DARPA Therapeutic Storytelling

The Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) came to IDEAS to create a plan of building web-based software with a simple interface.

Its purpose was to help servicepeople with PTSD in both storytelling and graphic content creation.

The idea was to provide simple-to-use authoring tools to provide the flexibility of telling a wide range of stories. Meanwhile, users could draw from a library of artwork, icons and other templates to help them tell stories related to combat experiences.

We gathered a best-of-breed team, including therapists, subject matter experts, artists, game designers and graphic novel designers.

Like all our projects, the audience and their unique needs drove the process.

Given the mental and emotional challenges that people with PTSD experience, we knew early that many of the exciting features we could envision and build would appeal to sophisticated artists. However, they would limit the product’s usefulness in the hands of an inexperienced person with PTSD.

Because their symptoms sometimes make doing certain tasks difficult, we recommended that we build simple tools for a person to spend as little as five minutes creating and telling a story. Alternatively, they could spend 50 minutes or more if they chose.
The Process
First, we learned important lessons from the gaming industry and strived to make the interface intuitive and easy to use.

Second, we knew the story creation task must also be challenging and achievable, leading to what writers in the field call “the flow channel.”

We made a number of important discoveries and breakthroughs during our research. Because we believe the tool will favor iPads and other smart devices, we rethought the graphic novel’s form factor.

While the printed page drove past layouts, the iPad interface with its swipe technology lends itself to an entirely different layout. Users can see one cell at a time versus a number of cells grouped for a vertical page.

We also explored a variety of parameters regarding how we could create the art assets.

Although graphic artists are moving to 3D scenery, we found putting that asset into a person with PTSD’s hands could be frustrating.

Likewise, placing objects in the right perspective into a scene with three-point perspective appeared to be a potential challenge. Instead, we opted for simple scenes drawn with minimal perspective to make composition and storytelling the primary concerns.

Finally, we developed an easy-to-use interface that offers a range of storytelling activities.

These provide guidance and structure to users’ creative processes and augment the therapeutic experience.