Storytelling in VR: Creating Emotional Impact through Interactive Narratives

Introduction

Hello everyone!

Summer has arrived, and vacations have begun. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves lately. The anime "Spy Family" is particularly popular this year. While I was initially obsessed with the couple, after reading the explanatory plots in the manga—especially the parts about Loid's flashbacks and coming-of-age story showing how he experienced war and the grief of losing friends—I found it deeply moving.

I love "Spy Family" not just for its well-crafted characters, bizarre premise, engaging plot, and adorable puppy love, but also because it addresses war themes with strong reflective significance. It highlights the importance of intelligence—would Loid have been able to prevent his friend from dying in a pointless military operation if he had better information? As someone in the information field, I strongly agree.

The Power of VR Storytelling

This touching experience has motivated me to finally talk about a particular VR work "The Key", which is also war-related. It tells a story in game form within VR and is an award-winning production. This gives us an opportunity to learn about effective storytelling in VR—how to create narratives with emotional impact and what elements they require.

I believe these principles apply not just to VR but to all forms of communication. Storytelling is one of the most important skills in the world. Telling a good story helps you persuade others, express emotions effectively, and create empathy. Whether in professional or personal settings, getting others to buy into your ideas generally requires telling them a compelling story.

The Framework of Effective Storytelling

The storytelling ability, sometimes called the "vision-sellingÎ ability," is a sophisticated leadership skill everyone should learn. What framework can we use for storytelling? Drawing from the book "Stop Ineffective Efforts," the basic framework consists of three fundamental elements:

1. Conflict (which includes desire and obstacles): Conflict arises when you have a need but face an obstacle preventing you from fulfilling it.

2. Action

3. Ending

There are also supplementary elements:

• Emotion: In a narrative, you need to portray the protagonist's feelings and how they're expressed to connect with your audience and create resonance.

• Demonstration: This helps immerse the audience through language, non-verbal expression, physical gestures, or in VR, through form and interaction.

VR as the Ultimate Storytelling Medium

VR games are an excellent method of demonstration because they provide a fully immersive experience with interactive capabilities. They can incorporate interactive gamification as well as traditional film elements like scene transitions, music, and lighting. In our current era, the definition of "games" has been infinitely expanded—as Bilibili promotes, "anything can be a game," which is absolutely true.

Games are excellent storytelling vehicles that allow you to fulfill unrealized dreams. Creating a game is like establishing a new world or parallel timeline. In VR, the creator becomes the architect of this new world. Who knows—perhaps our current world is just a simulation game too?

Learning through games is also highly effective because they can evoke emotions. If you want to expand your influence or promote an idea, this is an excellent approach.

Analyzing a VR Story

Let's analyze a particular VR story using the framework above to see how effectively it's told and what makes for good VR storytelling.

The story begins by establishing a setting: you are the audience, and Anna is the narrator. You explore the meaning of a key together through her dreams or memories. VR stories require background and character setup because in VR, you can't see your own body yet you exist—a contradiction. As a creator, you need to let viewers understand what role they play: a classmate in a classroom? A fly on the wall? From what perspective are they observing?

This story establishes the participant as an audience member and explorer, joining Anna to discover what the KEY represents. There are other methods to strengthen viewers' self-awareness, such as placing a mirror in the room where you can see your reflection—matching the appearance of other beings in this world. This gives viewers a stronger sense of immersion and clearer self-image.

After establishing the story background, there's a harmonious section where you can interact with gestures while playing with several companions, creating a joyful atmosphere. Then conflict emerges—a storm appears, creating a force that takes away one child. Since you have only two hands but three children to save, you're forced to sacrifice one. This process makes you experience a sense of helplessness and inability to save everyone.

Following this segment comes sorrowful music. After one child dies, the narrator says they're very sad but must continue moving forward. They take an elevator to a hellish place where people are queuing. When it's their turn, a demon kills and devours another child. The narrator is devastated, saying "The only way to move forward is to feed them" and "Some still have companions with them, it's so unfair" and "What is time? A day? A year? Present or past?" Through these emotions, the scene depicts helplessness and a numbed sense of time passing.

As the end approaches, there's a poetic setting where a mermaid appears with a filter. Through color usage—transitioning from black and white to color—it symbolizes the narrator's memory beginning to return. The resolution reveals what the key represents—it's the key to their home. Why can't they return home? Because they're a refugee.

The narrator explains: "Most of us don't get to choose when to leave. I fled in a hurry. Every time someone leaves us, it feels like losing a piece of our soul. Most refugees still possess keys to their homes—places that exist only in their memories. When I look at my key, I feel immense sadness but also strength, because I am a survivor. I am strong. I've been given a second chance."

This entire journey is an metaphor for a refugee's escape. You can see how different chapters, music, art, and color choices across various scenes all contribute to making the story incredibly moving. Music especially is powerful for conveying emotion.

I think this is an excellent example of effective storytelling. If you're interested, you can download it and experience it—I believe it will be very touching.

The Double-Edged Sword of Immersive Technology

However, I must point out that technology is always a double-edged sword. It has excellent applications but can also become extremely dangerous. In our new media age, creators can manipulate your emotions through words and spread rumors. If this is already happening in text or video-based media, imagine the potential for emotional manipulation in VR—it could create a dystopian society potentially triggering riots and unrest.

VR's emotional intensity is incredibly powerful—its ability to influence your emotions is almost irresistible. In such environments, you must be careful not to be emotionally manipulated. Don't assume something is true just because it evokes strong feelings. The content might be promoting a narrative or viewpoint rather than presenting facts or comprehensive conclusions. The potential harm is significant, so everyone needs to be cautious.

That concludes my introduction for today. I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time!