The shadow of structure: plotting an interactive film highlights the unilinear influences on writing multilinear forms

Outlining a multilinear interactive film is a liberated process where any possible story direction might emerge; however, this liberation occurs under the shadow of internalised unilinear forms. Through the writing of various step outlines for an interactive film, I trace the steps taken to first make the interactivity meaningful within the story space (choices have real impact on outcomes) and then later diversify the narrative results (the outcomes generated are distinct). Within this tracing I reflect on the encounter between dramatic structures and interactive structures and what the latter highlights in the curtailing powers of the former. Dramatic structures found in unilinear narratives pulled me towards set formulas and foreclosed possibilities in order to please a hypothetical audience, but even the most straightforward of interactive structures encourages a diverse range of story trajectories which in this case shifted me towards anti-drama to maximise the impact of the choices the viewer must make within the interactive system. Finally, I conclude by recommending that screenwriters maintain an awareness of the foreclosing power of dramatic structures and employ multilinear devices consciously at the outlining stage (even of a unilinear narrative) to circumnavigate the potential foreclosure of narrative possibilities.