What is interactive storytelling?

I've had a weird career.

First studying engineering, then becoming a game developer, then a journalist, I've also written and performed poetry, music, dance, and theater. After I left journalism, I needed a good answer to the "So, what do you do?" question. (People need to know what you do if they're going to pay you to do it, or so I hear).

I settled on interactive storyteller, which feels like it encompasses my skills and interests, but also begs the question: What is interactive storytelling?

I define interactive storytelling as any form of storytelling where the person receiving the story has a chance to alter it.

It's a pretty wide definition. This includes games and theatre. These could be in-person or online or both. This could be a choose-your-own-adventure book, but it can also be folks gathering around a meal taking turns asking "And then what happens?" to each other.

Because of this broadness, it can often be hard for people who are on one edge of the interactive storytelling lake to know they're neighbors with another artist. Someone who makes visual explainers might not see a lot of overlap with someone making playable theatre, even though they both belong to the same tradition.

All of this is to say that, when we talk about interactive storytelling, it can sometimes sound inaccessible. But it's really kind of one oldest kinds of telling stories. Interactive storytelling is for everyone, and it's something that anyone can do, and the tradition gets richer every time someone new adds their piece to the tale.

But how do you add your piece?

Enter: The 24-Hour Interactive Jam!

To create a space where artists can really explore this space, a group of interactive creators are putting on the Let's Play: A 24-Hour Interactive Jam on March 28th!

We took inspiration from other 24-hour creative events like Global Game Jam, and we're inviting people to come make some weird shit. It can be digital. It can be completely analog. It can be something in between.

But come through, make something, and be a part of this experiment. Make weird games, make weird theatre, make weird internet — make things weird together.

Feel free to pass this along to anyone you think might be down!