For an overview of Branching, click here.
A branching scenario is an interactive form of learning. It challenges the learner, requires them to decide, and then presents the consequences. This common technique ensures learners can test out the content they have learned. Storyflow allows for simple or complex branching scenarios to be created in your VR experiences.
In Storyflow, the most straightforward way to create a branching scenario is using frames inside a single script. Think of the frames as a table of contents. The hierarchy of those frames is what control when each one happens. In this first image, three frames under the Main Frame act as this table of contents. They are all lined up on the same level in the hierarchy.
The hierarchy layout above is authored in parallel. When all the frames are at the same level, no one frame is indented differently than the others, and each frame will start the resources authored to it.
This authoring format is beneficial when you want multiple interactions to start simultaneously. Look at the example here:
In this example, when this script launches, all three frames will start simultaneously and run in parallel. From a learner’s perspective, in the scene, they can pick up the beaker, close the fume hood, or move over to the breakroom. All three options are available to them in any order they wish to complete.
With all three of these happening simultaneously, the learner could perform any of those tasks when the scenario starts. A parallel layout is great if you want multiple options to be available to a learner simultaneously. This plays out as a more realistic experience.
Another option is to author content in sequence. The example below shows three child frames under the Main Frame. These Branch frames are authored in sequence.
When frames are nested underneath one another, by default, they will wait for the content from the first frame to complete before starting the next.
The image below shows a script authored in sequence. Each frame is waiting for the previous one to finish before it starts. This could move fast or slow depending on what is happening in the previous frame.
In sequence, any branch can be several levels deep. If a frame has child frames, those will open once their parent is activated. This makes defining a sequence very easy and happens by design. If a training procedure has three steps in a specific order, you can define three frames that occur one after the other, as seen here.
With the flexibility of Storyflow you can have frames running in parallel, indicating that each option is available for the learner, and in sequence when they perform that parallel option.
