The "I" in Interactive Digital Narrative: An analysis of limited user agency in the interactive Netflix movie Kimmy vs. the Reverend

Abstract

Over the years, games and movies have merged more into hybrid forms of media. An example of such a hybrid form is interactive digital narrative, which is a specific form of narrative in a digital medium that allows user to participate and to influence the narrative. While interactive digital narratives should enable full and unrestricted user agency, this seems impossible because of the technical limitations that are afforded by the medium. Beside this afforded limitation, user agency should also be limited or in moderation in order to create a pleasurable experience for the user. This research tends to find ways of creative limited agency in interactive digital narratives and specifically in the interactive Netflix movie Kimmy vs. the Reverend that may offer a playful alternative to the tension between full and limited agency. By using the walkthrough method to analyse the forms of user agency in the movie and comparing them to the discussion about limited and unlimited user agency in interactive digital narratives, this research identifies different forms of user agency in the movie. Besides the limited agency that is narrative related, the movie also contains non-narrative related agency. The analysis of the movie is concluded with the finding of Easter eggs, which is derived from the field of video games, as a creative new hybrid form of limited user agency in interactive movies.