Sector(s)
"Story-Bat" is a platform for collaborative storytelling where the path of a story can be changed by the will of the community.
Contrary to classic collaborative writing sites, Story-Bat will focus more on gamification and give incentives via points and achievements.
Registered users can write content for an existing story, create their own stories and rate story blocks from other users.
About the project
The collaborative storytelling platform has many interesting features, among them:
Story blocks
Each of our stories consists of multiple story blocks (think of it as a post, in classic forum terms).
Every registered user can write a new story block as a sequel to an already existing story block, regardless of its position in the story timeline.
This opens up the possibility to create alternative timelines or make a “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style story.
Story modes
The system allows for different setups for how a single person or a group of people can write a story.
For the start of the website we will have two modes:
● Classic: One “Walked path” which presents the official story-line.
â—Ź Adventure: Multiple path options for the reader where their actions determine the future of the protagonists.
Walked paths
Since it’s possible to have multiple sequels to one story block, a ranking system is put in place.
Every registered user has the possibility to give “Steps” to the path they like. There is a “Walked path” for the top ranking story blocks.
Other submissions are placed less prominently under “Charted paths.”
System of roles and permissions
A flexible system of roles and permissions lets users edit and delete content according to their role.
Notification system
Custom implementation of on-site- and e-mail notifications keeps users up-to-date on stories, actions with content, private messages etc.
Friends
We created the Friends feature that allows users add and remove each other as friends.
Languages
Story Bat provides an interface in English and German. The site is set up in a way that allows users to add additional languages to the spectrum.
Content by language
A user can select the language to see all the content in it. Only the content in that language will be shown to them.
Breadcrumbs tree
Custom implementation of breadcrumbs allowed us to show relations between content.
Payments
We implemented integration with PayPal and Stripe payment systems for allowing users to do donations for the website.
Private messaging
Users are able to communicate with each with the help of private messages.
To implement these features, we created a set of custom modules.
Why Drupal was chosen
â—Ź Content management system is very handy
● Drupal’s amazing flexibility
â—Ź Thousands of add-on features
â—Ź Proven high security
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
Key modules/theme/distribution used:
â—Ź On the basis of the Payment module, we implemented integration with PayPal and Stripe payment systems.
â—Ź The Private Message module helped us create the private messaging feature for users.
