Our software
Intrapology is a new project in interactive online theatre and performance. Our innovative custom-made web app allows the audience to influence what the performers say and do.
By not only receiving audience input, but also handling the output of a dynamically changing script, we are able to offer a unique experience to audiences. There are a large number of solutions for receiving audience feedback such as votes and comments, some built into streaming services such as [Twitch.tv](http://Twitch.tv) or Webinar services such as Microsoft Teams. However, we are not aware of any other services that show a live script to performers, which changes automatically based on this audience interaction. This limits the kinds of interactive stories that theatres, artists, and performers are able to tell.
We are able to offer a different kind of experience to other interactive theatre shows, heavily inspired by design patterns from videogames. Since our solution uses Inkle’s open-source “ink” software, game-like narrative design is integrated into the software. For example, the script can change not only based on branch points in the story (changing what happens) but also based on variables (changing how it happens). This gives audiences far more control, and more satisfying interactions with the story. Since Ink is already widely used, this makes our software relatively easy to learn and adopt, strengthening the potential impact on the sector.
Our work so far
Our software was first developed in a 2021 collaboration funded by the New Conversations programme (British Council, Canadian Council for the Arts) between the applicant Zoyander Street and Canadian artist Dietrich “Squinky” Squinkifer. Our design was based on Squinky’s MFA project, Coffee: A Misunderstanding, which was a finalist at IndieCade 2014, and toured internationally in venues ranging from fancy academic conferences to an anarchist bookstore in Santa Cruz.
Building on Squinky’s experience with Coffee: A Misunderstanding, our software focuses on the following features:
- The current line of dialogue is shown live to actors on a computer or smartphone screen
- Audience members vote on a menu of choices that appear at key decision points
- The winning choice leads to automatic changes to the script
In 2023 Zoyander added more features, such as:
- Extended, colour-coded view of the script for actors
- Audience members can send improv prompts to the actors through a tweet-like interface
- The current line of dialogue is shown to all users as integrated subtitles
- A video calling window is integrated into this webpage, allowing actors and the audience to access the interaction app and video stream in the same place
- Said webpage is designed for a high level of aesthetic customisation, as part of the digital scenery of the play
Our plans
We plan to make further upgrades to our software and carry out a programme of activities with other artists in the sector. We aim to:
- Improve our conformity with open internet standards
- Eliminate reliance on proprietary software by designing for Open Broadcasting Software.
- Facilitate interoperability with a variety of streaming and video calling solutions through adoption of open standards
- Support other artists to create work using our software, with:
- clear documentation
- an open-source repository
- a game jam / hackathon for rapid prototyping of new works