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| Netflix is conducting its first experiment in “branching narratives” with DreamWorks animated series “The Adventures of Puss in Boots” and stop-motion show “Buddy Thunderstruck.”
It's an all-too-familiar frustration for film fans wanting to yell at
the character who picks up the wrong suitcase, forgets the torch batteries or
assumes wrongly the killer is dead.
But the days of yelling impotently at the screen when someone does
something dumb could be numbered thanks to a new generation of interactive
content giving the viewer control of the story.
Leading the charge is Netflix, which is conducting its first experiment
in "branching narratives" with DreamWorks animated series "The
Adventures of Puss in Boots" and stop-motion show "Buddy
Thunderstruck."
One-off episodes of both shows which dropped recently on the streaming
service bring the "choose your own adventure" format seen in 1980s
novels to internet TV.
Viewers are asked at various points what their character should do next,
and are able to navigate to numerous possible endings by making decisions using
their remote controls or touch screen devices.
Another such show, "Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout" based on
the 1970s US action figure is scheduled to air on Netflix next year.
"Most of the episodes are straight, linear, traditional Saturday
morning cartoon-type episodes," said "Buddy Thunderstruck"
creator Ryan Wiesbrock, an executive at media company American Greetings
Entertainment.
"But Netflix approached saying, 'We're doing this thing where we're
experimenting with interactive television would you guys like to get involved
with that? And we said yes, absolutely that sounds amazing."
- Spoilt for choice -
Consumers have been spoilt for choice since the 1980s when it comes to
role-playing games and "choose your own adventure"-style novels,
while the best video games look almost as good these days as the most sumptuous
movie.
Films like "Wayne's World" (1992), "Sliding Doors"
(1998) and "28 Days Later" (2002) have toyed with the idea of
multiple endings but none has allowed the viewer to shape the narrative in real
time.
Burbank-based Stoopid Buddy Stoodios co-founder Eric Towner, a director
of "Buddy Thunderstruck," says children's programming was the natural
place to start, with youngsters already inclined to tap, touch and swipe at
screens.
"Kids tend to watch things over and over anyway. The fact that they
can watch it again and it can be different each time, but still living in the
world of that episode, that's a unique thing," Towner said.
For now, Netflix is calling the whole thing an experiment but the format
could go beyond children's programming if enough of its 100 million subscribers
respond positively.
The end goal could be a "House of Cards" where viewers can
make President Frank Underwood nuke North Korea, or "The Crown,"
where they can have Elizabeth II abdicate.
"When you start thinking about it, and going deeper and more
complex than what we've done here, it really starts to open things up, it's
crazy the stuff you could do," said Towner.
"Think of a show like 'Lost'... Just knowing from the get-go it's
going to be interactive, it affects the stories you would tell, how you tell
them and how people would receive them."
- Mostly one-offs -
Tony Gunnarsson, principal analyst at IT and telecoms consultancy Ovum,
says he doesn't see the interactive experiment changing adult programming
wholesale any time soon.
"Ultimately, I think this type of programming is probably going to
be mostly one-offs. Certainly, Netflix is not going to have branching
narratives on multiple series from now on," he said.
The format has already produced the world's first truly interactive
movie, however "Late Shift" (2016) by Swiss start-up company
CtrlMovie which has played festivals across the world.
Viewers vote on the actions of the protagonist leading to one of seven
endings using a smartphone app while the movie keeps rolling seamlessly for
between 70 and 90 minutes.
"This type of content has not really been possible on a broad scale
until now," Glenn Hower, a senior digital media analyst with research firm
Parks Associates, said.
"Sure, it could be done on DVD or Blu-ray discs, but the experience
is typically slow and disruptive."
Hower said it would be interesting to see how the format could be
incorporated into the booming virtual reality (VR) industry.
"Consuming VR-formatted content is
highly personal as it is, and allowing a free or even semi-directed narrative
gives consumers the opportunity to make this content even more their own."
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