Data-driven Storytelling in Hybrid Immersive Display Environments

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of hybrid data-driven storytelling that combines 2D screens with immersive VR/AR environments to enhance engagement and effectiveness, highlighting design opportunities and challenges.

Contribution

It introduces the idea of hybrid storytelling in immersive environments, discussing design considerations and encouraging further research into hybrid user interfaces for storytelling.

Findings

Hybrid storytelling leverages both 2D and 3D display environments.

Design opportunities include complementary and symbiotic roles of displays.

Challenges involve integration and user experience considerations.

Abstract

Data-driven stories seek to inform and persuade audiences through the use of data visualisations and engaging narratives. These stories have now been highly optimised to be viewed on desktop and mobile computers. In contrast, while immersive virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies have been shown to be more persuasive, no clear standard has yet emerged for such immersive stories. With this in mind, we propose that a hybrid data-driven storytelling approach can leverage the familiarity of 2D display devices with the immersiveness and presence afforded by VR/AR headsets. In this position paper, we characterise hybrid data-driven stories by describing its design opportunities, considerations, and challenges. In particular, we describe how both 2D and 3D display environments can play either complementary or symbiotic roles with each other for the purposes of storytelling. We hope that this work inspires researchers to investigate how hybrid user interfaces may be used for storytelling.