Tonguc Ibrahim Sezen

First Steps towards a Unified Theory for Interactive Digital Narrative

As the domain of Interactive Digital Narrative matures, it becomes increasingly important for researchers to understand the conceptual differences and underlying theories in the different approaches. This paper presents new theoretical perspectives on the fragmented theory and practice within the domain and proposes first steps towards a unified theoretical framework for the domain. The paper is informed by the discussions between theorists and practitioners at two workshops held by the authors.

Mapping the Evolving Space of Interactive Digital Narrative - From Artifacts to Categorizations

Categorizing Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN) works is challenging because artistic and technological approaches constantly evolve. At the same time, a range of theoretical approaches from neo-Aristotelian perspectives to applications of post-classical narratology have applied many markedly different analytical perspectives, making an overall comparison difficult. This position paper expresses the need for novel, dynamic and multidimensional mappings and explores an early selection of categorizations for IDN works across different approaches.

Breaking Points — A Continuously Developing Interactive Digital Narrative

Breaking Points is an interactive digital narrative (IDN) that puts the user in the position of a young woman who feels trapped in a daily routine she would like to escape from. The narrative design connects more important decisions with seemingly trivial ones and presents the user with immediate and delayed consequence in the form of narrative feedback, for a complex and more life-like experience. By aligning the experience of a single walkthrough with a day in the life of the heroine, the project invites replay. The project is also a study of authorial challenges and opportunities offered by different authoring modes, namely the switch from coding from scratch to the ASAPS environment. As the project is prepared for release on touch-based tablets, the paper focuses on how changes in the underlying technology have afforded continuous reshaping of the narrative.

Do We Need a New Narratology for Interactive Digital Storytelling? A Workshop on Theory at ICIDS 2009

The workshop explores Narratology as applied to Interactive Digital Storytelling. It presents different strands in established Narratology and the foundations they are built on. Then it discusses different attempts to apply and reconcile Narratology with Interactive Digital Storytelling. The workshop is designed to expose these differences by applying different concepts to the analysis of different digital artifacts and open up a discussion of theory that is mindful of diverse approaches and integrates practical considerations.

Towards a Shared Vocabulary for Interactive Digital Storytelling

As a new research domain matures, it becomes increasingly important for researchers to agree on a shared vocabulary. For researchers in Interactive Digital Storytelling, this is a particular challenge, because researchers come from many different domains and bring their own terminology with them. This workshop exposes and explores the differences in meaning and terminology of key terms such as “story” in different academic disciplines related to Interactive Digital Storytelling. In order to minimize confusion and misunderstandings in the academic discussion within the field and with outside disciplines, the workshop explores ways towards a shared vocabulary for Interactive Digital Storytelling.

Designing and Playing to Protest: Looking Back to Gezi Games

This chapter is about the design, development, and perception of videogames produced during Gezi Park Protests in 2013 as a form of civic participation. The chapter first outlines the production history of these games which came to a sudden end due to the changes in the political atmosphere. A detailed description is given of the theoretical approaches on design and use of political games and newsgames in the following section. Based on these approaches, five games produced during the protests were tested by a small group of participants.

Towards a unified theory for interactive digital storytelling - classifying artifacts: a workshop at ICIDS 2011

An important step towards a theoretical understanding of interactive digital narrative is a classification system for existing artifacts. Many artifacts in Interactive Digital Storytelling provide a challenge to taxonomies derived from literature or film. The lack of a thorough classification system is also a serious hindrance to theoretical work, as it precludes a mapping of the overall field and a comparison of artifacts along categories shared by many researchers. In order to minimize confusion and misunderstandings in the academic discussion within the field and with outside disciplines, the workshop explored ways towards a shared taxonomy for Interactive Digital Storytelling.

Press Start to Remember the Martyrs: On Video Games Commemorating the 2016 Coup Attempt in Turkey

This chapter offers an overview and analysis of video games and other playable media designed to commemorate the 15 July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Little known outside of Turkey, these digital artifacts exemplify how video games can be used as a medium of politically motivated self-expression. Sezen and Sezen argue that they also provide a unique peek into the conditions they were produced, namely a national myth-building period run under the state of emergency. Their analysis of games in different genres explores how game design and game narratives contribute to the construction of the so-called Epic of 15 July. The chapter concludes with a comparative coverage of historical coup d’etat’s in games and discusses possible design directions for future games on the subject.

Where's the story? forms of interactive narrative in current digital games and other digital forms

The theoretical understanding of interactive digital narrative must evolve in order to accommodate recent trends and development in the practice of this constantly evolving form of human expression. This edition of our workshop series at ICIDS concentrates on artifacts produced or released in the last two years. In addition, it broadens the perspective by asking participants to present examples of their own choosing to the workshop in order to ensure as much breadth in the understanding of current works as possible. The presented artifacts will then be analyzed and classified with a cutting-edge theoretical perspective based on our continued research into a combined universal theoretical perspective for interactive digital narrative.