Beyond The Timeline a Data-Driven Interface For Interactive Documentary
Mirka Duijn, Hartmut Koenitz · 2017
In this paper, we present work on the data-driven interface for The Industry, an interactive documentary in development about the Dutch illicit drug industry. The motivation for the work was to provide a more complete overview of a highly complex matter using a form of interactive digital narratives (IDN). As it is with many complex issues, news reports on illegal drugs in the Netherlands are mostly fragmented and reactive, which makes it difficult for audiences to gain a good understanding of the topic. The approach starts by obtaining big-data sets from police and media. On this foundation, a narrative interface will be designed. This paper reports on the iterative design approach, and interface metaphors, on the lessons learned and the current state of affairs. Our intent with this paper is to fuel a discussion on narrative representations of complexity.