Overview
This course examines how digital environments reshape narrative structure, authorship, pacing, and reader participation. Students study serialized fiction, interactive fiction, hypertext, webcomics, podcasts, social media storytelling, transmedia projects, immersive experiences, and other platform-based forms.
Topics include nonlinear and modular design, branching narratives, episode and season architecture, cliffhangers, continuity, interface as storytelling, multimodality, sound and visual composition, accessibility, metadata, platform affordances, participatory audiences, and ethical issues concerning data, representation, and algorithmic distribution. Through close reading and media-specific critique, students develop an original serial or interactive project supported by a design document, prototype, user testing, and revision plan. The course emphasizes conceptual design, accessible tools, and collaborative production practices suitable for varied technical experience.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyze how digital media and platform affordances shape narrative meaning, structure, and audience participation.
- Evaluate serialized and interactive works using close reading and media-specific critical frameworks.
- Design sustainable serial arcs incorporating episode structure, pacing, continuity, and strategic points of suspense.
- Construct coherent interactive pathways that integrate narrative choice, interface, and user experience.
- Integrate textual, visual, and audio elements into an accessible digital narrative prototype.
- Conduct user testing and interpret audience feedback to identify structural, technical, and aesthetic revisions.
- Synthesize technical and creative decisions in a design document and critical rationale.
- Revise an original serial or interactive project in response to testing, peer critique, and ethical considerations.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Lab | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Close-reading analyses of digital narrative works (2 × 10%) | 20.00% |
| Deliverable | Serial or interactive project design document | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Prototype and user-testing report | 20.00% |
| Attendance | Collaborative production workshops and peer feedback | 10.00% |
| Assignment | Critical essay on platform, audience, or ethics | 15.00% |
| Capstone | Final serial or interactive project and revision plan | 20.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
