Web-narrative laboratory 2024
A semester-long course for bachelor's in TV and New Media speciality at Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The course was prepared and led by Andrey Chugunov.
Participants:
Third-year bachelors of the TV and New Media speciality.
Description:
The course consisted of 5 lectures and 11 practical classes. The course was attended by 5 students.

The lecture block touched on the evolution of media and how they have shaped the ways of storytelling. Students familiarised themselves with how narrative has occurred in literature, cinema, computer games, and art. The course included a reading session of Shamshad Abdullaev's and Nourbese Philip's texts conducted by poet and writer Egana Djabbarova.

The central focus of the course was to create an interactive narrative based on a website. We took an in-depth look at how net-art artists approach this task.
We have reviewed and analysed the works of such pillars of net art as Olia Lialina, JODI, Martine Neddam, Rafaël Rozendaal, etc. We also studied the phenomenon and aesthetics of Russian punk journalism of the 2010s.

During the practical sessions, we looked at how to work with animations and scripts in Tilda, as well as exploring the node programming environment cables.gl, which allows you to create 2D and 3D scenes for web pages.
The students had several intermediate assignments:
1) to research the Geocities archive and select their 10 favourites
2) to complete an exercise in compiling social interaction maps on the Timus.ru portal
3) to create proverbs using basic and step-by-step animations in Tilda
4) research interactive mechanics in the Rhizome.org portal archive
The final task assignment required students to tell a story from their lives by weaving interactive mechanics and web 1.0-inspired aesthetic research into the web-based narrative.
Web-narratives:
Short description of projects:

Ignat Kadnikov – MYNAMEIS
"An interactive web quest that starts with a mysterious message: MYNAMEIS. Users input a 4-character code and follow one of four puzzle-based paths (sound, vision, logic, motion), each revealing fragments of someone’s inner monologue. The project plays with themes of anonymity, identity, and discovery. Endings vary depending on choices, with a true ending only for the most attentive player."

Aleksei Kraizel – Cinema. Dream. Fatigue
"A meditative web narrative about the boundaries between sleep, dream, and film. The story unfolds as a nonlinear labyrinth, reflecting the haziness of hypnagogic states. The viewer wanders through interactive forked paths, unsure if they’re dreaming or awake. Visual aesthetics reference glitch, lo-fi internet art, and cinematic surrealism. Each fork leads to a new level of distortion or awakening, building tension around the question: is the dream ending, or just beginning?"

Daria Gordeeva – The Story of a Sleepwalker
"A whimsical and slightly eerie tale told from the perspective of a girl who sleepwalks under a pink moon. After drinking blueberry yoghurt, she wakes to the prick of a hedgehog — or was it a dream? The site features a reversed narrative full of interactive puzzles, costume switches, and visual illusions, inviting users to uncover the line between fear and fantasy."

Daria Demeneva – Where Inspiration Is Born
"A poetic and philosophical exploration of artistic inspiration through the metaphor of piano keys. The narrative begins with a question: Where does inspiration come from? — and unfolds into a reflection on memory, trauma, and creative pain. The black-and-white interface is pierced by red, symbolising pain as a trigger. Interactive elements include broken piano keys, falling letters, and responsive sounds."

Bogdan Tomnyuk – How I started to make music
"A soft and playful site reflecting the transition from insomnia to sleep, based on personal experience. Starting from a beat sent by a friend, the author built an atmospheric narrative that mixes music, nature-inspired visuals, and sleep techniques. The story balances calming tones with humorous elements. Key features include sound interaction, animated backgrounds, and customizable visual elements to build your own vibe."