Narrative interfaces in time and space

Abstract

At present, non-fiction narratives involving time and geospatial information have multiple ways to be communicated, but are commonly communicated using traditional media forms, such as text or static images. This study was motivated by research into new media methods of storytelling in the area of journalism and non-fiction narrative. Journalism and non-fiction narrative are often adapted to media forms with limitations in their ability to communicate certain information to audiences, information that includes the communication of time and geospatial information. The thesis consists of two parts. In the first part, the method of research is qualitative by nature, focusing on historical examples of temporal and geographical representations in narrative and media forms. The second part takes the shape of a project, building upon the research and ideas of the first part, and employs applied research in an attempt to construct an interface that optimises communication of time and geospatial information in narrative. The outcome of this research and resulting project is an understanding of how time and geospatial information as part of a narrative can be adapted to new media forms, and the production of an interface that communicates time and spatial information related to a narrative. While it is not clear without rigorous quantitative research if the interface constructed is a more effective tool in communicating narratives related to time and geospatial information when compared to more traditional mediums of storytelling, preliminary reception has been positive, and the resulting production has space for further development and uses cases not originally within the scope of the research.