Experience is the New Story

In the NW corner of the 2nd floor gallery at Pixar, there is the "story corner".  The wall is covered with images of hand drawn storyboards, and a few kiosks where you can listen to Pixar leadership talk about the importance of story.  Above the kiosk, there is a sign.  It is the word "Story Corner" in large, bold letters, with a king's crown above it.  Every day that I walked by that sign, it reminded me of what my job was - to pull people into a story and let them experience it.  Yet there was always a window that separated them from experiencing it fully.  That window has now been torn down.

Yesterday I had the chance to speak to a group of students at a gathering at Oregon Story Board in Portland.  Speaking before me was Gabe Paez from Wild VR.  He had an incredible presentation about VR and the future of the media.  At one point, he mentioned the idea that "story is king", and then followed up with the addition - "experience is king".  I couldn't agree more.

Virtual reality and augmented reality have not only carried the idea that "story is king," but have pushed it forward.  Now just having a good story is not enough.  VR makes it possible to tell amazing stories through experiences, and those experiences can be incredibly powerful.  Feeling a sense of presence and being involved in a story will give content creators such as Villusion Studios, Wild VR, and many others the chance to take story to the next level.  Story is no less important, but now has an equal in experience, and those experiences can change people for the better.  It's our job as content creators to generate content that allows us to expand our experiences and communication through this amazing new and powerful medium. The future is wide open.