Narrative Fodder in Web3
“We learn who we are in practice, not in theory.” — David Epstein
Both experienced and new storytellers require what I am calling “narrative fodder.” Narrative fodder is the raw material out of which storytellers can craft a narrative. By leveraging narrative fodder, we give community members the means to be a part of a community in practice, not merely in theory.
Current Modes of Narrative Fodder:
Visual Fodder: Most narrative fodder is directly tied to discreet NFTs. It comes in the form of the details of the NFT/jpg itself. For example, look at the image of Ton, my Nuclear Nerd. He has one glove on, a chicken bone in his mouth, checkered kicks, etc. That’s his visual narrative fodder. Little attributes like this, however, require very high effort on the part of the storyteller. They require extrapolation from minor detail to full narrative.
Core Narrative: The core narrative, or the “canon,” of a project also serves as narrative fodder. Individual storytellers can write into that core narrative. Different projects will also invite their community members into the core narrative at different levels. But there will always be at least some level of distance from lore-writer to core narrative. Nonetheless, core narrative serves as inspiration.
The Future of Fodder:
Projects are learning that core narratives and character-based visual attributes are not enough to catalyze potential storytellers. So what’s next? We need to find ways to create narrative fodder that is based on other elements of story
Differentiated Embryonic Plot Points:
The one I think will work most effectively is plot-based narrative fodder that is unique to individual characters. Most new storytellers will cleave to plot points, and be more willing to develop stories from embryonic plot points, than from visual fodder, thematic fodder, or core narrative fodder. There is a great sense of ownership when an event is unique to that character.
With plot-based fodder, psychologically, risk falls back onto the project itself if the story “isn’t good.” I don’t think this risk aversion is conscious for most in the space, but it is definitely there. By giving plot-based narrative fodder, storytellers are invited into the space to tell a story that “already exists” in their eyes. Of course, from another perspective, that narrative does not exist at all. It is only their act, and their sharing of the story that make it real.
The only place I’m seeing this done so far is with the Mad Marauders launch from the @nuclearnerds. They will have a seven-pane reveal that builds out the fodder of that individual Mad Marauder. I am not exactly sure if this will be plot-based fodder, but I am fairly confident that it will not be visual based. (Disclosure: I own a Nerd. I’m not on the team. Just a community member.) So, if my inference is right, I think we’ll get seven small plot points for that Marauder.
Overlays:
Beyond this, I think there is a massive opportunity to push out into other varieties and types of narrative fodder by using overlays (Here’s where I’m out of my depth, but I know they’re feasible since NN did some Christmas ones). Can we create character-based emotional fodder? Can we overlay an NFT with an “emotional state”? Anger, fear, vengeance, etc? Can we overlay it with a symbol in order to carry a theme? Can we overlay something to create factions/groups that had not existed before? Can we overlay setting-specific backgrounds that align with the core narrative? Much of this is about creating dynamism in the already existing asset. Dynamic fodder that hits on different elements of story (character, plot, theme, symbol) will hopefully catalyze the latent storytellers out there.
I have seen the NN use holiday overlays, but those were just for fun. I also know that ON1 uses what they call “frames.” These are not overlays, but derivatives of the original NFT. However, I don’t know enough about this project and how the frames work in terms of narrative. It seems to be more of a security feature than a narrative feature, but I think the potential for narrative utility is there.
Dynamical Reference:
I’ve only seen one project do this (@Spaceaddicts), but it seems to be an ingenious move. As their core narrative develops, they update the “omnibus,” a giant catalog of their characters’ descriptions and power levels, to reflect the current states of those characters. In effect, what they are producing for their storytellers is plot-based fodder that is dependent upon the core narrative. It is more welcoming and more engaging than static core narrative as fodder.
Struggling Projects:
For projects without much dev time, or projects struggling with engagement, narrative fodder will need to be primarily driven through the narratives themselves (core and peripheral). These projects may feel an urge to either tell their community all of the story, or let the community tell all of the story. I’d suggest a balance here, however. Give the community narrative fodder that is very low-risk, low-effort, and high-agency. This is a good practice, even for projects that are not struggling. NN does this very well with their core narrative prompts. By providing 4–8 prompts for each issue, they ask for only an anonymous 10 minutes or so, and in return, there is the potential that the idea will wind up in the core narrative.
