Fable Studios has created a piece of Immersive storytelling that is pushing the boundaries of both technology and immersion as a creative medium; Wolves In the walls. A Virtual Reality story based on the book, Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaimen and Dave McKean. In this experience you are cast as the imaginary best friend of Lucy, a little girl who has become convinced that there are indeed wolves in her walls.

It is hard to exaggerate the level of nuance and multidisciplinary expertise that has been deployed in the creation of this world. Wolves in the wall has sampled wisdom from gaming, film, behavioral psychology, and of course, Immersive theater; consulting with the master creatives at Third Rail Projects. 

Our guest, Pete Billington, is the Co-founder of Fable studios, a masterful storyteller, and a rare variety of systems thinker. He pulls from the well of his personal experience having worked on a wide range of projects including Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, The Matrix: Reloaded, and The Polar Express to inform the creation of Fable Studios. 

Make it immersive:

Dungeons and Dragons [28:20]

Selected links: 

• Fable Studios
• Wolves in the walls
• Virtual Beings summit
• Pete Talks at MIT
• Oculus Story Studio
• Then She Fell
• The Uncanny/ Inconsistent Valley
• AI for human behavior 
• Reading an audience
• Nordic Larping Traditions
• Altered Carbon
• “The future has arrived- It’s just not…”
• Transhumanism Video

Show Notes:

• Guest introduction [1:18]
• Favorite fictional world [2:54]
• Pete’s favorite character class and why [4:01]
• What is the major dramatic question? / What is wolves in the walls? [4:55]
• VR as a medium [8:00]
• Immersive Theater as a bridge for Fable [10:30]
• Keeping an audience on the ‘Golden Path: principles for directing attention [13:05]
• Uncanny valley vs. Inconsistent valley [16:21]
• The edges of technology: Creating with constraints [19:59]
• How has pete’s personal communication changed? [23:20]
• Deprogramming the storyteller brain [24:15]
• Make it immersive [28:20]
• Understanding your audience [29:20]
• Teaching an AI to read you [30:55]
• Trying on personalities [34:37]
• The Value of Play & the future of VR [36:16]
• Characters as an interface [38:54]
• Why it’s easy to ignore Alexa & Siri [40:16]
• The future is here, just not easily distributed [41:19]
• Co-founder, Edward Saatchi, The provocateur [43:14]
• Memory is the difference & Upload yourself to the cloud [45:00]
• Moving from material to experiential value [49:00]
• Learning more & the Virtual Beings summit [53:56]