Taxonomy of Narrative Conventions

A research document that finds patterns in narrative forms of different mediums by classifying based on the perspective of the story’s viewer as they merge with the protagonist. The key test is how the viewer would recount their experience with the story.

When classifying a story, ask whether the viewer would say of the protagonist: “they went home” (third person), you fight the zombies” (second person), or “I built a city” (first person), or “Go here” (zero-eth person).

Different levels of visual fidelity and realism correspond to different types of stories. This system is a design tool when ideating on a new story, which lets the designer select the qualities that will make the story most effective and compelling.