Netflix today announced the launch of their first interactive episode which will give the viewers an opportunity to shape the narrative of the story through a number of decisions they make throughout the experience. The interactive show experiment is primarily being targeted at the young viewers.
The first interactive episode to appear will be the Puss in Book – Trapped in an Epic Tale, which will offer the users some dozens of decision points throughout the whole story. As a result, the young viewers will get reasons to rewatch the same episode several times, so that they can explore the multiple branching paths.
See how this works in the following Puss in Book Trailer
The second interactive episode will air next month, which will be a children’s show Buddy Thunderstruck. Netflix made it clear, this a plain experiment with the interactive episodes. If the 99 million user base like the format, they would bring in the service for the other popular shows, so that they can bring in the new form of interactive storytelling into the mainstream media.
Netflix is using the simple technique of branching narrative format, which will let the viewers choose the storyline they like. Netflix will throw in some options, and the viewers will get the chance to choose between the different story options available there and each of the decision will offer a different story path.
So, literally speaking, this will give the viewers to control the story the way you want, and it will unfold in the hands of the viewers.
The proposition by Netflix is unique and could open up a new path of creating innovative formats of the storytelling. On the second hand, the viewers will get several reasons to watch the same show multiple times. A new ending means a new story, so indirectly it will increase the longevity of a show.
Though this isn’t the first time actually Netflix is foraying into the interactive storytelling. Last year in their the kids’ show Kong, they had such “Interactive Elements”.
For now, Netflix has exclusively partnered with the DreamWorks Animation Television, American Greetings Entertainment and Stoopid Buddy Studios to bring in such more interactive shows. Interactive shows are different than a normal show, and it takes added work of writing and animation, as they need multiple versions of the same story.
Plus, to experience the interactive show seamlessly, viewers need to have an internet connection with higher bandwidth, so it can buffer the multiple videos at one time, or else it will lag every time.
For now, you might only get two episodes slated at the moment, but according to Netflix, each episode will offer multiple decisions with a storyline that can take almost 3,000 different turns. Kids will have a great time watching the shows, which will keep them pretty busy, as they need to critically think about what is going to happen next.
This step by Netflix will make the regular entertainment a fun, and a far better alternative than the regular binge watching.
