Audience expectations are changing. The rise of immersive technologies, Hollywood-quality gaming worlds and multi-platform fictional universes (like Wizarding World, Game of Thrones and the MCU) mean that audiences now expect cultural experiences that are meaningful, memorable, personalised and shareable.

 

In this talk, Hannah Price and Tim Powell (aka Buried Giants) will introduce the concept of worldbuilding – as a way for museums and heritage organisations to create content that competes with the commercial rivals for their audience’s attention. Worldbuilding – the creation of self-contained, logically consistent story worlds – unlocks multiple stories, across platforms, for varied audiences and over a longer duration. For organisations, this promises not only expanded creative possibilities – but also increased commercial opportunities and wider ranges of audiences.

 

They will illustrate the talk with examples from their own work – including the feature-length immersive show The Gunpowder Plot (★★★★★ The Times) – as well as inspiring examples from a range of industries, elements of storytelling theory and insights into the use of technology to achieve this.