Netflix is working on a choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror episode
Netflix could reinvent storytelling with interactive narratives
By Shawn Knight,
Forward-looking: If successful, interactive storytelling could take the
industry in a whole new direction. Shows with multiple endings could
increase engagement as viewers would be compelled to go back and
re-watch an episode to seek a different path, thus boosting ratings. It
also presents new challenges as it relates to actors and pay considering
they’d be filming far more scenes than a linear project would require.
Netflix has been thinking a lot about the future of media and how
engaged its viewers will or won’t be with its content. Last year, the
company experimented with an interactive experience that allowed viewers
to choose between branching narratives.
What’s different about those trials and upcoming projects is the target
audience. Whereas last year’s shows were meant for children, Netflix’s
latest work is being developed for a more mature audience.
According to Bloomberg, Netflix is planning to publish an interactive
episode of Emmy-winning science-fiction series Black Mirror in which
viewers will be able to choose their own story lines. It’s not yet clear
just how complex the episode will be or exactly when it’ll debut
although Bloomberg expects it by the end of the year.
Blending elements of video games with traditional TV is an interesting
concept and the time has arguably never been better to try it given the
widespread availability of high-speed Internet, mobile devices with
touchscreens and the mainstream popularity of video games. As Bloomberg
highlights, reality shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent
have tasked viewers with casting votes to affect outcomes but no
narrative-based show has tested the formula with any degree of success.
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