A Framework for Qualitative Analysis of Non-fiction Virtual Reality Storyworlds

This article introduces a methodological framework for the qualitative analysis of immersive non-fiction virtual reality (VR) storyworlds, focusing on the unique features of VR as a medium for storyliving . In VR, users are not merely watching a story unfold on a screen—they are inside the experience, actively engaging with and storyliving the immersive narrative as it unfolds around them. VR is a spatial, embodied, interactive, multisensory, perceptually rich, affective, and user-oriented medium. The proposed methodology addresses key elements of VR storyworld analysis, such as spatial and temporal design, user roles and perspectives, relationality, emotional engagement, and multisensory embodiment. The framework highlights the importance of examining how VR constructs distance and proximity across multiple experiential domains. Distance and proximity are not just spatial concepts; they are, rather, intricately connected to the domains of temporality, relationality, emotional engagement, and multisensory perceptual inputs. Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches, including visual narrative studies, haptic media studies, and embodied narrative inquiry, this methodology provides a structured approach to analyzing how VR storyliving is constructed and experienced.