Interactive Narrative Prototype
The Circular Ruins
concept
how to find freedom from the eternal return
The Circular Ruins is a project that investigating Borges' short novel The Circular Ruins from multiple perspectives. This is a curated collection works across multiple media varied from VR, AR, app, website, animation, and archive/collection.
Using Borges' novel as the anchor point, this project also refers to other projects that share similar themes and attempt to curate them through multiple interactive mediums.
main thread
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The Circular Ruins by J.L Borges
dreams & a cycle of creation
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supporting contents in the curation
films by
Ingmar Bergman
Andreas Tarkovsky
Robert Wiene
Ridley Scott
...
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literature
Bergson, Matter and Memory
Descartes, Meditations
Bhagavad Gita
The Golem
...
Installations
Alva Noto
Bruce Nauman
Olafur Eliasson
Christian Boltanski
...
smart phone app
curation of texts
provide the general context
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landing page
Entering the experience by dragging the moon-like ellipse into the hallow ring.
Along with the next page, these are the meta-phase for the experience. Thus they are all in a unique black & white monochrome style.
introduction
Providing the context of this interactive narrative. Tap the screen to next page.
trigger the next phase
By clicking confirm, it leads to the following phase with further curated contents relates to the main thread about circulation.
transfer page
Transferring the participants to the next phase of the experience with other curated texts. The style transforms from the black & white monochrome to the early Nokia-phone inspired one, denoting the timeline shifting of the curated contents.
text curation
Curating the historic texts and the inspiration sources for the novel that shares the same purpose studying idealism and immortality. The style is inspired by Windows early interface, resonates with the historic feature of the texts.
transferring to the next experience
By clicking the screen, participants will be guided to the next experience on a laptop.
laptop experience
curation of visual arts and moving images
a digital stage play experience
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landing page
Treat this as the opening meta-stage. Each ellipse on the stairs leads to a different room of the stage showcasing specific visuals and moving images.
transfer page
Like the veil of the stage, this transfers the audience to the next phase.
stages
The audience can pick any of the ellipses which guide them to these screening rooms above displaying various curated contents.
buffer
Picking the cube and the sphere lead the audience to either the landing page or to the page as below.
end page
Relating to the plot of the story questioning whether the entire experience you have is real or is another dream of someone else.
laptop experience
curation of the main thread's narrative
functions like a puzzle
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landing page
By tapping the ellipse, the participants will be guided to the contents page.
the puzzle
the human figure is separated into multiple fragments. By dragging each of the fragment to the original place reconstructing the figure, the audience will be guide to each next phase. This process resonates with the plot in the novel where the protagonist tries to create a man through his dreams.
text display
When the entire puzzle is solved, different segments of the circular texts twists like being twisted by a key, leading the audience to the final phase.
complete the puzzle
when completing the puzzle, it leads to the completion of texts as follow.
final phase
The final phase then also leads to the beginning page, showing an eternal return.
process and ideation
mapping the narrative
journey map
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narrative mapping
I started with mapping out the narrative of The Circular Ruins, which is the major thread of the entire curated experience.
Then I gathered contents across different fields that share the same or similar roots from the novel's themes.
