look like. There is even an option to view the article in a text only format.

News outlets can increase the amount of interactive articles by creating simple yet engaging templates which can take information from the standard article and add interactive elements. Interactive articles not only help the read but also the publisher by attracting readers looking for interactive articles. These articles can also expand the range of readers by allowing the reader to change parts of the articles that better fit them. For instance, questions can be asked either at the start or through out the articles which can make small or big alterations to the content. This is better than having links to other websites since the reader is more engaged with the current article and will not go down a rabbit hole of information. Overall, the ways news outlets can implement interaction are nearly limitless.

Part 2: Fiction

The video serves as a commentary video with the support of visuals. The visuals help understand how interactivity is implement and how it effects the content.The article in example one is shows the purpose of creating an interactive article. The reader gains a understanding that would not be present with only text. While the article is not the most reliable in terms of information it serves as a concept for future interactive implementation.The second example is more text based but uses an interactive graph in a unique way by have the reader draw the line before revealing the correct line. In more interactive graph there is only eye catching animation but this puts the reading into a different mindset by having them decide the graph. It then points out the differences between the two, which improves the reads understanding of why the information matter.The last non-fiction example shows the how to use scrolling animations in a really effective way. Instead of text or pictures fading in there is an entire scene that plays while scrolling. This is an improvement from animating in pictures as it puts the reader in a moving scene that they control. It is easy to follow like normal text but with the visuals of a video.The only fiction example is of a video game called Undertale. This game was made entirely by one person and features 2D graphics. While video games are inherently interactive this one stands out because of the ways it allows the user to interactive with the story and world. Every action changes the next event and not every part of the world has to be explored. The game also has 4 main endings which can vary with the different choices made through out the game. This game evens goes as far as allowing enemies to close the game and have you keep launching the game through out the battle. The choices a user makes reflects really well throughout the game and conveys a story that is unique to each play through.Both non-fiction and fiction can have interactivity on a variety of levels. It can be simple like the first and second example or it can be used heavily like the third and fourth. It would be nice to see more stories use simple yet effective interactive elements in the future and right now there is a good foundation to build off of.

About Me

My name is Koby Falconeri, I am a freshman majoring in computer science. My hometown is Los Angeles but I currently am staying in the dorms at University of the Pacific. I graduated high school in 2023 and plan to graduate University of the Pacific in 2027.At my high school I volunteer for a national organization called Eye to Eye. I was a chapter leader for 3 years which means me and one other person planned and led weekly art rooms. Art rooms consist of mentees, mentors, and chapter leaders. A mentee is someone from lower or middle school who works with mentors to create an art project that lets them learn more about there learning difference. A mentor is a high school or college student who has a learning difference.My interests are video games, photography, video editing, videography, and general technology. I like show and movies but mostly long shows because I never want them to end.I have a deep interest in video games, which led me to create this website about interactive media as it is what I find most intersting. I also like web design but was limited in the design of this website since it serves a fairly complex purpose but is made on a very simple website builder. Interactive Media is something I have also explored so I was very happy that I was able to get the chance to create this website.

Contact Me

If you have any questions or want to get in touch. You can fill out the form below to contact me.

• General Definitions

The four wiki articles are meant to help readers better understand the content on this site. Each article is one of the main interactive media topics that are mentioned. Also, text throughout the site are linked to the articles or to one of the definitions.

Blog

Interactive Media Improves My Life

Author: Koby Falconeri - Published: April 5, 2024

I've always been drawn to anything interactive, whether it is a news article, advertisement, or any form of media that allows for engagement. This might be how many others feel, but I believe that I like interactivity because I always struggle reading plain text because of my dyslexia and ADHD. Back in elementary school, I struggled with mathematical word problems, but when math was incorporated into activities like board games I was able to show how good I was at math. The interactive qualities of these games it more understandable to me than traditional word problems ever did. Throughout my academic journey, I consistently chose engaging and technical learning methods over the conventional methods that required writing. Even when studying, I preferred using study games rather than traditional flashcards, since they were effective in understanding the information. Using interactive elements throughout school helped me but there are so many other cases outside of school as well.When reading articles, I gravitate to those with fun animations or animated visuals, such as graphs that present data in various formats. Even when reading books, I enjoy those with engaging details, like annotations or character comments in the margins that are part of the story. While visuals might not be directly interactive they are heavily used to create engagement through animation or transitions, as seen in articles, books, video games, and other forms of media.As a fan of video games, I value the way the stories are presented. I believe that incorporating more interactive and engaging elements into news articles, advertisements, books, classes, films, and other media could greatly improve the overall experience for the readers or viewers. While many already include features like comments or ratings, there are not many additional interactive elements within the text and storyline that deepen the connection the audience has to the content. I'm certain that many people would appreciate more interactive content in the media they see every day.To create an interactive and engaging future, it is important to educate and provide user-friendly tools and methods for incorporating interactivity to writers, directors, and other content creators. I hope that this entire website serves as a foundation for others to be able to create more interactive content, thus enhancing not only my life but also the lives of many others.

The blog shows my reasoning and point of view. It serves as a way for the readers to connect with me and the contents of the website. I touch on my experience and give a small call of action which connects back to the website.

Text Adventures

A text adventure is a text based game which, mainly, uses ASCII text characters to create the user interface. Some games use these characters to create complex interfaces or maps and others only use words. Below is a list of text adventures that can be played in a browser. It might be confusing to play a text adventure if you never played one before but part of the fun is finding out what does and does not work.

List of Text Adventure Games

• The Dreamhold
• AI Dungeon
• Rogue
• Genesis
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• Spider and Web
• Zork

Visual Novels

A visual novel is a game that mainly uses visuals, such as images, videos, gifs, etc., to tell a story. Visual novels can vary in layout, but all will have text and visuals, and most have choices. They can range in complexity from a game where the user clicks and sees different images and words on screen until the end to others with more advanced options such as choices, character creation, maps, different storylines, different endings, or even another playable game. Since most visual novels only require the user to click through the story, it is a straightforward game for anyone to play.

List of Visual Novels

• Ace Attorney
• Doki Doki Literature Club
• Our Life: Beginnings & Always
• STEINS;GATE
• Monster Prom
• The Visual Novel Database

Interactive Movies

An interactive movie is a combination of game and movie that uses videos to tell a story but includes choices that might change that story. Interactive movies are rare and not very popular or appealing to most people. Most have choices throughout the story and show different scenes or change the ending. A different type of interactive film is a show called Kaleidoscope; while this is not a movie, it follows the same basis as an interactive movie. The show does not prompt the watcher to make any choices; instead, most episodes are in a random order and may be watched in any order except for the last one. This show is an excellent example of interactive videos without choices. Since interactive movies are basic and sometimes can be watched with any user involvement, they are easy for everyone to enjoy.

List of Interactive Movies

• Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
• Puss In Book: Trapped In An Epic Tale
• A Heist With Makplier
• Possibilia
• Kaleidoscope (Show)

Interactive Articles

Interactive articles are generally nonfiction and include ways to immerse the reader in the article. Some interactive elements are scroll animation, interactive maps or graphs, animated visuals, and many more. Since these articles describe nonfiction stories, there will not be any choices or options that change the story or ending. The stories are very linear but include ways to express the story beyond words. Interactive articles are accessible and easy to use, but there might be issues depending on the device and browser.

List of Interactive Articles

• Poor Millennials / Millennials Are Screwed
• Dsxyliea
• You Draw It