Life on Earth can be boiled down into the desire to control story. We’ve all heard something akin to “history is written by the victors,” and we all see the struggle for story at play everyday when we turn on the 24 hour news or hear any sort of political discussion. It’s essentially one large game of King of the Hill, where opposing forces battle to control the high ground. And as any gamer will tell you, you can only win at King of the Hill if you collaborate and work as a team.
In a nutshell, collaboration and teamwork is what it means to be storyteller in the digital space. Digitally engaged audiences have become so accustomed to being able to influence their subject matter that to not include them in the conversation seems reckless at best. In order for brands to thrive in the digital space, participants must be made to feel as though they are part of the experience, as though they are building the story alongside the brand itself.
The mechanics of this interaction are simple, and can be drawn from choice-based games like Deus Ex, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, and even classics like Chrono Trigger. These titles have been so successful and enjoyed so much repeat business and nostalgic remembrance because they knew the power of the untapped user’s imagination. The makers of these games understood that their audience would become more fascinated with the subject matter if they could let their own personalities and imaginations influence the outcome of the game. In these games players have the opportunity to enjoy the experience not only from their own perspective, but also from any other perspective they choose. They have the power to be themselves or to be someone else, and this is powerfully interesting.
Brands hoping to survive in the digital space need to recognize the desire for human beings to control the story. They need to collaborate with their audiences to achieve a mutually beneficial narrative. What this requires is not only a willingness to guide and monitor engagements, but also the correct storytellers. Brands need people who can weave narratives that invite audiences to contribute their own experiences while still driving towards the benefit of the brand. The better a brand can collaborate with its audience, the better chance it will have at holding the conversational high ground, and the closer it will be to becoming King of the Hill.
