{"id":2481,"date":"2015-01-15T21:24:39","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T21:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/memetechnology.org\/?p=3230"},"modified":"2015-01-15T21:24:39","modified_gmt":"2015-01-15T21:24:39","slug":"narrative-structure-and-games-backstory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/","title":{"rendered":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve started writing up my literature review. And that has sent me back to the literature itself, to try and make head or tale of the cryptic comments I made to myself when I read it the fist time. Take for example <a title=\"University of Nottingham's website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nottingham.edu.cn\/en\/internationalcommunications\/staffprofile\/barry-ip.aspx\">Barry Ip&#8217;s<\/a> two part article in<em> Games and Culture,<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/gac.sagepub.com\/content\/6\/2\/103.abstract\">Narrative Structures in Computer and Video Games<\/a>. Ip offers, in part one, his own pretty complete literature review\u00a0of story in games. Indeed I could quote him extensively and move on, except there are some things he said that obviously prickled me. And now I&#8217;ve had to re-read him to find our why.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, its the useful summary of game narrative I thought it was. It saves me having to play games for months, with a stopwatch to hand. And looking at it again, I&#8217;m reminded of a particular reference to a now out of print and distribution book I was going to check for in the library, but never did*. It needs a bit of updating, mostly by references to Tynan Sylvester&#8217;s <a title=\"Is the narrative in the game, or in the head?\" href=\"http:\/\/memetechnology.org\/2013\/07\/05\/is-the-narrative-in-the-game-or-in-the-head\/\">work<\/a>, and Terence Lee&#8217;s piece on <a title=\"Steamships, vampires, pirates, space colonists and emergent narrative\" href=\"http:\/\/memetechnology.org\/2013\/11\/15\/steamships-vampires-pirates-space-colonists-and-emergent-narrative\/\">emergent narrative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the thing that gets my goat is his use of the term &#8220;back story&#8221;.\u00a0I was obviously annoyed\u00a0this quote:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Backstories are usually presented just before a game begins or seen written on the back of\u00a0game packaging or in its instruction manual to capture a player\u2019s attention as well as\u00a0set the scene for the entire game.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Now to my mind, what he is describing is the &#8220;blurb&#8221;, or at best a prologue that states &#8220;what has gone before&#8221; and, maybe sets the scene. Whereas I think of backstory as the background created for a fictional character, which isn&#8217;t explained at the start of the narrative (where it really becomes part of the narrative) but may be referred to as the narrative progresses. It is complete (if anywhere) only in the author&#8217;s head, but the reader (or player) can construct their own understanding of it from the clues peppered throughout the narrative. This was one aspect of Red Dead Redemption that I liked, the player&#8217;s avatar had a backstory (and not a very pleasant one) that the player could only piece together during the game. In contrast the player&#8217;s avatar in Skyrim has no-backstory &#8211; other than he is a captive at the start of the game.<\/p>\n<p>So this time, rather than tap out a barely understandable note to myself, i went to the dictionary to be proved right. The<a title=\"Oxford Dictionary\" href=\"http:\/\/www.oxforddictionaries.com\/definition\/english\/backstory\"> online Oxford dictionary<\/a> says:&#8221;A history or background created for a fictional character in a film or television programme&#8221; Aha! I was right! But then it goes on to give an example: &#8220;&#8216;a brief prologue detailing our hero\u2019s backstory'&#8221; Curses! That&#8217;s more like Ip&#8217;s definition &#8230; And <a title=\"US dictionary\" href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/backstory\">Merriam-Webster<\/a> agrees with Ip. On the other hand,\u00a0<a title=\"wiki warning\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Backstory\">Wikipedia<\/a> backs up my understanding (today at least).<\/p>\n<p>Oh! I don&#8217;t know, maybe I should just live with it. It seems I&#8217;ve spent more time niggling at the word than actually writing &#8211; which may of course have been the point.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>*<em>Kernels<\/em> and <em>Satellites<\/em> from Cohen and Shire&#8217;s 1988 Telling stories: A theoretical analysis of narrative fiction<\/p><br \/>  <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/gocomments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/\"><img alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/\" \/><\/a> <img alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/pixel.wp.com\/b.gif?host=memetechnology.org&#038;blog=43249545&amp;%23038;post=3230&amp;%23038;subd=memetechnology&amp;%23038;ref=&amp;%23038;feed=1\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&rsquo;ve started writing up my literature review. And that has sent me back to the literature itself, to try and make head or tale of the cryptic comments I made to myself when I read it the fist time. Take &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/memetechnology.org\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/\">Continue reading <span>&rarr;<\/span><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/pixel.wp.com\/b.gif?host=memetechnology.org&amp;blog=43249545&amp;post=3230&amp;subd=memetechnology&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":337,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[353,561,690,755],"class_list":["post-2481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-games","tag-narratology","tag-red-dead-redemption","tag-skyrim","column","threecol"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I&rsquo;ve started writing up my literature review. And that has sent me back to the literature itself, to try and make head or tale of the cryptic comments I made to myself when I read it the fist time. Take &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Archaeology Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew Tyler-Jones\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew Tyler-Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matthew Tyler-Jones\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e\"},\"headline\":\"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/feeds.wordpress.com\\\/1.0\\\/comments\\\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\\\/3230\\\/\",\"keywords\":[\"Games\",\"Narratology\",\"Red Dead Redemption\",\"Skyrim\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/\",\"name\":\"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/feeds.wordpress.com\\\/1.0\\\/comments\\\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\\\/3230\\\/\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/feeds.wordpress.com\\\/1.0\\\/comments\\\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\\\/3230\\\/\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/feeds.wordpress.com\\\/1.0\\\/comments\\\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\\\/3230\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/15\\\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/\",\"name\":\"Archaeology Blogs\",\"description\":\"Archaeology Blogs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e\",\"name\":\"Matthew Tyler-Jones\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Matthew Tyler-Jones\"},\"description\":\"I came to cultural heritage via five years working at Midland Bank when I left school. In my free time, I volunteered as a costumed interpreter at Kentwell Hall and, with re-enactment societies, at various medieval sites around the UK and France. When, one evening, a few of us said \u201cwe could make a business out of this\u201d I left my job at the bank to go to college, first to get an Art Foundation and then to Manchester Polytechnic to join an innovative course called Design for Communications Media. I specialised in Educational Media Design, with the intention of applying what I was learning to cultural heritage. During my vacations and upon graduation I worked for the nascent company my friends had started, Past Pleasures, creating immersive living history festivals at Lancaster and Tunbridge Wells, as well as projects including: an exhibition for the centenary of the Commonwealth Institute; a design for a metafictional Sherlock Holmes exhibition in Croydon; and, a game that combined real-time investment advice from 300 year-old characters at the Bank of England Museum with a digital simulation, tracking the players\u2019 investment portfolio from the founding of the bank to its tercentenary. In 1996 I helped found JMD&amp;Co, and for two years I also lectured on Heritage Tourism and Visitor Management and Interpretation modules for a Portsmouth University validated HND\\\/degree course at Farnborough Technical College. Subsequently, I enrolled in the new Distance Learning delivered Masters\u2019 degree in Museum Studies at Leicester University, where I became interested in the social use of space, particularly Bill Hillier\u2019s \u201cspace syntax,\u201d and the increasing futility of cultural heritage sites trying to tell doggedly linear stories in three-dimensional spaces. Although my dissertation explored models for mapping interpretation, and particularly learning styles, onto spaces, a satisfactory reconciliation of linear story and three-dimensional space eluded me. After graduation, I decided my time in the \u201csmall business\u201d end of cultural heritage was over for a while, and I left JMD&amp;Co to join a cultural institution, the National Trust, as a Regional Community, Learning and Volunteering Manager. I brought the first National Trust iPad into use at Batemans, where, combined with a wax cylinder record player, and the help of renowned folk singer, Jon Boden, we\u2019ve returned Rudyard Kipling\u2019s voice back into his old home. However, one of the innovations which I am most proud of is the National Trust\u2019s virtual tours. Working with a small company, and a range of disabled stakeholders, we created a touch-screen based human computer interface that could also, if required, be controlled with other input devices, and allowed visitors with a variety of disabilities to fully enjoy the virtual tour. The teams\u2019 achievement was recognised with a Jodi Award for Excellence in accessible digital media in 2008.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\\\/archaeology\\\/author\\\/matthew-tyler-jones\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs","og_description":"I&rsquo;ve started writing up my literature review. 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Take &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/","og_site_name":"Archaeology Blogs","article_published_time":"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Matthew Tyler-Jones","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew Tyler-Jones","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/"},"author":{"name":"Matthew Tyler-Jones","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/#\/schema\/person\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e"},"headline":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory?","datePublished":"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/"},"wordCount":545,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/","keywords":["Games","Narratology","Red Dead Redemption","Skyrim"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/","url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/","name":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory? - Archaeology Blogs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/","datePublished":"2015-01-15T21:24:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/#\/schema\/person\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/","contentUrl":"http:\/\/feeds.wordpress.com\/1.0\/comments\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/3230\/"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/2015\/01\/15\/narrative-structure-and-games-backstory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Narrative Structure and Games \u2013 Backstory?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/#website","url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/","name":"Archaeology Blogs","description":"Archaeology Blogs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/#\/schema\/person\/a61d3a83f159c463727cd087c1ce643e","name":"Matthew Tyler-Jones","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b05de4152c16b059324bcceb7e15c65ec426d00af787220dcbb922248b71de61?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Matthew Tyler-Jones"},"description":"I came to cultural heritage via five years working at Midland Bank when I left school. In my free time, I volunteered as a costumed interpreter at Kentwell Hall and, with re-enactment societies, at various medieval sites around the UK and France. When, one evening, a few of us said \u201cwe could make a business out of this\u201d I left my job at the bank to go to college, first to get an Art Foundation and then to Manchester Polytechnic to join an innovative course called Design for Communications Media. I specialised in Educational Media Design, with the intention of applying what I was learning to cultural heritage. During my vacations and upon graduation I worked for the nascent company my friends had started, Past Pleasures, creating immersive living history festivals at Lancaster and Tunbridge Wells, as well as projects including: an exhibition for the centenary of the Commonwealth Institute; a design for a metafictional Sherlock Holmes exhibition in Croydon; and, a game that combined real-time investment advice from 300 year-old characters at the Bank of England Museum with a digital simulation, tracking the players\u2019 investment portfolio from the founding of the bank to its tercentenary. In 1996 I helped found JMD&amp;Co, and for two years I also lectured on Heritage Tourism and Visitor Management and Interpretation modules for a Portsmouth University validated HND\/degree course at Farnborough Technical College. Subsequently, I enrolled in the new Distance Learning delivered Masters\u2019 degree in Museum Studies at Leicester University, where I became interested in the social use of space, particularly Bill Hillier\u2019s \u201cspace syntax,\u201d and the increasing futility of cultural heritage sites trying to tell doggedly linear stories in three-dimensional spaces. Although my dissertation explored models for mapping interpretation, and particularly learning styles, onto spaces, a satisfactory reconciliation of linear story and three-dimensional space eluded me. After graduation, I decided my time in the \u201csmall business\u201d end of cultural heritage was over for a while, and I left JMD&amp;Co to join a cultural institution, the National Trust, as a Regional Community, Learning and Volunteering Manager. I brought the first National Trust iPad into use at Batemans, where, combined with a wax cylinder record player, and the help of renowned folk singer, Jon Boden, we\u2019ve returned Rudyard Kipling\u2019s voice back into his old home. However, one of the innovations which I am most proud of is the National Trust\u2019s virtual tours. Working with a small company, and a range of disabled stakeholders, we created a touch-screen based human computer interface that could also, if required, be controlled with other input devices, and allowed visitors with a variety of disabilities to fully enjoy the virtual tour. The teams\u2019 achievement was recognised with a Jodi Award for Excellence in accessible digital media in 2008.","sameAs":["http:\/\/memetechnology.wordpress.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/author\/matthew-tyler-jones\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/337"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/archaeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}