Errantry: Gaming that takes Interactive Stories and Media one Step Further

November 7, 2008

Created by two USC students, Errantry is a game that is a combinatorial storytelling engine controlled through a Wiimote driven gestural interface. Players compete to tell the story of a knight's grandeur in the style of a Chanson de Geste or other Romantic epic. Success or failure is judged by the nobles of a medieval court, and their personal biases and reactions inform the story telling choices the players make.

Ben Sherman recently earned his degree from USC's Interactive Media program and is the lead designer of Errantry. He originally thought that he would become a film editor, but found that the space for storytelling in interactive systems was far greater than in film.

Max Geiger is a senior in his final semester at USC, where he is majoring in Interactive Entertainment and minoring in Classics. His interest in games stemmed from economic systems in MMORPGs.  Although he was planning on receiving an education in economics, Max discovered that designing games was a more fulfilling endeavor.

Pictured from left to right: Ben Sherman and Max Geiger

The USC Stevens Isntitute contacted Ben and asked him a few questions about his endeavors:

Help us understand what you are up to:
We are the leads of the undergraduate Advanced Game Project, “Errantry”.  Errantry is a game that places the player in the shoes of a storyteller attempting to entertain an audience.

What drives you to continue pursuing this area of study?
Intense fascination with what isn’t being painted on an enormous easel.

Describe how your work might impact people’s lives, now and in the future.
Interactive narrative, as we speak of it currently, is a plastering of traditional passive narrative onto an interactive mechanic.  Errantry is an answer to one of the hard questions games face, that of the place of a story within an interactive context.  We believe interactive stories—and interactive media for that matter—can be much more than they currently are.

How did you come up with the idea?
Errantry was created by smashing together a system for compelling storytelling with an appropriate metaphor.  We wanted to get the player involved, so we knew from the start that the Wii Remote’s ability to bring the player’s whole body into the game would be necessary.  We chose the medieval chanson de geste as a simple form of storytelling to encapsulate the narratives.

Has anyone ever doubted that your idea could work?
Yes, but nobody more so than ourselves.

What is the next step in the innovation process for you (and how might people help)?
We will be submitting a near-complete game to various game festivals and conferences.  The next step will be polishing Errantry to the point that a person might be playing, without difficulty, within a minute of picking up the Wiimote.

What mistake taught you the most?
We were told that we would need to impress on a technical level, so we chose to develop the game in a 3D engine.  At the time, we wanted to develop in 2D because it would have made many development issues moot, but we took the suggestion.  In hindsight, we should have trusted our gut.

What is the one innovation you can’t live without?
The alphabet.

Any tips for aspiring innovators?
Expect to work much harder than you imagine you will need to.  Every task in reality takes twice as long to accomplish as it does on paper.  Make some problems easier by working with people who have experience in areas that you do not.

Email or phone?
Both at once *cries* 

What is the most fun you’ve ever had?
Pursuing an academic or artistic interest outside of school can really make you forget yourself.