This would have worked better when it was timely but…
I’m sure that there is an inserting post-modern discussion to be had around the fact that I have been more interested in the discussions that have gone on around the Netflix interactive fiction show/game/experience/title Bandersnatch (2018).
Personally my wife and I had an enjoyable 90 minutes exploring the several of the paths through the narrative. There were several points in the experience where we felt the creators were one step ahead of us. As the decisions became increasingly difficult to choose between what we saw as two ‘bad’ choices we chose to not choose, this resulted in the character harming themselves. We felt morally obligated to make the right choices but there wasn’t one. We eventually reached an ending that we felt had some finality and catharsis for us, we both commented on the uniqueness of the experience. It wasn’t a TV show because we felt responsibility for the character but equally it wasn’t a game like experience because we didn’t have a clear goal that we were trying to achieve.
It would be interesting to see how much further Netflix’s interactive experiences can be pushed. Bandersnatch is clearly trying to be as accessible as possible for a mainstream audience, especially for one that is not familiar with interactive fiction games, which is why it seems to keep its interactions mostly passive.
Jennifer Scheurle – https://variety.com/2019/gaming/opinion/bandersnatch-game-design-netflix-1203097824/
I spent a few days thinking about the experience wondering about the 21st Century media landscape. It could be argued that the quality of TV entertainment is higher than ever, it is a refined and established medium; HBO pushed the sale of the small screen with each mini movie episode of Game of Thrones, now Netflix, Amazon, and even Apple are pouring vast sums of money into original programming. But does all this cash result in new experiences or just better looking versions of the same old stories?
Bandersnatch is listed as a 90-minute movie but, if you watch it on your computer, phone or tablet (as opposed to your TV, since most TVs aren’t equipped for the interactive experience), the actual run time can be many hours. I went down that rabbit hole and, many hours later, wondered if just watching it on my TV without the ability to manipulate the story would have been a better option.
Tim Goodman – https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/black-mirror-bandersnatch-review-1171971
I partly waited to post this because I wanted to see if this was a one off or wether it was the first attempt, the new experience You vs. Us. seems to suggest that more is to come.
As I have begun to experiment with the tools in Wonda VR in preparation for the Curate project I returned to thinking about the intersection of interactiveness and immersion.
do you want to play a game or be told a story?
Tim Goodman – https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/black-mirror-bandersnatch-review-1171971
Even as games experiences try to become more immersive, I recently got to try some of the new generation of VR headset gaming and it really was loose yourself immersive, there seems to be a tension between immersiveness and interactivity. When were are asked to make intellectual choices we are pulled out of the illusion of the otherworld.
mattprentice 