With the rise and the use of virtual reality in recent years, the medium is trying to find its place as a tool for storytelling. Yet, the majority of virtual reality experiences use storytelling language based on film and video games. One way to differentiate virtual reality, as a unique medium for storytelling, is to look at the vocabulary we use when talking about these different mediums. We “imagine” stories while reading, we “watch” films, and we “play” games. However, when we talk about virtual reality we very often use expressions such as “going through an experience” or “going inside / entering a virtual reality”. Using words as “going” and “entering” points to the unique spatial aspect of virtual reality that invites us to walk around and explore that space. The immersiveness and presence that we feel inside the virtual world – in addition to the possibilities for interactivity – allow us to use our body to progress through a story and be part of it.
With this in mind, this artistic research will consider body movements and walking as crucial elements of storytelling language in virtual reality, and further explore this idea from both a conceptual and narrative aspect.
Conceptually, movement will be examined through the lens of movement of the artist (in the process of creation), animated movement (animation as a movement artform in the context of virtual space), and the movement of “the explorer” (the audience in the testing phase). This will connect and create a dialog between the artist, the animated space, and “the explorers”.
Narratively, this project will take us on a journey through “The Underworld” and back again. As an experimental process, it will involve creating a series of interactive animated spaces, unified by the narrative structure of the mythical katabasis (ancient Greek for “descent” often used in the context of journeys to the underworld). The afterlife will not be used in its literal meaning (neither in its religious connotation), but rather as a metaphor for places that represent our inner lives, in relation to mental health, memories, paradoxes, and contradictions. In the context of virtual reality, the underworld represents a fitting metaphor for the virtual world, as a place that our consciousness visits while our bodies stay behind in the real world.
Ultimately, this artistic research will mix fantasy and documentary elements, and explore virtual reality storytelling through the art of animation in relation to the movement of our body. It will document and reflect on a contemporary journey through the underworld of both the artist and the audience.
Dime Gjorgljievski is a director and visual artist working with animation, illustration, games, and VR. He currently lives in Norway, where he is exploring the immersive storytelling possibilities of VR through animation as part of his PhD in artistic research.
Dime’s journey as a storyteller began in Skopje, where he was born and studied Multimedia. This was followed by his work in the fields of animation and interactive storytelling. He later completed his master’s degree through the Erasmus Joint Master Program — ReAnima (LUCA School of Arts — Belgium, Aalto University — Finland, and Lusófona University — Portugal), where he explored the possibilities of expanded animation in VR. He graduated with his interactive, room-scale, animated VR experience titled Lost and Found, which was presented at several festivals across Europe, North America, and South America.