Story worlds and virtual environments: Learning from oral storytelling

Oral storytelling is an effective way for engaging audiences in imaginary story worlds and has been used to create a sense of presence in non-real environments in audiences long before the advent of virtual reality (VR). We present techniques used by storytellers to create and maintain a sense of presence in story worlds and interact with audiences as observed in an ongoing ethnographic study of professional storytellers in the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. Four techniques are presented: repertoire and improvisation, accommodating specific audiences, interaction with audiences, and holding audiences’ attention. We propose that these techniques may be applied to virtual environments (VE’s) to facilitate presence and user interaction. We conclude that these techniques are effective in oral storytelling because they serve to maintain a continuous interactive feedback loop between the storyteller and audience. We propose that VEs which are similarly aware of and reactive to users can be effective in the same way. Specific ways in which these techniques can be implemented in VR are also discussed. Keywords--oral storytelling, virtual reality, avatars, virtual environments, presence, engagement, interaction.