In Beyond Myth and Metaphor: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media [19], MarieLaure
Ryan discusses this. While the actions of the protagonist in traditional narrative are
dictated by the author, in interactive digital media the user of the system is often the
protagonist. The actions of the user tend to create much of the plot in the narrative, and
the goals of the user are often the goals of the protagonist of the story. To this end,
narrative in digital media, especially interactive media, is often quite different from
traditional models [20, 21, 22, 23, 24].In interactive digital media the narrative often
evolves over time, sometimes unpredictably, rather than being a set predetermined
sequence of conflicts.
Marie-Laure Ryan discusses two key elements of digital media that are important factors.
The first is the increased level of interaction, which makes traditional methods of
storytelling and story creation very difficult. The second is the point of view of the user
in regards to interactivity. Differing points of view will shape how the user interacts with
the media and the interface to do so. Different variations of these two elements can
change how a narrative is composed in digital media in a drastic fashion and are
discussed in detail in Chapter 3: Design Concepts.