Stories we tell ourselves

May 30, 2018 / [email protected] @ArgesRic  https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/ Stories we tell
ourselves Ricardo J. Méndez

@argesric @samsungnext About me Technical Director for Europe at Samsung
NEXT in Berlin. We partner with innovators and invest in forward-looking deep-tech companies. Software engineer, worked on everything from systems dealing with sensitive banking data to the interactive space to game development. Here to talk about stories and systems and games.

@argesric @samsungnext What we’ll talk about Stories change the way
we perceive the world, New technologies allow us to tell new types of stories, We're not doing nearly enough of that.

@argesric @samsungnext How about this? Our brain just loves jumping
to conclusions.

Two score and two years ago…

@argesric @samsungnext Sugarcane Island Written in 1969 by Edward Packard.
Published in 1976.

@argesric @samsungnext Innovations First, it was non-linear. You were partly
a reader, and partly a player.

@argesric @samsungnext Hopscotch Julio Cortázar, 1963. Still a novel -
he’d chosen the order.

@argesric @samsungnext Innovations Second, it was written in the second
person. It was about you.

@argesric @samsungnext Your adventure Re-purposed existing technology for interactivity. Minimal,
but you got involved.

@argesric @samsungnext Colossal Cave Adventure Written in 1976 by Will
Crowther and Don Woods. First piece of fully interactive fiction.

@argesric @samsungnext Colossal Cave Adventure Colossal Cave surprised you. It
reacted to you. You had to interact with it on its own terms.

@argesric @samsungnext Serious business Remember, 1976. Computers were expensive. And
serious.

@argesric @samsungnext The viewer-player pendulum Adventure games. First-person shooters. Role-playing
games. Open world games. Visual novels.

Déjà vú

@argesric @samsungnext Assassin’s Creed 2 Open-world game. Your traveling has
a purpose. You need to figure out your environment.

@argesric @samsungnext Assassin’s Creed 2 See the city from a
vantage point. Visit places multiple times.

@argesric @samsungnext Assassin’s Creed 2 The more engaged you are,
the more a story will stick in your mind.

Memories 10px lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur Text 24px
10px lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur Text 24px 10px lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur Text 24px @argesric @samsungnext

@argesric @samsungnext Back to technology… This is only possible because
computers are powerful enough that they can represent it.

Anthills and Kings

Emergence It hacks into our need to make sense of
the world, that same part of our brain that likes to make sense of isolated images and disconnected events. Even more important is that these stories couldn’t exist anywhere but in a computer. @argesric @samsungnext

Emergent system Local actions, by multiple agents, without any centralized
coordination, having a global effect. Designers configure the rules. You are left with a sandbox. The world emerges from the friction between both. @argesric @samsungnext

@argesric @samsungnext Back to technology… No cutscenes. No narration. Just
an accumulation of choices. It all happened in my head.

Unexpected interactions

@argesric @samsungnext Time flies DVD shipping. No late fees. From
a mail service to a major producer.

@argesric @samsungnext Massive investments $8 billion in 2018. 8. Billion.
Dollars. More than the entire MCU. In one year.

@argesric @samsungnext Stranger Things This is how we’re going to
influence the stories we’re told. Netflix is going to act more and more like an emergent system.

@argesric @samsungnext Justice for Barb A major subplot because of
viewer engagement. Shortening cycles and direct fan connection will have a direct effect on narratives.

@argesric @samsungnext We’ve always used data If a movie makes
money, it’ll get a sequel. If a character is popular, we’ll see more of him.

@argesric @samsungnext Data begets data The better they become, the
more users they get. The more users they get, the more they can tailor stories.

@argesric @samsungnext An emergent system Every iteration of this game
will be seeded with the movies you told the system you wanted to watch.

Opportunities

@argesric @samsungnext Rolando Came out in 2008. Designed by HandCircus.
Intuitively understood the hardware.

@argesric @samsungnext Same old story We haven’t seen truly mobile
narratives. Same storytelling, pared down for a smaller form factor.

@argesric @samsungnext Reigns Feels native. Tinder-like multi-generational dynasty game.

@argesric @samsungnext Meanwhile… These things in our pockets have become
supercomputers. It hasn’t been about the accelerometer for a while now.

@argesric @samsungnext

@argesric @samsungnext We can do better Tell different stories. Tell
collaborative stories. Tell stories which cross- pollinate from those around us.

@argesric @samsungnext We live in an era of plenty We
have access nobody else had before. We can create stories unlike those anyone else created. Use it. Create some brave new worlds.

@argesric @samsungnext Thank you. Contact: [email protected] 

Stories we tell ourselves

Stories we tell ourselves

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