Stories we tell ourselves

A talk on stories, interactive media and how they shape our perception of the world.

Transcript

1. May 30, 2018 / ricardo@samsungnext.com
   @ArgesRic

   https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/
   Stories we tell
   ourselves
   Ricardo J. Méndez
   

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2. @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.
   

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3. @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.
   

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4. Stories we tell
   ourselves
   

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

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6. Two score and
   two years ago…
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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19. Déjà vú
    

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

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

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

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25. Memories
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    @argesric
    @samsungnext
    

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

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27. Anthills and Kings
    

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28. 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
    

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29. 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
    

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

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36. Unexpected
    interactions
    

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

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

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39. @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.
    

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40. @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.
    

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41. @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.
    

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42. @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.
    

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

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44. Opportunities
    

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

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

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

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

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49. @argesric @samsungnext
    

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

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51. @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.
    

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52. @argesric @samsungnext
    Thank you.
    Contact: ricardo@samsungnext.com

    

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