Designing immersive narratives for radical agency and human connection

By: Joshua Rubin (Subverse Narrative Consulting)

ENG

English session

Imagine a story that unfolds for you — because of you. This is Story Living.

In this provocative session, Joshua Rubin — award-winning writer of Assassin’s Creed II, Destiny, The Walking Dead, and Emmy-winning interactive Netflix shows — explores the next evolution of immersive storytelling.

Drawing from decades of experience across games, VR, AR, theater, and comics, Rubin tackles a key question: how do we give players real agency without losing emotional depth?

The session revolves around three pillars:

Radical Agency: Moving beyond simple choices to true player-driven stories through techniques like first-person immersion and improvisational theater.

Reactive Worlds: Using “story magnets” and “possibility spaces” to guide players while preserving the illusion of freedom.

Deep Personalization: Crafting intimate, transformative experiences through memory and behavior-driven storytelling.

Rubin closes with a bold vision: immersive story worlds as essential human infrastructure—creating meaning, not just content.

Perfect for anyone shaping the future of XR, games, and experiential storytelling.

Want to be the first to receive updates?

Sign up for the newsletter