Available only in the 6th semester (3rd year) and 8th semester (4th year)

🔵 🔴 🟡 Course description

In the context of this course, we will study different forms of digital creativity such as blognovels, vlogs, fan fictions and the interactive digital storytelling of visual novels and "choose your own path" stories. However, we will give special importance to digital games and pervasive computing games. We will approach the concept of storytelling as a structural element of games, giving weight to the conceptual categories of flow, immersion, presence and identification. During the course, we will engage with different narrative design techniques in order to creatively and critically approach the narrative architecture of games. Using easy-to-use open source tools such as Twine, we will create our own digital stories/narrative games, claiming a place among the so-called zinisters of the new era. 

Upon completion of the course, students should:

• Be able to understand the logic, the requirements and the limitations posed by digital storytelling as a creative tool and as a means of expression and communication. 
• Understand the different forms and forms of digital interactive storytelling, as well as the fields where it is applied 
• Use the available digital tools, recognizing the advantages and limitations they impose
• Develop their own digital interactive narratives
• Recognize the dynamics of modern multimodal environments 

🔵 🔴 🟡 Theory (2 hours)

1. Definition and Building Blocks of Digital Interactive Storytelling - Interactive Digital Storytelling Theory and Systems Thinking

2. Interaction, Flow and Immersion - Characteristics and Theories of Interactive Digital Storytelling

3. History of Interactive Digital Storytelling - Hypertext fiction and choose your own adventure games -Study of the early forms of interactive digital storytelling

4. Visual novels and digital personal stories-Narrative motifs in visual novels and new ways of telling personal stories (digital calendars and social media)

5. Multimedia and Multimedia Storytelling – Principles and Practices of Multimedia and Intermedial Storytelling

6. Narrative Structures of Interactive Digital Storytelling I - Tree-like storytelling and analysis of its different manifestations

7. Narrative Structures of Interactive Digital Storytelling II - Study of different cases of tree-like storytelling

8. Digital games as a new field of interaction-Interactive digital storytelling through digital games

9. Zinisters and the digital revolution of creativity- The Zinisters "movement" and how it changed modern digital creative production.

10. Turning a Short Story into an Interactive One – How to Turn a Short and Short Story into a Tree-Like Narrative

11. Introduction to Twine I - Introducing the interactive digital writing tool, Twine

12. Introduction to Twine II - Introducing the Twine Tool and Individual Functions

13. Artistic Expression and Twine - Showcasing Artists' and Activists' Work

🔵 🔴 🟡 Workshop (1 hour)

1. Systemic thinking exercise

2. Case Study: Interactive Documentary

3. Case study through classic examples, such as Patchwork Girl 

4. Study of contemporary examples of multimedia and intermedial storytelling

5. Case study of a visual novel

6. Practice tree-like storytelling

7. Teamwork: Personal engagement with a narrative game and analysis of its structure

8. Study of different narrative cases encountered in digital games 

9. Case study of experimental projects

10. Group exercise: Writing a short story and turning it into an interactive one

11. Exercise with Twine 

12. Exercise with Twine (audio-visual input)

13. Experimental use of Twine

Review language: Greek

🔵 🔴 🟡 Evaluation method:

• Participation in the course and workshops (10%)

• Delivering lab exercises and classroom presentations (20%)

• Final paper/written exams (70%)

• Note I: Participation during the course (theory and laboratory), participation in daily exercises (presentations, short group projects, etc.) and final work/written exams are evaluated. 

• Note II: Evaluation procedure and means: Written examination at the end of the semester or individual assignment / Homework. / Oral presentation of a thesis. / Use of multiple bibliography. / Laboratory or practical exercises. / Monitoring students during the execution of laboratory or practical exercises. / Receiving systematic comments from students in the middle of the semester. / Ensuring transparency in the evaluation of student performance

•  Face-to-face 
•                Use of PowerPoint and audio-visual examples (13 lectures)            
•                Support of the learning process through eClass with weekly provision of audiovisual material, links, photos, extra bibliography and related information (exhibitions, cultural institutions, digital works, digital games, etc.)            
•                Use of open-source digital tools such as Twine            
•                Use of audiovisual libraries

https://eclass.uop.gr/courses/2770/ 

🔵 🔴 🟡 Course Textbooks [Eudoxus]

•                Lygiaris, M., Deligiannis, C, 2017. Game Development: Designing interactive storytelling. Athens: Fagotto            
•                Papailia, P., Petridis, P., 2015. Digital ethnography. Athens: HEAL-Help. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/11419/6117 (ebook)            

Extra Bibliography

•                Aarseth, A., 2004. Cybertext-Perspectives on Ergotic Literature. Johns Hopkins University Press            
•                Caillois, R. 2001. Toys and People: The Mask and Vertigo, Athens: Editions of the 21st            
•                Huizinga, J. 1989. Man and the Game: Homo Ludens, Athens: Knowledge            
•                Jenkins, H., 2006. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press            
•                Koster, R., 2005. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Paraglyph Press            
•                Mäyrä, F., 2008. An Introduction to Game Studies. London:SAGE Publications Ltd            
•                Moula, E.E., Malafantis, D., K, 2021. From literature to digital fiction. Athens: ed. Menander            
•                Murray J. 2017. Hamlet on the Holodeck : The future of narrative in cyberspace. MIT Press            
•                Roinioti, E., Pandia, E., Skarpelos, I, 2019. Digital Games: Philosophical, Social and Cultural Quests, Athens: Oasis            
•                Salen K., Zimmerman E., 2004. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. The MIT Press            
•                Skolnick, E. (2014). Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques. Watson-Guptill; NO-VALUE edition