Multiperspectivity and Convergence in Transmedia Storytelling: A Practice-Oriented Exploration of Interactive Narratives

This practice-oriented design research project looks to explore the question: how might the creative use of multiperspective transmedia storytelling and interactive media foster convergence? In a context of increasing polarisation and partisan politics within contemporary society, it is essential to explore how media can foster multiplicity. This PhD research investigates how transmedia narratives, as conceptualised by Jenkins (2006) and Murray (2012), can be employed to create stories that encapsulate a multiplicity of voices and perspectives. The primary aim of this project is to understand how technology-driven storytelling methods can enable the coexistence of diverse narratives. This research has both ecological and cultural significance, taking as its point of departure a Pōhutukawa (myrtle) tree in Central Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, which serves as the site of inquiry. The project explores and represents different narratives centred around this tree, utilising the tree itself as a metaphor for the potential of storytelling to foster multiperspectivity. The methodological approach is practice-oriented research, with the design researcher employing methods such as prototyping, lens-based media processes like photogrammetry, and filmmaking to gather data and create diverse narrative experiences about the site. This research contributes to the fields of transmedia design and interactive narrative studies by demonstrating how transmedia narratives can be designed to convey stories that integrate different perspectives, thus fostering a media environment that embraces multiplicity.