Description:

Today’s technologies, like the internet and high-performance computers, provide a canvas to tell traditional narratives in creative new ways. However, modern retellings of these stories often take creative liberties with their source material to serve a new audience or tell an entirely different story.

Young adults today deeply desire authenticity. They are also well versed and engaged with modern technologies. A combination of both these things provides a unique opportunity to tell traditional stories in creative ways while still being authentic to their source material.

‘Loki’ is an interactive storytelling experience that puts young adult readers (18-35 year olds) into an ancient tale from The Prose Edda, a collection of Nordic tales written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. With a clean typographic approach, the experience focusses on telling an authentic Nordic tale while utilising modern technology to provide rich interactive elements. Designed to engage the reader, these interactive features breathe life into the story.

The design is inspired by the timeless practice of reading a book. Simple typography and structure create a canvas for the imagination. Graphics and unique typographic elements are used to enhance the story yet are kept simple to create space for the reader to imagine.

Scrolling effects breathe life into the words on screen, making the reader feel they are in control of the story’s world. Colour and object transitions create a sense of place in the progression of the story and highlight dramatic moments.

By providing prompts at the end of each chapter, the reader explores this idea by choosing whether to progress Loki as a hero or a villain. This produces an engaging interactive experience that goes beyond just reading a digital story.