Storytelling 2.0

Hi all,

seems like the summer is a bit low on AR news lately… But I’m sure better times will come soon – with all conferences coming up. Be it ISMAR 2015, the Tech Expo or the one I want to mention today: a summit in New York to discuss the future of storytelling, hence the name: futureofstorytelling.org (FoST).

The conference is focussing on the content part – using different media and technologies to tell a story. So, why do I mention it here? Exactly for that reason! Quite often we see tech demos that impress once (rollercoaster rides, snowmen popping up from fairytale books, magic mirrors letting us dance with dinosaurs,…) but fail to really change the game with our beloved technology! Do we really experience stories and created worlds in a multimedia way today? How many people really join crossmedia storytelling to immerse in a created universe? I believe today it’s still quite classic and conservative: books, movies and stand-alone games on your home screen. When will we integrate parallel universes into our daily life (when are games like Ingress standard and not a nerdy exception?) – how will we consume x-media stories? … and does it really work? Can we do context switching well enough not to lose the immersion and the feeling of presence?

I hope the conference in New York will give some answers (and publish them) or inspire the people on location to come up with great stories and worlds afterwards to make the most with cool technology like AR and VR! One teaster video from the conference shows Glen Keane – a illustrator and animator legend, mostly working for Walt Disney. He has a talk on the topic during the conference and starts to draw in 3D virtual space (with a HTC Vive) below. Definitely a promising line-up at FoST!
Walt Disney was always on the look-out for cutting-edge technologies to tell his stories and let the audience be part of a wonderful experience. I’m sure there is much to expect the next years. 2016 being the VR year (hopefully followed closely by the AR years)! Enjoy!