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Many of us grew up watching cable TV or tuning into Netflix to pick a show for the night, simply idling on the couch as the screen kept us entertained. However, times have changed, and with hundreds of streaming services and games available online, simply watching isn’t enough anymore.
Attention spans are shortening, and viewers and gamers are leaning towards interactive entertainment that offers unexpected twists, like a dynamic storyline or an immersive gaming experience.
What Is Interactive Entertainment Technology?
Interactive entertainment technology includes various digital tools or websites where users can engage dynamically with content. Traditional media offers passive viewing, but this modern technology allows the user or viewer to participate actively in the story.
Examples of interactive entertainment technology include video games, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), audience participation, and procedural storytelling. This can be adopted across platforms, from streaming to online casinos. The latter, for example, can use VR to make it feel like the user is really sitting at a poker table or in front of a slot machine. Many of these sites are not mainstream platforms like Stake, but do offer additional benefits like crypto gambling and a wider variety of games. (source: https://www.valuewalk.com/igaming/stake-alternative-casinos/).
The goal of this tech is to entertain while offering an immersive experience that feels more personal to the user.
Audience Participation In TV and Movies
Audience participation technology is changing how viewers are consuming movies and series. Viewers are involved in the narrative, allowing creators to present engaging experiences. Audience participation includes live polling, quizzes, social media engagement, and even choose-your-own-adventure movies or shows.
The tech involved in crafting these experiences include:
- Second screens: Viewers can watch a show on their main device (like a TV or laptop) and use a second screen (like a mobile or tablet) to interact with the content. While streaming, the second screen can be used to play synchronized games or answer quizzes. The second screen can show relevant info or behind-the-scenes content. This is often achieved through a companion app for the show or streaming service.
- Social media: Social media offers users the opportunity to comment in real time on the story. Hashtags are used by communities to reach other viewers, and feedback provided on social channels can be taken on board by creators to guide future episodes.
- Virtual reality: VR technology, like headsets, can be used to immerse viewers in the show’s world. VR films or interactive documentaries allow viewers to interact with characters and even manipulate objects, allowing for slight changes to the storyline.
- Choose your own adventure: This was made popular by Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and You vs. The Wild, where viewers could make on-screen choices that would completely change the storyline of the show. These shows usually have various narratives and endings, meaning no rewatch will be the same.
Interactive Gaming
Although gaming on both consoles and PC is interactive in general, simply sitting and clicking some buttons is no longer enough. Gamers are looking to be more immersed in the game’s world, and technology has to keep up with their demands.
VR is increasingly used in gaming to place players in the 3D world. VR headsets are used with compatible games, where the player becomes the game’s character to explore the digital world and interact with NPCs and objects.
AR has also made games more interactive, blinding the real and digital world. Pokemon GO and Minecraft Earth allow users to interact with virtual objects in a real-world setting, making the game more immersive.
Procedural worlds using artificial intelligence are also gaining traction. Tech is used to generate landscapes as the player progresses in the game based on their in-game choices. This allows for personalized and unpredictable gameplay.
