Beyond linear narratives
Satu Keto (Innovation Lead) and Mikael Hindsberg (Business Designer) from Finnish public broadcaster Yle, presented their brainchild Sexy Pants and Other Problems. The bold experiment modernizes contemporary audio drama to reach and engage younger audiences. In this new form of audio drama, it’s the reader who decides how the story ends and not the author. Bye bye to lineair storytelling and hello to non-lineair storytelling. Curious how this works? Let’s delve into the gamification of audio drama by bringing it into a mobile experience.
Instagram Stories but better
To provide an interactive mobile experience, the user interface is similar to the concept of Instagram Stories. But it wouldn’t be an innovation if there wasn't an exciting twist. Unlike the standard linear stories, Sexy Pants and Other Problems gives users the control of the narrative. Each user has the possibility to direct the storyline by making choices from the perspective of the characters, leading to different narratives.
The story has ten possible endings and a playthrough time of 10 minutes, making it easy to revisit the story multiple times. Furthermore, players could truly engage with the characters by stepping into their shoes and reflecting on choices in challenging situations, which opened the door to empathy and understanding, an important value in journalism.
Image: Edith Hammar
The public's eye
Sexy Pants and Other Problems was targeted to young queer urban individuals in order to deliver a credible queer representation in the media. But it didn’t stop there. They experimented with topics like middle aged body positivity, dating in your 20’s and a country’s fall into despotism. These aren’t only hot topics, it also offers a fresh approach to conveying news and information in order to create empathy.
Experimental joyride
The challenge was determining the format of Sexy Pants and Other Problems: Must it be a podcast, a drama, or a game? This made the technical design of Sexy Pants and Other Problems an experimental joyride. The limited tree-structure of a linear storyline needed to be reinvented, and open-source tool Twine was the answer. The tool makes it possible to implement several storylines based on the user’s choice. The user can fast forward but not regret choices and move back.
Furthermore the smooth streaming between sound, animation needed to be ensured. In order to solve this problem, Sexy Pants and Other Problems implements the Yle Areena Player to ensure smooth streaming. Due to this interplay, Sexy Pants and Other Problems was a collaboration between many creative profiles, like Edith Hammar (illustrator and screenplay writer) who brought the story to life with her illustrations. The format was in place, all that remained was the audience. Time to get out of the building.
The picture shows data obtained through the API interface about the game
Image: Satu Keto / Yle
Learnings
What are the lessons learned in non-linear storytelling?
Firstly, Sexy Pants and Other Problems highlights the power of gamified storytelling in fiction and journalism. As games continue to capture the attention of audiences, they offer new tools to convey complex messages.
Secondly, the success of these projects underlines the global appeal of their themes. While they were designed for niche audiences, the stories and topics resonated with people worldwide. These global issues require attention, and innovative storytelling can bridge gaps and encourage understanding.
Thirdly, these experiments emphasize the need for training journalists in nonlinear scripting, offering a new frontier in journalistic storytelling. Last but not least, this approach allows users to become active participants, making choices that lead to deeper empathy and understanding. As Yle continues its journey of innovation, one thing is for sure: the future of storytelling is nonlinear, and the possibilities are endless.
For the curious readers
Wan’t to try it yourself and curious to read more about the non-linear experiments? Check the links below to experience the different stories and the potential of non-linear storytelling.
Sexy Pants:
A story about young queer urban individuals
Swedish version: https://yle.fi/a/7-10015766
Finnish version: https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10005073
Damn Fatty:
A story about middle aged body positivity
Swedish version: https://yle.fi/a/7-10014240
Hero of Free Speech:
A story about being a journalist in Belarus, a country’s fall into despotism.
Swedish version: https://yle.fi/a/7-10029510
English version: https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10034889
More articles about the non-linear experiments: