Storytelling for Spatial Computing and Mixed Reality

1) The author begins and ends the book by asking readers to “go out and creatively prove him wrong”. What is one thing in the book you disagree with? How could you prove the author wrong? 

2) The author argues that terms like augmented reality, mixed reality and spatial computing are subjective and not necessarily strict technical distinctions. Do you agree? Why or why not? 

3) The author distinguishes see-through AR glasses (like XReal Air or Meta’s Orion prototype) from passthrough headsets (like Meta’s Quest 3). Which technology do you think is more compelling? Why?

4) The ‘black pixel problem’ means that contemporary see-through AR glasses display graphics which are slightly transparent. How do you think this affects immersion? How could a storyteller use or compensate for this effect?

5) The author distinguishes between sensory immersion and emotional immersion, and argues that “immersion is an agreement, not a trick”. Do you agree? Why or why not?

6) Key concepts in the book are ‘diegetic vs. non-diegetic’ - things which exist inside a story, and things which exist outside. Is this a clear difference? Is it useful? Why or why not?

7) Think about a type of media you enjoy. How fictional is it? How real? Are the characters ‘real’ people, or versions of themselves, or entirely fictional? How can you tell?

Section 1 briefly discusses VR, and sets up three core “pillars of emotional immersion”: SEEING, BEING and BEING SEEN.

8) The author argues that VR storytellers should “reward the rebel” to emphasise the player’s agency over SEEING. Can you think of other media which encourages the audience to ‘rebel’? How do they do it?

9) VR allows players to ‘discover’ the protagonist identity they’re BEING, rather than being 'told' or 'shown' by the story. Can you think of ways to implement this?

10) In Challenge #4 you created characters who make the player ‘feel SEEN’ in a public place. How does this emotionally affect the player? Are there downsides or dangers to this approach?

Section 2 is divided into chapters on IMAGINING, IDENTITY BUILDING and BEING SELF-CONSCIOUS.

11) Have you ever felt that a story or piece of media made you take on different aspects of identity or perform a different identity? Think of digital and non-digital examples.

12) The author uses sociologists like Erving Goffman to claim that our public personae are a ‘performance’. Do you agree? How do the characters we see in fiction affect the roles people play in everyday life?

13) Do you enjoy role-playing during an immersive experience? Do you find it easy? What factors affect this? Is your experience different if the medium is digital?

14) Do you enjoy ‘being yourself’ during an immersive experience? Are you really being yourself? What factors affect this? Is your experience different if the medium is digital?

15) The author argues that instead of superimposing role-play identities onto players, augmented/spatial storytellers should allow players to ‘discover’, ‘assert’ or ‘co-create’ identities. Can you think of examples where this has succeeded, and examples where it has failed?

16) The author highlights the ‘doofus factor’ of using augmented/spatial technology, and the emotional vulnerability of ‘making-believe’ in public. Do you have your own experiences of this? How does it affect immersion? How can storytellers use or compensate for SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS?

17) In Challenge #14 you created a multiplayer augmented/spatial story in which players become unwitting performers. How did this affect your players? How did that make you feel? Are there ethical concerns here?

Section 3 defines different kinds of location-based AR, including location-specific, location-agnostic, modular and roomscale. It is divided into chapters on augmented STAGING, BEING THERE and OCCUPYING AUGMENTED SPACE.

18) The first really successful commercial augmented reality was location-agnostic: Pokémon GO. Why do you think this was? What tools does location-agnostic design give the storyteller? What are its downsides?

19) Many contemporary commercial augmented/spatial experiences are ‘at-home’. Why do you think this is? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the storyteller? What are the implications for accessibility and distribution?

20) The author argues that examining history is a good way to start augmenting a place. But places mean different things to different people. How could augmented reality be used to represent different kinds of history?

21) The author discusses ways to diegetic-ize the boundaries of an augmented story-space. Why might this be necessary? Can you think of examples of boundaries which are non-physical but enforced by narrative?

22) The author discusses techniques of “reverse level design” to implement digital stories into real places. What kinds of places would create the most exciting augmented/spatial narratives? Are there places which are completely unsuitable? Why?

23) Challenges #20-25 asked you to develop an augmented/spatial narrative for a public place, integrating conditional pacing and agency. Did this process change your perception of the place?

Section 4 concludes the book with a discussion on the ethics and dystopian potential of augmented/spatial reality and the role of the storyteller.

24) Throughout the book, the author argues that “augmented reality storytellers have a responsibility to reality”. Do you agree? Why or why not? If so, what kinds of responsibilities does a storyteller have?

25) The author argues that augmented/spatial media could potentially cause harm and have significant “dystopian downsides”. Do you agree? 

26) The author relates reality-augmenting technology to the phenomena of online ‘echo chambers’, with the potential ideological radicalisation of individuals through "redpill realities" in AR. What are your experiences of people becoming influenced or radicalised through media? Do you think augmented/spatial media have an increased risk of radicalisation?

27) The author argues that AI will likely accelerate the impact of augmented spatial realities in two key areas: world-scanning and creating personalised assets. Can you think of ways to use these new tools in storytelling? How concerned are you about potential downsides?

28) The author argues that AR technology is “opening up read/write access to the digital dimension of public places”. How could this access be used for storytelling or activism? What are its limitations?