Talking to You. Addressing the Viewer in Virtual Reality Scripts

A recurring feature of virtual reality (VR) narratives, in addition to the ‘spatialized storytelling’ approach that has been extensively discussed in recent screenwriting literature, is the less examined but frequent use of both fictionalized address of a textual narratee/character and direct address of the viewer. This article investigates the different ways in which such forms of address might be used to script aspects of VR experience such as presence, emotional engagement and empathy. It focuses, in particular, on the ways in which they might serve to highlight and creatively exploit the tension between immersion and self-consciousness in the viewer’s experience. Drawing on analysis of VR narratives and on discussions with the writers/directors of these narratives, it employs the concepts of metalepsis and double deixis to offer new insights into this particular feature of VR storytelling.