Transporting the Viewer Into a 360° heritage story: Panoramic interactive narrative presented on a wrap-around screen

Abstract

This paper illustrates the idea of applying interactive storytelling to a panoramic projection system. The story of a wedding that occurred in 1941 in Charles Church (Plymouth, UK) is presented on a wrap-around screen where the viewers are asked to make decisions about further developments of the narrative. The church was bombed in 1941 and was not rebuilt after the war. A virtual 3D reconstruction of this heritage site was undertaken and on the basis of this computer 3D model, a number of still and video panoramas were rendered inside the church. Video panoramas created using a spherical video camera were applied to the generation of the panoramic interactive narrative, the aim of which is to transport the viewers not only to the historic site, but enable them to interact with this heritage story. A 360° screen combined with an interactive device is a good solution for presenting non-linear panoramic narratives.