Bringing Hollywood Storytelling Techniques to Branching Storylines for Training Applications

This paper describes the value of capitalizing on Hollywood storytelling techniques in the design of story-based training applications built around branching storylines. After reviewing the design of Outcome-Driven Simulations and the technical aspects of our application prototype, we describe storytelling techniques that greatly improve the level of user engagement in training simulations based on this design. These techniques concern the overall development of the story, the use of a story arc, the critical decisions in a story, notions of pay off and climax, dramatic sequences, character bibles, characters as a Greek chorus, and the significance of consequences and outcomes. Examples of each of these storytelling techniques are given in the context of the ICT Leaders Project, a prototype leadership development application for the US