Virtual Storytelling Techniques
Begoña Ivars Nicolás · 2026
You put on a head-mounted display (HMD) and controllers. You open your eyes, and you find yourself in the middle of a leafy forest. It is a realistic image. The sun filters through the leaves of ancient trees, creating an interplay of light and shadows all around you. The trunks are more than 5 metres in diameter. You can hear the song of birds as they fly back and forth, the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and a stream babbling to your right. You explore this environment as you turn around. You can see how the controllers have turned into hands. You hear a group of children approaching you. They are playing with a ball. You hear: “Hey!!!” You turn in that direction and see a child. He looks you in the eye and calls again: “Come and play with us!” And he throws a ball at another boy’s back. This one catches the ball and throws it at a third child who dodges it and runs towards you, going around you to your right. The ball lands near your feet. Without knowing how, you take a step forward, bend down and pick up the ball. The children run and hide in the trees before you have time to react. You try to follow them with your eyes as you turn around. The sound of the children’s laughter guides you in your search. You take a few steps forward and throw the ball to one of the children. The ball bounces off one of the trunks, and another child picks it up and carries on with the game. You suddenly hear the wind picking up and leaves fly all around you and prevent you from seeing anything for a few moments. After the leaves touch your body, they sway as they fall to the ground. Some of them even brush the palms of your hands, and you feel them brush against you as they do so. When everything returns to normal, you look around again and you discover two paths among the trees. The children come running back. As they pass by, the first one gestures with his hands and shouts for you to follow him and takes the path to the left. At almost the same time, another boy who also passes very close to you tells you to follow him, but this one takes the path to the right. What are you going to do?