An Introduction to Screenwriting for Virtual Reality

This introductory chapter presents an overview of recent developments in virtual reality as an entertainment medium and a review of related academic scholarship on ‘writing’ for VR. This term is used to refer to a range of activities involved in the conceptualisation and development of VR media. In the last decade, a new wave of high-profile VR work has appeared at screen festivals, online, in galleries and in other venues, giving rise to significant industry discourse and academic scholarship exploring the affordances, aesthetics and experience of this immersive medium. To begin interrogating the subject of writing for VR, this chapter presents an exploration of concepts drawn from scholars working in the areas of screenwriting, human–computer interaction, game studies and interdisciplinary fields. It concludes by introducing the new scholarship featured in this anthology, Screenwriting for VR: Story, Space and Experience.