In the development of our work, we often use a ‘storyworld’ concept in the creative production of experiences. Storyworlds provide a way of planning a major project by focusing on key characters, artefacts and settings. It allows for a distributed and non-linear way of providing access to stories across multiple platforms. The Marvel universe is a good example of a storyworld where lead characters appear in multiple storylines, in different comics, films, games and other media.
Referring to the diagram here, the producers of a storyworld start with a strong set of characters, the settings and places they hang out, the objects they engage with and the underlying contexts and themes.
Events happen by combining these entities with time and these events are told as stories through multiple points of interaction such as novels, films, games, events and social media.