Jokes, Prompts and Models: Engaging Player Collaboration in Netprov

How can we best invite everyday writers to collaborate and play in electronic literature projects? For the past few years I have being doing projects in a format I call netprov. Netprov (networked improv narrative) organizes the creation of collaborative stories in real time using multiple available digital media. Working with Mark C. Marino and others we have developed a set of working guidelines and suggestions about how to best engage players’ imaginations and extend invitations that will encourage their creativity. I will discuss our methods, our “Rules of the Game” for several netprovs, and describe the degrees of player participation, from Featured Players who adopt ongoing characters to Casual Players who may only contribute a line or an image.

(Source: ELO 2015 Conference Catalog)