Storytelling
The good story outro
December 12, 2023
After a good introduction and a compelling story, each story should include an outro that excites the user about the next story and explains how to get there.
Keep in mind that this is only relevant for the Route and Quest types. If you are creating a Collection, you won't know where the user is heading next. When working with Collections, you can instead suggest nearby stories. Learn more about the different types of tours.
In the outro, we should get the user excited about the next story, so they are motivated to continue. Create a cliffhanger that connects to the story you just told. Below is an example from "The Soldier":
Now you need to continue down along the square. Head towards the Commandant's House, which is the yellow building at the opposite end of the church. Stop between the two cannons in front of the Commandant's House, where you can unlock the next part of the story. Here, we will hear about the merciless punishment that awaits Hermann.
When guiding the user between different stories, it's important that they can find their way. One of the most disturbing things for users is if they get confused about where to go.
We have different ways of navigating. Some navigate best by looking at pictures, others prefer a map, and others like to get route directions through audio.
Therefore, we recommend using multiple media for wayfinding (wayfinding = finding the way). If you use audio, remember to tell the user where to go with words. It's important to incorporate details in the surroundings as landmarks for navigation. At the end of each story, the narrator should provide directions that help the user move on; 'turn right at the red house on the corner', or 'walk down the small path to the left of the soccer field'. It's important to be precise in your directions, so the user has no doubt.
We also recommend using pictures to supplement wayfinding. Specifically, the first picture for any story should show where the user should stand to unlock the next story. In StoryHunt Creator, images from Google Street View are automatically inserted, but these are not always accurate. If they are imprecise or missing, we recommend that you take your own pictures.
It's a good idea, at the beginning of the tour, to make the user aware that they can always find their way via the map in the app. StoryHunt has built-in route guidance to help the user if they get lost or miss something.
If the story includes a quiz, the narrator can advantageously lead up to the quiz in the speech. Something like 'if you look at your phone now, there will be a quiz where you can test your knowledge.' Learn more about how to create a good quiz.
To get started with creating self-guided tours, we recommend these introductory articles.
Creating great tours is all about storytelling. Learn the basis from the articles below.
Learn about the different features that will enable you to create great tours - from using images to pop up during audio to advanced features like AI.
