The design and development of Genarrator at Bournemouth University

Genarrator is a practice-based and pedagogy-driven project researching ways of enabling creative writers and designers to enter the world of interactive fiction. The overall aim of the project is to develop a software platform (also called Genarrator) for students who want to create interactive digital fiction, but who do not have the web-design skills to use professional-level tools such as Flash. Funded by The Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) at BU, James Pope is extending his empirical studies of readers' responses to interactive fiction, and expanding his teaching of new-media writing, by designing, developing and testing Genarrator. This paper reports on the empirical research which has led to Genarrator, outlines the role of the CETL in supporting the project, and explains the features and value of the Genarrator platform.