{"id":545,"date":"2007-10-31T10:50:12","date_gmt":"2007-10-31T08:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leapfrog.nl\/blog\/archives\/2007\/10\/31\/helping-users-retell-experiences\/"},"modified":"2007-10-31T10:50:12","modified_gmt":"2007-10-31T08:50:12","slug":"helping-users-retell-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leapfrog.nl\/blog\/archives\/2007\/10\/31\/helping-users-retell-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping users retell experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A\n<\/a><\/p>\n

I talked about the difference between emergent and embedded narrative in games<\/a> a while ago. I also introduced my Interaction 08 talk<\/a> in a previous post. I’d like to now follow up with some thoughts on the storytelling that happens outside of a user’s direct interaction with a product or service – the storytelling she engages in when recounting the experience of use to other people.<\/p>\n

Obviously, supporting the retelling of experiences is important. After all if you’re offering a cool product or service, you want others to know about it. A passionate user is probably your best advocate. It only makes sense for you to create easy ways for her to share her experiences with others. It can also deepen<\/strong> a user’s own experience – making the product or service part of a story wherein she is kicking ass can create a positive feedback loop.<\/p>\n

Games have picked up on this, of course. They’ve employed numerous ways for users to retell their play-sessions. In Rules of Play<\/a>, Salen and Zimmerman list a number of them:<\/p>\n

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  1. The replay<\/em> – found in racing games for instance – literally replays the actions of the player after she completes a track, stage or level. Sometimes this is done in ways that wouldn’t be practical in the game itself1<\/a><\/sup> in all cases it is done in a way that fits the feel of the game, the experience the game aims for.<\/li>\n
  2. Other games take this one step further and allow players to control the view of the replay themselves. They’ll also allow users to redistribute the recording of their actions. Doom<\/a> did this, it was called the recam<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  3. A logical progression is found in the machinima<\/em> phenomenon, where the play of a game takes a back-seat to the retelling of play, effectively making the game a tool for personal creative expression. A famous example are the many soap opera episodes produced by players of The Sims<\/a>. <\/li>\n
  4. Finally, with the advent of more embodied interactions in gaming there’s an upsurge of online videos of game-play. Having an embodied interface makes it much easier for bystanders to ‘read’ what’s going on, effectively opening the way for play to become like performance2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How does this translate to the design of user experiences in digital and physical products? I think there are a few things that are important in the retelling of experiences:<\/p>\n