To Design the Metaverse, Let’s Redefine Storytelling

When I was 12 years old, I learned one of my most enduring design lessons. In 1996, I eagerly stuck the cartridge for Super Mario 64 into my Blockbuster-rented Nintendo 64 and watched an entirely new world sprawl open in front of me. The interconnected and secret-filled universe demanded exploration in a way which was equal parts novel, compelling, and fundamentally human. 

That’s because of how the then-groundbreaking 3D world invited me to explore beyond what I could see at any one moment on the screen, and in turn discover secrets which enabled me to think about the game in new and surprising ways. 

It’s also because of how Mario himself appeared as a living, breathing character with a life beyond my play sessions. If I left him alone too long, he’d start dozing off. I’d imagine that when he tired from his 3D acrobatics, he’d start dreaming about pasta. This new personification made him more than a simple vessel for my controller inputs. Mario was someone I was playing with, not someone I was playing as. 

When I think about the metaverse, I think about its potential to take those feelings and multiply them in ways we likely can’t quite imagine right now. It won’t happen automatically, but by applying this decades-old design lesson we can make it far more likely. 

For those unfamiliar, Super Mario 64 represented a giant leap forward for videogames and interactive entertainment. For an artform that had remained safely between two dimensions for most of its history, suddenly a third had been added. The simple thrill of moving around this virtual space with unparalleled freedom was enhanced by design principles and interaction mechanics which have stuck with me throughout my career, and will serve the architects of the metaverse well today. 

In any given part of the game, the horizon will invariably pop with some point of interest – a tower, a hill, a castle – towards which the player does not have to move, yet to which their curiosity drives them anyway. It’s a trick which has been refined and deployed in the likes of more modern titles such as the Assassins Creed series, 2022’s instant-classic Elden Ring, or the fantastic The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

Prior to joining Accenture, I spent eight years at Walt Disney Imagineering, where I applied those same principles of spatial and interaction design to theme parks. It’s no accident that, when you enter the Magic Kingdom, the environment immediately draws your attention from the crowded gate to the castle at the centre of the park. From there, your gaze will invariably shift to a menu of experientially unique lands, and then to individual attractions. Those principles again go to work just after you step off one attraction (through the gift shop, naturally) and just before you ask yourself where to go next. For inspiration, you need only look around. 

It’s fair to assume that in its formative months and years, the metaverse will establish a design culture inspired by mediums which came before it (including theme parks, movies, immersive theatre, and videogames). And, like those mediums, the design of the metaverse can benefit from a focus on visual hierarchy which gently influences user behaviour. Because metaverse experiences are more open to more people for more purposes than anything that’s come before, this kind of placemaking through visual hierarchy will be critical. 

That’s not just because it can quietly shepherd people around a virtual space (though that is crucial). It’s also because of the kinds of stories it will allow us to tell. For brands and designers wishing to make good on the incredible potential of the metaverse, these design lessons will be essential.

Mastering The Emergent Narrative

Ultimately, realising the potential of the metaverse will involve a holistic and nuanced understanding of storytelling. The examples we’ve mentioned so far speak to the concept of ‘emergent narrative’, a process by which audiences write their own stories based on the actions they take within a designed space. That could be a videogame, a theme park, or indeed the metaverse.

These stories are memorable because of a self-owned sense of discovery. Derek Yu, the designer of Spelunky (a game about searching out treasure in a sprawling underground world), sums this up perfectly: 

“The joy of discovery is one of the fundamental joys of play itself. Not just the joy of discovering secrets within the game, but also the joy of uncovering the creator’s vision. It’s that ‘aha!’ moment where it all makes sense, and behind the world the player can feel the touch of another creative mind. In order for it to be truly joyful, however, it must remain hidden from plain view - not carved as commandments into stone tablets but revealed, piece by piece, through the player’s exploration of the game’s rules.” 

What I love about what Yu is saying, is how it speaks to the essential humanity at the heart of great design. For all the hype and excitement coming from the worlds of finance and technology, it’s people who will decide whether the metaverse is compelling or not. That’s true for videogames, it was true for my work on theme parks, and it will be true for the metaverse, too.

Metaverse architects and designers should see narrative and experience not as a straight train track, but as a gentle hand on the audience’s shoulder, or a light breeze beckoning them in the right direction. 

As audiences, we want experiences which elevate us, help us to connect, and give us a sense of ownership. There’s no doubt that the metaverse can provide all of that, but only by leaning away from hype and towards the fundamentals of what makes a compelling human experience. After all, compelling experiences are what people will return to - and pay for - again and again. 

Michael Honeck serves as the global experience design director for Accenture’s Metaverse Continuum Business Group.