Being one who has gaming as the pinnacle of their professional existence, I was very interested on how an interactive storytelling system would migrate as a gameplay element. One of my personal highlights that were brought fourth during the conference was the possible reaction at a consumer level and how an interactive storytelling environment would be viewed. Essentially since videogames are the most prominently clichéd medium of “interactive entertainment”, interactive storytelling would be initially viewed as an equivalent.
In its pure form, the theory behind interactive storytelling is a method that lets the player immerse themselves into a story that dynamically forms around their actions. Taking even a smidgen of this, even in the most infant form, I feel can improve gameplay greatly. Mainly, I was impressed on the current status on the subject. With different projects undertaking development research on interactive drama and storytelling, I am sure some breakthrough of some kind will happen in the next few years.
Overall I found that Phrontisterion was an excellent focus group session. The material that was coved, I think those in attendance put more in-depth thought into what we are trying to achieve through interactive storytelling and how it differentiates from interactive drama. For the most part, I am greatly interested when this form of medium is thrown into a traditional game situation and improves gameplay to a great extent.