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Interactive Storytelling 10th

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Nuno Nunes
Ian Oakley
Valentina Nisi (Eds.)
LNCS 10690

Interactive
Storytelling
10th International Conference
on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2017
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, November 14–17, 2017, Proceedings

123
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 10690
Commenced Publication in 1973
Founding and Former Series Editors:
Gerhard Goos, Juris Hartmanis, and Jan van Leeuwen

Editorial Board
David Hutchison
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Takeo Kanade
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Josef Kittler
University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jon M. Kleinberg
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Friedemann Mattern
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
John C. Mitchell
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
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TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7409
Nuno Nunes Ian Oakley

Valentina Nisi (Eds.)

Interactive
Storytelling
10th International Conference
on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2017
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, November 14–17, 2017
Proceedings

123
Editors
Nuno Nunes Valentina Nisi
Instituto Superior Técnico University of Madeira
Lisbon Funchal
Portugal Portugal
Ian Oakley
Ulsan National Institute of Science
and Technology
Ulsan
Korea (Republic of)

ISSN 0302-9743 ISSN 1611-3349 (electronic)


Lecture Notes in Computer Science
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Preface

This volume contains the proceedings of ICIDS 2017: the 9th International Conference
on Interactive Digital Storytelling. ICIDS 2017 took place at the Madeira Interactive
Technologies Institute (Madeira-ITI), Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal. This year the
conference included several categories and tracks such as workshops, demos, posters, a
doctoral consortium, and an international art exhibition.
ICIDS is the premier annual venue that gathers researchers, developers, practitioners,
and theorists to present and share the latest innovations, insights, and techniques in the
expanding field of interactive storytelling and the technologies that support it. The field
regroups a highly dynamic and interdisciplinary community, in which narrative studies,
computer science, interactive and immersive technologies, the arts, and creativity
converge to develop new expressive forms in a myriad domains that include artistic
projects, interactive documentaries, cinematic games, serious games, assistive tech-
nologies, edutainment, museum science, and advertising, to mention a few.
The ICIDS conference has a long-standing tradition of bringing together academia,
industry, designers, developers, and artists into an interdisciplinary dialogue through a
mix of keynote lectures, panels, long and short article presentations, posters, work-
shops, lively demo sessions, and the art exhibition. Additionally, since 2010, ICIDS
has been hosting an international art exhibition open to the general public. This year we
inaugurated a new entry, the doctoral consortia, enabling PhD students to receive
feedback on their ongoing research.
The review process was extremely selective and many good papers could not be
accepted for the final program. Altogether, we received 88 submissions in all the
categories. Out of the 65 submitted full and short papers, the Program Committee
selected only 16 long papers and four short paper submissions for presentation and
publication, which corresponds to an acceptance rate of 31%. In addition, we accepted
13 submissions as posters, and five submissions as demonstrations, including some
long and short papers that were offered the opportunity to participate in another cat-
egory. The ICIDS 2017 program featured contributions from 47 different institutions in
18 different countries worldwide.
The conference program also hosted three invited speakers:
Jay Bushman an award-winning producer and writer of transmedia and
platform-independent entertainment. He was the Transmedia producer and a writer for
“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” and a groundbreaking video and social media modern-
ization of “Pride and Prejudice” – the show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding
Original Interactive Program and had over 70 million views on YouTube. He was the
cocreator and co-showrunner of the sequel interactive series “Welcome to Sanditon.” As
a writer and producer at Fourth Wall Studios, Jay helped to create the Emmy-winning
series “Dirty Work,” and wrote and created the show “Airship Dracula.” Jay has worked
on interactive campaigns for properties including “Game of Thrones,” “Silicon Valley,”
“Terminator: Genisys,” and “Arrival.” He has also worked as a writer and consultant
VI Preface

for major studios and networks, including Google, HBO, Disney, Paramount, Bad
Robot, and Lucasfilm. An innovator and leader in the transmedia community, he pushes
the boundaries of next-generation entertainment. Jay was one of the original founders
of the professional organization Transmedia Los Angeles (now StoryforwardLA), and
one publication even named him “The Epic Poet of Twitter.” Jay’s keynote was on
“Transmedia Storytelling: No, Really, What Is It?” The joke goes like this: “Put two
transmedia creators in a room together, and pretty quickly you’ll have three definitions
of transmedia.” Everybody who uses the terms means something a little different. With
stories from the trenches of making transmedia projects over the last ten years, this talk
delved into what people mean when they say “transmedia” and why nobody can agree.
The second keynote speaker was Pia Tikka, Adjunct Professor of New Narrative
Media and a professional filmmaker. She is the principal investigator of the NeuroCine
research project and has held a position as a director at Crucible Studio, Department of
Media, Aalto University. In the field of naturalistic neurosciences, she has acted as a
core member of the directory group of the neuroscience research project aivoAALTO
at Aalto University. Her research in neurocinematics focuses on studying the neural
basis of storytelling and creative imagination. She has contributed to neuroeconomics
as a member of the advisory board of the NeuroService research project at the Laurea
University of Applied Sciences, funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for
Innovation. She is a Fellow of Life in the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving
Image. Currently, her research team NeuroCine applies neuroimaging methods to study
the neural basis of narrative cognition. Pia’s keynote was on “Systemic Second Order
Authorship for Creating Complex Narratives – A Neurophenomenological Approach.”
In the beginning of the twenty-first century, the theoreticians of interactive narrative
celebrated the birth of the creative audience at the corpse of the author, echoing Roland
Barthes’s words in La mort de l’auteur (1967). But this may have been premature. The
notion of second-order authorship allows for the reformulation of creative authorship in
a manner inspired by the neurophenomenology and systemic enactive mind theory by
Francisco Varela and colleagues (1991). This was exemplified by describing the
authorship of enactive co-presence between a virtual screen character and the viewer.
The third keynote speaker was Suzanne Scott, an assistant professor of Media
Studies in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at
Austin. Her work has appeared in Critical Studies in Media Communication, Trans-
formative Works and Cultures, Cinema Journal, and New Media & Society, as well as
numerous anthologies, including How to Watch Television and The Participatory
Cultures Handbook. Together with Melissa Click, she has co-edited The Routledge
Companion to Media Fandom (2018), and her current book project considers the
gendered tensions underpinning the media industry’s embrace of fans within conver-
gence culture. Suzanne’s keynote was “Choose Your Own Adventure: Fandom and the
Future of Interactive Storytelling.” Fan culture has, from its inception, treated media
objects as inherently interactive, playing in the textual gaps and margins and, in some
cases, radically reimagining a storyworld’s fictive limits. Tracing both the history of
transformative fan texts (e.g., fanfiction, fan vids) from analog to digital participatory
Preface VII

cultures, as well as the politics of these industrially unauthorized interactions, this


keynote suggested that the barriers to embracing a more expansive conception of
“interactive digital storytelling” lie in lingering anxieties surrounding authorial and
commercial control. Just as scholarly work on interactive storytelling must acknowl-
edge programmatic or structural limitations on user agency, even as we celebrate the
participatory and collaborative capacity of the form, this talk explored how media
industries, creators, and technologies alternately curtail and foster fan culture’s inter-
active impulses.
In addition to paper and poster presentations, ICIDS 2017 featured a preconference
workshop day with five workshops:
WS1: History of Expressive Systems, organized by Mark J. Nelson and James Ryan
WS2: Transmedia Journalism and Interactive Documentary in Dialogue,
by Renira Rampazzo Gambarato and Alessandro Nanì
WS3: Authoring for Interactive Storytelling, organized by Charlie Hargood,
Alex Mitchell, David Millard, and Uli Spierling
WS4: Bringing Together Interactive Digital Storytelling with Tangible Interaction:
Challenges and Opportunities, organized by Alejandro Catala, Mariët Theune,
Cristina Sylla, and Pedro Ribeiro
WS5: Film-Live: An Innovative Immersive and Interactive Cinema Experience,
organized by Mattia Costa, Chiara Ligi and Francesca Piredda
In conjunction with the academic conference, the Art Exhibition of the 9th Inter-
national Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling was held at the conference
venue, Vidamar Resorts, during November 14–15, 2017. The 2017 ICIDS Art Exhi-
bition featured a variety of art pieces of interactive storytelling in various media
including Web-documentaries, VR film, narrative games, augmented reality mobile
applications, and Transmedia projects produced by over 30 artists of national and
international origin. The exhibition’s theme of “Time & Tempo” encouraged artists to
explore the intrinsic qualities of interactive narrative as a time-based medium, user
rhythms, and storytelling themes that incorporate history, time-travel, or other playful
engagements.
Each submission was reviewed independently by three members of the selection
jury, after which each submission received a meta-review analysis from the curators.
Submissions were scored on a graded scale, which was averaged across all reviewers
for the meta-review and final decision. The exhibition artwork is featured in the ICIDS
2017 ISBN numbered catalogue published by ETC Press.
We would like to express our gratitude and sincere appreciation to all the authors
included in this volume for their effort in preparing their submissions and for their
participation in the conference. Equally we want to heartily thank all the members
of the Organizing Committee and the Program Committee. Thanks as well to our art
exhibition jurors for their accuracy and diligence in the review process, our invited
speakers for their insightful and inspirational talks, and the workshop organizers for the
VIII Preface

dynamism and creativity that they brought to the conference. A special thank goes to
the ICIDS Steering Committee for granting us the opportunity to host ICIDS 2017 at
Madeira-ITI in Funchal, Portugal. Thanks to you all!

November 2017 Valentina Nisi


Nuno Nunes
Ian Oakley
Organization

General Chair
Valentina Nisi Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute,
University of Madeira, Portugal

Program Chairs
Nuno Nunes Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
Ian Oakley Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology,
Ulsan, Republic of Korea

Local and Communication Chairs


Deborah Castro Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal
Cláudia Silva Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal
Marko Radeta Tigerwhale, PL, RS; Madeira-Interactive Technologies
Institute, Portugal

Doctoral Consortia Chair


Nuno Correia Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Demo Chairs
Paulo Bala Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal
James Ryan University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Art Exhibition Chairs


Mara Dionisio Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal
Rebecca Rouse Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA

Workshop and Tutorial Chairs


Nuno N. Correia Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute,
University of Madeira, Portugal
Sonia Matos Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal;
University of Edinburgh, UK
X Organization

Student Volunteers Chair


Vanessa Cesario Madeira-Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal

Steering Committee
Luis Emilie Bruni Aalborg University, Denmark
Gabriele Ferri Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Andrew Gordon University of Southern California, USA
Hartmut Koenitz HKU University of the Arts, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Alex Mitchell National University of Singapore, Singapore
Frank Nack University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
David Thue Reykjavik University, Iceland

Program Committee
Elisabeth André Augsburg University, Germany
Ruth Aylett Heriot-Watt University, UK
Julio Bahamon University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
Alok Baikadi University of Pittsburgh, USA
Udi Ben-Arie Tel Aviv University, Israel
Rafael Bidarra Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Anne-Gwenn Bosser Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Brest, France
Luis Emilio Bruni Aalborg University, Denmark
Daniel Buzzo University of the West of England, UK
Beth Cardier Sirius-Beta.com
Marc Cavazza University of Kent, UK
Fred Charles Bournemouth University, UK
Fanfan Chen National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan
Teun Dubbelman Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, The Netherlands
Gabriele Ferri Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Mark Finlayson Florida International University, USA
Henrik Fog Aalborg University, Denmark
Andrew Gordon University of Southern California, USA
Dave Green Newcastle University, UK
Charlie Hargood University of Southampton, UK
Sarah Harmon Bowdoin College, Brunswick, USA
Ian Horswill Northwestern University, USA
Ichiro Ide Nagoya University, Japan
Noam Knoller Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Hartmut Koenitz HKU University of the Arts, Utrecht, The Netherlands
James Lester North Carolina State University, USA
Boyang Li Disney Research, USA
Vincenzo Lombardo Università di Torino, Italy
Sandy Louchart Glasgow School of Art, UK
Stephanie Lukin Army Research Laboratory, USA
Organization XI

Brian Magerko Georgia Institute of Technology, USA


Peter A. Mawhorter Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Gonzalo Méndez Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
David Millard University of Southampton, UK
Alex Mitchell National University of Singapore, Singapore
Paul Mulholland The Open University, UK
John Murray University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Frank Nack University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Michael Nitsche Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Federico Peinado Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Paolo Petta Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Austria
Rikki Prince Southampton University, UK
Justus Robertson North Carolina State University, USA
Remi Ronfard Inria, France
Christian Roth Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rebecca Kane Rouse Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
Jonathan Rowe North Carolina State University, USA
James Ryan University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Emily Short Spirit AI, UK
Mei Si Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
Marcin Skowron Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Austria
Kaoru Sumi Future University Hakodate, Japan
Nicolas Szilas University of Geneva, Switzerland
Mariët Theune University of Twente, The Netherlands
David Thue Reykjavik University, Iceland
Emmett Tomai University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, USA
Martin Trapp Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Austria
Mirjam Vosmeer Hogeschool van Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Stephen G. Ware University of New Orleans, USA
Nelson Zagalo University of Minho, Portugal
Jichen Zhu Drexel University, USA

Demo and Poster Committee


Morteza Behrooz University of California, USA
Melanie Dickinson University of California, USA
David Elson Google, USA
Max Kreminski University of California, USA
Ben Kybartas McGill University, Canada
Jo Mazeika University of California, USA
Mark J. Nelson Falmouth University, UK
Melissa Roemmele University of Southern California, USA
XII Organization

Art Exhibition Jurors


Alex Mitchell National University of Singapore, Singapore
Arnau Gifreu University of Girona and University of Barcelona, Spain
Ben Samuel UC Santa Cruz, USA
Hartmut Koenitz University of the Arts Utrecht, The Netherlands
Maria Engberg Malmö University, Sweden
Suzanne Scott University of Texas at Austin, USA
Contents

Story Design

RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework


for Cross-Museum Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Timo Kahl, Ido Iurgel, Frank Zimmer, René Bakker,
and Koen van Turnhout

Effective Scenario Designs for Free-Text Interactive Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12


Margaret Cychosz, Andrew S. Gordon, Obiageli Odimegwu,
Olivia Connolly, Jenna Bellassai, and Melissa Roemmele

Dynamic Syuzhets: Writing and Design Methods for Playable Stories . . . . . . 24


Hannah Wood

Plans Versus Situated Actions in Immersive Storytelling Practices. . . . . . . . . 38


Sarah Lugthart, Michel van Dartel, and Annemarie Quispel

Location and Generation

Experiencing the Presence of Historical Stories with Location-Based


Augmented Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Ulrike Spierling, Peter Winzer, and Erik Massarczyk

Developing a Writer’s Toolkit for Interactive Locative Storytelling . . . . . . . . 63


Heather S. Packer, Charlie Hargood, Yvonne Howard,
Petros Papadopoulos, and David E. Millard

Level of Detail Event Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75


Luis Flores and David Thue

History and Learning

Grimes’ Fairy Tales: A 1960s Story Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89


James Ryan

The Narrative Logic of Rube Goldberg Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104


David Olsen and Mark J. Nelson

Cinelabyrinth: The Pavilion of Forking Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117


Chris Hales
XIV Contents

Verb+s Is Looking for Love: Towards a Meaningful Narrativization


of Abstract Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Serena Zampolli

Games

Wordless Games: Gameplay as Narrative Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137


Yuin Theng Sim and Alex Mitchell

A Framework for Multi-participant Narratives Based on Multiplayer


Game Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Callum Spawforth and David E. Millard

Gaming Versus Storytelling: Understanding Children’s Interactive


Experiences in a Museum Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Marko Radeta, Vanessa Cesario, Sónia Matos, and Valentina Nisi

Emotion and Personality

Using Interactive Storytelling to Identify Personality Traits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181


Raul Paradeda, Maria José Ferreira, Carlos Martinho,
and Ana Paiva

How Knowledge of the Player Character’s Alignment Affect Decision


Making in an Interactive Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Mette Jakobsen, Daniel Svejstrup Christensen,
and Luis Emilio Bruni

Thinning the Fourth Wall with Intelligent Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206


Rossana Damiano, Vincenzo Lombardo, and Antonio Pizzo

Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Reality

Who Are You? Voice-Over Perspective in Surround Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221


Mirjam Vosmeer, Christian Roth, and Hartmut Koenitz

Empathic Actualities: Toward a Taxonomy of Empathy


in Virtual Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Joshua A. Fisher

Design for Emerging Media: How MR Designers Think About


Storytelling, Process, and Defining the Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Rebecca Rouse and Evan Barba
Contents XV

Posters

An Interactive Installation for Dynamic Visualization


of Multi-author Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Caterina Antonopoulou

Factors of Immersion in Interactive Digital Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265


Sebastian Arndt, Martin Ervik, and Andrew Perkis

Evaluating User Experience in 360º Storytelling Through Analytics . . . . . . . 270


Paulo Bala, Valentina Nisi, and Nuno Nunes

Towards an Interaction Model for Interactive Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274


Elin Carstensdottir, Erica Kleinman, and Magy Seif El-Nasr

Using Interactive Fiction to Teach Pediatricians-in-Training


About Child Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Grant P. Christman, Sheree M. Schrager, and Kelly Callahan

Interactive Imagining in Interactive Digital Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282


Colette Daiute and Robert O. Duncan

Repetition, Reward and Mastery: The Value of Game Design Patterns


for the Analysis of Narrative Game Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Teun Dubbelman

Towards a Narrative-Based Game Environment for Simulating


Business Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Stanley Yu Galan, Michael Joshua Ramos, Aakov Dy, Yusin Kim,
and Ethel Ong

What is a Convention in Interactive Narrative Design? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295


Hartmut Koenitz, Christian Roth, Teun Dubbelman,
and Noam Knoller

Interactive Storytelling for the Maintenance of Cultural Identity:


The Potential of Affinity Spaces for the Exchange and Continuity
of Intergenerational Cultural Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Juliana Monteiro, Carla Morais, and Miguel Carvalhais

Applying Interactive Documentary as a Pedagogical Tool in High


School Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Valentina Moreno and Arnau Gifreu-Castells

Interactive Storytelling System for Enhancing Children’s Creativity. . . . . . . . 308


Kaoru Sumi and Nozomu Yahata
XVI Contents

Open World Story Generation for Increased Expressive Range . . . . . . . . . . . 313


David Thue, Stephan Schiffel, Tryggvi Þór Guðmundsson,
Guðni Fannar Kristjánsson, Kári Eiríksson,
and Magnús Vilhelm Björnsson

Demos

Collisions and Constellations: On the Possible Intersection


of Psychoethnography and Digital Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Justin Armstrong

Evaluating Visual Perceptive Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323


Anna Frew and Ian Forrester

Biennale 4D – Exploring the Archives of the Swiss Pavilion


at the «Biennale di Venezia» Art Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Kathrin Koebel, Doris Agotai, Stefan Arisona, and Matthias Oberli

Subject and Subjectivity: A Conversational Game Using Possible Worlds. . . . . 332


Ben Kybartas, Clark Verbrugge, and Jonathan Lessard

The AntWriter Improvisational Writing System: Visualizing


and Coordinating Upcoming Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Alex Mitchell, Jude Yew, Lonce Wyse, Dennis Ang,
and Prashanth Thattai

Doctoral Consortium

How Interactivity Is Changing in Immersive Performances:


An Approach of Understanding the Use of Interactive Technologies
in Performance Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Ágnes Karolina Bakk

Interactive Storytelling to Teach News Literacy to Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347


Ioli Campos

Enhancing Museums’ Experiences Through Games and Stories


for Young Audiences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Vanessa Cesário, António Coelho, and Valentina Nisi

That’s not How It Should End: The Effect of Reader/Player Response


on the Development of Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Lynda Clark

Leveraging on Transmedia Entertainment-Education to Offer Tourists


a Meaningful Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Mara Dionisio, Valentina Nisi, and Nuno Correia
Contents XVII

Embodied and Disembodied Voice: Characterizing Nonfiction


Discourse in Cinematic-VR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Phillip Doyle

Learning and Teaching Biodiversity Through a Storyteller Robot . . . . . . . . . 367


Maria José Ferreira, Valentina Nisi, Francisco Melo, and Ana Paiva

Authoring Concepts and Tools for Interactive Digital Storytelling


in the Field of Mobile Augmented Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Antonia Kampa

NOOA: Maintaining Cultural Identity Through Intergenerational


Storytelling and Digital Affinity Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Juliana Monteiro, Carla Morais, and Miguel Carvalhais

An Epistemological Approach to the Creation of Interactive


VR Fiction Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
María Cecilia Reyes

User and Player Engagement in Local News


and/as Interactive Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Torbjörn Svensson

Grammar Stories: A Proposal for the Narrativization


of Abstract Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Serena Zampolli

Workshops

Bringing Together Interactive Digital Storytelling with Tangible


Interaction: Challenges and Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Alejandro Catala, Mariët Theune, Cristina Sylla, and Pedro Ribeiro

Film-Live: An Innovative Immersive and Interactive Cinema Experience . . . . 399


Mattia Costa, Chiara Ligi, and Francesca Piredda

Workshop Transmedia Journalism and Interactive Documentary


in Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Renira Rampazzo Gambarato and Alessandro Nanì

Authoring for Interactive Storytelling Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405


Charlie Hargood, Alex Mitchell, David E. Millard,
and Ulrike Spierling

1st Workshop on the History of Expressive Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409


James Ryan and Mark J. Nelson

Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413


Story Design
RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework
for Cross-Museum Experiences

Timo Kahl1 ✉ , Ido Iurgel1, Frank Zimmer1, René Bakker2, and Koen van Turnhout2
( )

1
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Friedrich-Heinrich-Allee 25,
47475 Kamp-Lintfort, Germany
{timo.kahl,ido.iurgel,frank.zimmer}@hochschule-rhein-waal.de
2
Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, Ruitenberglaan 26, 6826CC Arnhem, The Netherlands
{Rene.Bakker,Koen.vanTurnhout}@han.nl

Abstract. In the Rhine-Waal region of Germany and the Netherlands eight,


museums would like to engage adolescents and youngsters in museum visits.
Using digital media, visitors should be warmed up, thrilled and get involved in
storytelling deeply connected to these museums. Therefore, the project partners
of RheijnLand.Xperiences (RLX) are developing a framework and several imple‐
mentations that allow employing storylines for cross-organizational museum
experiences. The key aspect of innovation is the creation of a “continuation
network” of partner locations, where the visit to one location leads to the desire
to continue the experience at a next location of the network. Therefore, it is
mandatory to have junctures between the museums in order to facilitate the
continuation. Apart from storytelling methods, several other concepts are being
examined, such as “hyperportals”, “culture caching”, using good practices like
persuasive technology and theoretic notions like “blended experience”, and
“mixed reality”. In order to achieve that goal, RLX makes heavily use of inno‐
vation and user centered development methods, such as design thinking, idea
generation, co-creation, early prototypes, aiming at setting exemplary methodo‐
logical steps.

Keywords: Museum visit · Cross-organizational · Continuation network ·


Interactive digital storytelling · Culture caching · Hyperportals · Co-creation ·
Design thinking

1 Introduction

The application of digital media technologies in cultural institutions is being discussed


for several years. In the Rhine-Waal region of Germany and the Netherlands, eight
museums will foster the engagement of adolescents and youngsters in museum visits.
Using digital media, the visitors should be warmed up, thrilled and get involved in
storytelling deeply connected to these museums and to the region. This is quite a chal‐
lenge as the focus of the eight museums vary from modern art (for example Museum
Arnhem) to archeology (like Xanten), with some in between (e.g. Schloss Moyland).
From 2017–2019, the museums will bring to life this ambitious goal, together with
the universities of applied sciences Hochschule Rhein-Waal and Hogeschool van

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017


N. Nunes et al. (Eds.): ICIDS 2017, LNCS 10690, pp. 3–11, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_1
4 T. Kahl et al.

Arnhem en Nijmegen, regional tourist offices and Erfgoed Gelderland. The project is
funded by the European Union in the framework of the Interreg programme, by public
administrations and other participating partners.
The overall goal of the project is to develop a framework that allows creating story‐
lines for cross-organizational museum experiences. This requires a high grade of flexi‐
bility, e.g. with respect to integration of changing exhibitions in the story line and to
different partner constellations (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. RLX at a glance.

The key aspect of RLX’ innovation is the creation of a “continuation network”. A


“continuation network” is a network of partner locations – here, museums, where the
visit to one location leads to the desire to continue the experience at a next location of
the network. This shall be achieved by creating a sense of completion by the follow up
visit, and of corresponding incompleteness without the continuation visit.
Therefore, it is mandatory to have junctures between the museums in order to facil‐
itate the continuation of activities. Apart from storytelling methods, several other
concepts are being examined, such as “hyperportals”, “culture caching”, using good
practices like persuasive technology and theoretic notions like “blended experience”,
RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework 5

and “mixed reality”. A “hyperportal” is a short, meaningful integration of a glance into


museum B, e.g. with Augmented Reality (AR), while visiting museum A, to promote
curiosity and the awareness of the possibility to visit the other museum of the network.
“Culture caching” is the activity of collecting (mainly virtual) cultural objects as part of
the storyline and as additional motivation within a visit to a cultural institution, inspired
by activities as geocaching, treasure hunting, and collectionism in general. Engaging
and committing humans to particular actions is the core of persuasive technology [1,
2]. Maintaining the identity of the museums, and even strengthening it, is a main concern
of the project. Blended experience is thus a strong requirement. A guideline to explore
various mixtures of real and virtual experiences can be described in the Pine and Korn
Multiverse with time, space and matter dimensions [3].
RLX also makes heavily use of innovation and user centered development
approaches, such as design thinking, idea generation, co-creation, early prototypes,
aiming at setting exemplary methodological steps. With this, we want to contribute to
the development of methods in Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) that focus on the
final user experience (UX).

2 State of the Art

Museums provide a favourite playground for IDS experiments due to the various facets
of storytelling that occur in museums, such as “history”, artist’s “biography”, the inher‐
ently personal approach to art, which can be transmitted through “personal stories”, or
the joy of “reporting” to friends and family of a museum experience. The CHESS project
has studied several aspects of mobile technology, storytelling and AR for museum visits.
Of particular interest are their experiments to promote social interaction in spite of indi‐
vidual devices, without making communication mandatory for the experience – an
approach of high relevance to RLX, since we assume that many young visitors will come
in small groups [4]. Kuflik et al. have researched the pre and post visit phase to a museum
[5], in addition to the core visit; for RLX, the in-between visit phase is of particular
relevance, which implies similar challenges. Zancanaro et al. reports on innovative uses
of tangible devices to structure the museum visit [6] – for RLX, those insights will
become important when we decide, for the experience in the inside of a particular
museum, on how much shall happen on a mobile device, and on what shall be presented
through dedicated, locally fixed interaction systems. In SPIRIT, following the lines of
the older GEIST-project [7], Spierling et al. [8] have created a linear story experience
based on georeferenced movies for a historical site; the notion of narrative, time and
location dependent adaptation, employed GEIST (similar to [13]), is of high relevance
to RLX, because the visitor retains much of his freedom to choose individual pace and
path. But the authorial burden will probably be too heavy to adopt such a strategy directly
in RLX. In SPIRIT, filmed sequences are employed (similar to [13], which uses rendered
videos); RLX will rely on real time graphics, because of the advantages of real time
behavior generation, the communication design opportunities of using more abstract
virtual characters, and the easier authoring and adaptation to changes in the museums.
Apps are already in regular use by many museums; top quality examples include the
6 T. Kahl et al.

Städel Museum in Frankfurt, where inspiring questions are part of the audiovisual guide
[9], or the app of the Rijksmuseum [10] in Amsterdam, which already integrates presen‐
tations from different perspectives and a family oriented game, but no IDS.
Our work differs from the previous work through the concept of a continuation
network, i.e. we are creating concepts, techniques and software to integrate several
museums within a narrative and experience framework, where a satisfactory UX within
a museum leads to the desire to continue the experience within another museum.
Furthermore, we are systematically and extensively developing and employing user
centred innovation methods, with design thinking as a core approach, to devise the most
appropriate UX.

3 Requirements Analysis

As one of the first steps in the project a requirements analysis was performed and is still
ongoing. The analysis is based on expert interviews with professionals of the partici‐
pating museums and surveys of museum visitors. This leads to a set of business require‐
ments which focuses on the overall goals of the solution. In addition, in its initial stage
the project focusses on gathering user (stakeholder) requirements. The user requirements
mainly apply to the storyline and are the basis for the implementation described in
Sect. 5. In a next phase of the project we will specify these requirements in order to
derive solution specific functional and non-functional requirements.

3.1 Business Requirements

In general, the framework should take into account the requirements of a heterogeneous
audience. This might also lead to various implementations and can range from interac‐
tive games (or a set of games) for a younger target audience to interactive storylines
based e.g. on a hero’s journey story pattern for experienced museum visitors. In any
case the storyline has to be adaptable in order to facilitate the integration of exchange
exhibitions and different partner constellations. Further on, the access to the story and
games should be possible from any participating museum. One of the most important
business requirement deals with the integration of museum visitors. From the very
beginning of the project, museum visitors will be invited to co-create the story and the
concepts, following participatory design methods.

3.2 User Requirements

In addition to these generic business requirements we gathered a set of user specific


requirements for museum visitors and the technical roles (e.g. system administrators).
For the museum visitors, it was very important that the stories are context-sensitive and
adaptable to the visitor’s tempo and different routes within the museum. The UX shall
be intensified by the integration of AR technologies. Especially in a cross-organizational
scenario this offers a wide range of possibilities to interlink different museums, e.g. with
hyperportals (cf. above). Tangible offers such as information kiosks and exhibits will
RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework 7

foster UX and immersion, and the fusion of digital and tangible content. Further on, a
navigation functionality should be included to find the most exciting and informative
path through the museum. However, it should not be given too much information in
order not to constrain the tension arc of the game or the story. Based on the interviews
we assume that story and game play would function both with and without virtual char‐
acters; however, a fictional character will facilitate the realisation of flexible storylines.
Concerning the technical roles the key players of the participating museums high‐
lighted that the editing of the storyline should be performed easily. Most interview
participants mentioned that the application will be further maintained by professional
users without extensive programming skills.

4 Framework Design

According to the requirements described in the previous chapter the technical framework
supports different user groups. In order to accommodate completely different stories and
flexible storylines (e.g. along a route which interlinks several museums), the framework
must be flexible and modular, and it consists at least of the following fundamental
components.
The main component (“story engine” in a wide sense) enables users, e.g. a director
of a museum, to implement stories and to create storylines for different routes (see
Sect. 5), e.g. inside a museum and also along several museums which are interlinked on
a route. Using the main component authors can develop different objects, such as inter‐
active games, quizzes, heroic journeys, “hyperportals” and integrate them into a story
etc. They are able to create objects also for various target groups such as children and
elderly people.
Visitors can interact with objects in museums, e.g. they can touch info-kiosks,
exhibits, and sculptures. To include such tangibles in the stories and story lines, i.e.
objects which visitors interact with along several stations inside a museum or on a route
including different museums, a tangibles component will be provided.
Another basic component allows the communication with other points along the
routes and enables visitors to navigate inside and outside the museums. Here, the tech‐
nical communication e.g. of the “hyperportals”, which are implemented in the main
component and which lead visitors to the next location or supply information about the
next point, could be realized.
The administrative component allows login mechanisms and realizes the technical
link of the other components.
The framework allows the implementation of very different applications that
encourage visitors to visit different locations ‘along a story’. Due to its flexible and
modular architecture it can also be used in other application areas where several locations
are to be “interlinked”.
8 T. Kahl et al.

5 Implementation of the Storyline

Methodologically, we currently follow a double top-down and bottom-up strategy of


(i) employing innovation methods to devise desirable examples of story usage, with a
strong emphasis on creativity and UX; and of (ii) structuring the conceptual design
space, informed by narratology theory, in order to understand, on a higher abstraction
level, the field of possibilities. I.e., on the one hand, we are using innovation methods,
oriented by Design Thinking, for the methodic creation and testing of ideas; on the other
hand, we are systematically devising the field of possible types of stories that could be
employed for the task of creating a continuation network, and working on viable exam‐
ples for each possible type, in order to find out the best possible narrative approach. Both
directions, top down from a design space organization and bottom up from creativity
and innovation techniques, nurture each other and shall lead to an excellent UX solution
(cf. [12] on this method).
Among the many possible variations of story usage that we are systematically
analyzing are a “motivation story” that motivates the collecting and the other activities,
while the development of the storyline is only loosely coupled – the story of the extra‐
terrestrial curator, cf. below, is an example; a linear “unfolding story”, where each
activity step of the visitor unfolds another story beat of a linear or slightly bifurcating
story, with a focus on suspense and identification with story persons; a “hidden story”,
where fabula and syuzhet1 are separated and the visitor will discover “what happens”.
On different axis of the design space, we will find the possibility to break the story into
pieces or perspectives and present only partial views that visitors could talk about to
connect their experiences (cf. e.g. [12]); stressing on combining non-linearity and a
computed story arc, thus focusing on individual adaptation and the potential of revisiting
in order to experience variations.
As a first approach to employ stories to create a continuation network, Stefan Mann,
director of museum Goch, has developed the narrative of a smuggler from planet
Satorius, who travels to Earth with the task of smuggling works of art for a museum of
his planet on the history of mankind in the last 20 centuries. The visitor plays the role
of this smuggler and has the mission to collect works of art, which he can “dematerialize”
with his/her device and send to the Satorius museum. In order to accomplish the mission,
the visitor has to visit a series of the museums of the network. We employ this story as
an initial frame for our test developments. The storyline itself, its conceptual perspective
on IDS, and alternatives and variations are being examined independently.
We focus currently on scenarios with kids and young adults as individual experi‐
encers. In future steps, collaboration within families and joint experiences will be exam‐
ined as well. We assume that two different approaches might become necessary to
accommodate the different needs of individual users of different age groups.
Our first test scenario assumes a persona of 12 years of age. Nic is the only child and
visiting the art museum Goch with his parents. He enjoys the activities with his family,
and is open and curious about the exposition; but playing smartphone games is more of

1
The story events (fabula) and the way they are told (syuzhet).
RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework 9

his passion, and passive art contemplation will easily bore him. His parents want to
introduce Nic to art, but also enjoy the visit by their own rights.
For the Nic persona, we have first to understand specific issues: (1) How much
distraction is appropriate, and how does it influence the appreciation of the artworks?
(2) How much does the “culture caching” task of collecting objects contribute to the
motivation? (3) How is the family experience affected by the RLX-app?
We have developed the Elevator Man app to approach these questions (see Fig. 2),
and to have a starting point for co-creation, active design participation sessions with
kids visiting museums.

Fig. 2. Elevator Man. Counter clockwise: use of a talking virtual character in an assistance role
(E-Man), of an orientation map, of mini-games, and of an exposition room for reward images.

This test app does not yet implement the full Satorius story, but employs its strategy
of motivating the visitor to collect art items and curate (while avoiding the unattractive
term) his/her own exposition with them. As a means of collecting an item, the user has
to answer a question that requires discovery of the museum space and observation of
the artwork, and has to finish a mini-game that is related to the artwork. The deployment
of the software shall start in summer 2017, and interviews with visitors and co-creation
gatherings shall occur latest in autumn.
Assuming a persona of 12 years, it seems appropriate to place emphasis on the
entertainment aspects of the RLX-app, switching forth and back from a setting where
the experience of the artwork is essential, to moments where the kid can play, commu‐
nicate and move around, even if this means distraction, to a certain extent.
For young adults – 21 y/o, say, alone in the art museum, with genuine interest in the
visit, self-motivated, but more used to digital media and lacking background knowledge
– a quite different approach might be necessary. In this case, for an art museum, we
expect that the RLX mediated experience will be more artistic by itself, in order to induce
10 T. Kahl et al.

an appropriate state of mind that helps focussing on the museum experience, with the
least amount of distraction from it, while at the same time conveying important back‐
ground information. Thus, the function of storytelling becomes different and much more
demanding in this second case. Several concepts are currently being discussed. For
instance, we are examining how to employ a polyphonic approach for young adults who
visit Beuys’ Museum Schloss Moyland, where a story Beuys would enter into a dialogue
with a hare, commenting on the museum visit and reproducing some of Beuys’ art theories.

6 Conclusion and Future Outlook

In the present paper, an approach was presented to encourage visitors to visit different
museums ‘along stories’. For this, a modular and flexible framework was described
which allows users to implement various stories and storylines to manage cross-organ‐
izational museum visits. In the RLX project business requirements and also user require‐
ments concerning the storyline were gathered and analyzed based on expert interviews
and surveys of museum visitors. First storylines and the app Elevator Man were devel‐
oped and will be a starting point for our future research. Currently we focus on scenarios
with kids and young adults as individual experiencers. In future steps, collaboration
within families and joint experiences will be examined as well. Further on, we will devise
innovative narrative concepts and implement further storylines to improve and test the
cross-organizational framework and its implementation in the entire network of
museums. Finally, the framework could be extended to other application areas, such as
motivating people on “shopping tours” to visit different shopping centers in a network
of cities.

References

1. Cialdini, R.B., Goldstein, N.J.: Social influence: compliance and conformity. Annu. Rev.
Psychol. 55, 591–621 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142015
2. Fogg, B.J.: Persuasive technology: using computers to change what we think and do. Ubiquity
(2002). https://doi.org/10.1145/764008.763957. Article No. 5
3. Pine, J., Korn, K.C.: Infinite possibility – Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Oakland (2011)
4. Katifori, A., Perry, S., Vayanou, M., Pujol, L., Chrysanthi, A., Ioannidis, Y.: Cultivating
mobile-mediated social interaction in the museum: towards group-based digital storytelling
experiences. In: Museums and the Web 2016, MW 2016, Los Angeles, USA (2016). http://
mw2016.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/cultivating-mobile-mediated-social-interaction-
in-the-museum-towards-group-based-digital-storytelling-experiences/. Accessed 15 June
2017
5. Kuflik, T., Wecker, A.J., Lanir, J., Stock, O.: An integrative framework for extending the
boundaries of the museum visit experience: linking the pre, during and post visit phases. Inf.
Technol. Tour. 15(1), 17–47 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-014-0018-4. Springer
6. http://mw2015.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/recipes-for-tangible-and-embodied-visit-
experiences/. Accessed 15 June 2017
RheijnLand.Xperiences – A Storytelling Framework 11

7. Spierling, U., Grasbon, D., Braun, N., Iurgel, I.: Setting the scene: playing digital director in
interactive storytelling and creation. Comput. Graph. 26, 31–44 (2002). https://doi.org/
10.1016/S0097-8493(01)00176-5. Elsevier
8. Spierling, U., Kampa, A., Stöbener, K.: Magic equipment: integrating digital narrative and
interaction design in an augmented reality quest. In: Proceedings of International Conference
on Culture and Computer Science, ICCCS 2016, Windhoek, Namibia, 25–28 October 2016,
pp. 56–61 (2016)
9. http://www.staedelmuseum.de/de/angebote/staedel-app. Accessed 14 June 2017
10. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/guided-tours/multimediatour. Accessed 13 June 2017
11. Ribeiro, P., Sylla, C., Iurgel, I., Müller, W.: STREEN – designing smart environments for
story reading with children. In: Interaction Design & Architecture(s), ID&A, pp. 86–106.
Springer, Heidelberg (2017, to appear)
12. Callaway, C., Stock, O., Dekoven, E.: Experiments with mobile drama in an instrumented
museum for inducing conversation in small groups. ACM Trans. Intell. Inf. Syst. 4(1), 1–39
(2014). https://doi.org/10.1145/2584250
13. Lombardo, V., Damiano, R.: Storytelling on mobile devices for cultural heritage. New Rev.
Hypermedia Multimedia 18(1–2), 11–35 (2012)
Effective Scenario Designs for Free-Text
Interactive Fiction

Margaret Cychosz1 , Andrew S. Gordon2(B) , Obiageli Odimegwu2 ,


Olivia Connolly2 , Jenna Bellassai3 , and Melissa Roemmele2
1
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
mcychosz@berkeley.edu
2
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
{gordon,roemmele}@ict.usc.edu, {odimegwu,oconnoll}@usc.edu
3
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA
jbellass@oberlin.edu

Abstract. Free-text interactive fiction allows players to narrate the


actions of protagonists via natural language input, which are auto-
matically directed to appropriate storyline outcomes using natural lan-
guage processing techniques. We describe an authoring platform called
the Data-driven Interactive Narrative Engine (DINE), which supports
free-text interactive fiction by connecting player input to authored out-
comes using unsupervised text classification techniques based on text
corpus statistics. We hypothesize that the coherence of the interaction,
as judged by the players of a DINE scenario, is dependent on specific
design choices made by the author. We describe three empirical experi-
ments with crowdsourced subjects to investigate how authoring choices
impacted the coherence of the interaction, finding that scenario design
and writing style can predict significant differences.

1 Free-Text Interactive Fiction


Among the various benchmarking evaluations used in Artificial Intelligence
research, the Choice Of Plausible Alternatives (COPA) evaluation [9] is par-
ticularly interesting in its relationship to interactive digital storytelling. In each
item of this 1000-question evaluation, software systems are presented with an
English-language premise and two alternatives, and asked to select which of
the two is more plausibly the causal consequence of the premise (or in some
questions, its antecedent). In all questions, both alternatives are possibly the
next event in the narrative context of the premise, but only one is unanimously
judged as more plausible by multiple human raters. An example question from
the COPA development set is as follows:

Premise: I knocked on my neighbor’s door. What happened as a RESULT?


Alternative 1: My neighbor invited me in.
Alternative 2: My neighbor left his house.

c Springer International Publishing AG 2017


N. Nunes et al. (Eds.): ICIDS 2017, LNCS 10690, pp. 12–23, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_2
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Other Methods of Communication

Roads. Aside from the railways, a meagre supply for a country of


its size, other means of transportation are inadequate. Street
railways exist in the chief cities: Caracas, Valencia, La Guaira,
Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo, Bolívar, Barquisimeto, Carúpano, and
Cumaná. The great water power available for electric traction and for
other purposes should be largely developed in future. Some
automobile and cart roads exist, 1636 miles at the end of 1919, but
to a large extent transportation is over bridle paths or caminos.
An excellent automobile road leads from La Guaira to Caracas.
From the capital such roads branch in several directions. One goes
east to Guatire, two south to Ocumare del Tuy, one of these with a
branch south from Cua. A good road leads through Maracay to
Valencia; from midway, a branch leads south through Villa de Cura to
Ortiz in Guárico, from which point construction is being continued to
Calabozo, the capital, and thence to San Fernando, capital of Apure.
Another road leads from Ocumare de la Costa to Maracay.
From Puerto Cabello one may go by auto to Valencia and to
Guigüe, south of the lake; also from the port to San Felipe and
Barquisimeto.
From the city of Maracaibo a road goes north to San Rafael near
the mouth of the Channel, and one southwest to Perija, west of the
centre of the Lake, passing two petroleum sites.
From the terminus of the Táchira Railway, Uracá, a road leads to
San Cristóbal, and one to Cúcuta in Colombia. From Motatán a good
wagon road goes to Trujillo. Pack animals serve from El Vigia to
Mérida. In the east there is the long road from San Felix on the
Orinoco to El Callao and Tumeremo.
Other roads are in construction or planned for the immediate
future. From Coro a road is to go south and southwest to Trujillo and
beyond, and one near the coast to Altagracia on the Maracaibo
Channel, northeast of that city. Several roads will branch from
Barquisimeto and from Valencia, the most important, one from
Valencia southwest to San Carlos, Guanare, Barinas, and San
Cristóbal. Shorter local roads will serve Cumaná and Carúpano.
Considerable activity has recently been manifested in road
building; and bridges, long sadly lacking over mountain torrents,
have been constructed. Some deeper streams have ferries.
River communication and lake service are important in many
sections. Of Venezuela’s nearly 500 rivers, 74 are said to be
navigable a distance of 6000 miles, 4000 in the Orinoco Basin.
Especially in Bolívar and Amazonas communication is by river, but in
other States also it is important. The Orinoco is a natural highway
600 miles to Pericos and the Atures Rapids. There is regular weekly
service to San Fernando de Apure. There is traffic along the Apure,
Arauca, and Meta Rivers, the last two in Colombia; but the affluents
on the north side of the Orinoco are too variable in depth to permit
regular service, and those on the south are too broken by cataracts.
On Maracaibo Lake are plenty of craft, both steam and sailing
vessels, two main lines of the former running from Maracaibo, one
along the west side of the Lake and up the Catatumbo to
Encontrados and the Táchira Railway, the other to La Ceiba and the
Motatán Railway going towards Trujillo on the east side; a smaller
boat runs around the south side of the Lake and up the Escalante to
Santa Bárbara. From Encontrados a line of small steamers runs up
the Zulia to Villamizar.
CHAPTER XI
VENEZUELA: RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES

Agriculture

The Agricultural Zone, according to late statistics, covers the


greater part of that section of the Republic which lies between the
sea and the Orinoco Plains: about 100,000 square miles, only one
third of which is tilled. The section has great fertility of soil, and with
its varying elevation and climate it is adapted to the production of
everything needful for man or beast. Twenty per cent of the
population is employed in agricultural pursuits. With the introduction
of new methods and modern machinery a vast development and
great wealth should ensue. At present the chief products are coffee,
cacao, and sugar, with tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, vanilla, etc., and
a great variety of fruits and vegetables.
Coffee, as in Colombia, is called a product of the temperate clime,
growing at an altitude of 1500-6500 feet but best at 3000. A tree is
said to live 50 years and to produce a quarter to a half a pound
annually. About $16,000,000 are invested in the industry; there are
approximately 260,000,000 trees. Venezuela claims to be second in
coffee production, exporting over 100,000,000 pounds in 1919.
Cacao needs a warmer climate than coffee, and moist air; hence it
grows well on slopes near the sea having a temperature of 80°. But it
is found and cultivated in other parts, growing wild in Guayana and
near the upper Orinoco. Where cultivated, 80 trees to the acre are
approved, of course at first shaded. After five years two crops a year,
in June and December, are expected. Trees average a life of 40
years, with an annual production of 220-250 pounds an acre. About
16 seeds are enclosed in a long red and yellow pod, which turns
purple when ripe. After being gathered, they are heaped in piles on
the ground, left a few days to ferment and burst, when the seeds are
shelled, washed, and housed. There are two grades here, the criollo
or native, of very high grade, growing in valleys near the sea, and
the trinitario, imported from Trinidad. The Chuao Plantation is said to
produce cacao of a particularly sweet and fine quality, which is
generally exported to France. Over $12,000,000 are invested in the
business. In production Venezuela is third. There are more than
5000 plantations.
Sugar. The sugar industry is rapidly developing. New mills with
modern machinery have been erected and more acres are planted.
A mill at Maracay can crush nearly 1800 tons of cane daily, with an
output of sugar of 80 tons. Four species of cane are cultivated, the
indigenous, the criolla, most largely, as being sweeter and otherwise
giving good results. The reaping is arranged so that the grinding may
be constant throughout the year. The canes near Lake Valencia are
longer and thicker, with more juice but less sweetness. The best
quality of sugar is produced near Guatire, three hours by motor from
Caracas; the largest quantity on two plantations near Lake
Maracaibo, each having a daily output of 800 tons.
There are four varieties of products: sugar, brown sugar, alcohol,
and rum, all of which many large plantations are equipped to
produce. Of the two near Bobures, Zulia, one has 5000 acres under
cultivation, the other nearly as much. The total capital invested is
above $10,000,000. An increasing foreign market is expected.
Tobacco is grown in many sections, thriving in humid fertile soil. It
develops in six months, but requires great care. There is much
variety in the quality, some being strong and heavy, some delicate
with fine flavor and aroma. A little is exported to Havana and there
mixed for making cigarettes. The annual production, above 3000
tons, might be increased.
Cotton grows wild in many parts of the country, and is cultivated in
a number of States. The average crop is about 4,000,000 pounds of
seeded cotton, half of which is raised in Aragua and Carabobo. Zulia
produces the best cotton, with longer fibre, nearly one-fifth of the
crop. Lara, Portuguesa, and the States of the East supply the rest.
The cotton is sown in June or July and harvested in the dry season,
December to March. It is freshly planted every year in connection
with vegetables, the receipts from which cover the cost except for
that of gathering; so that the industry furnishes a desirable
opportunity for immigrants with small or no capital. About $200,000
are invested in cotton growing.
Coconuts are indigenous in Venezuela; and in the regions of
Zulia, Carabobo, Bolívar, Barcelona, and Cumaná, there are broad
plantations. Over $1,000,000 is invested.
Wheat is grown to some extent and fine crops are produced; but
much more land is available in the high table-lands and valleys of
Western Venezuela so that home consumption could easily be
supplied. With improved methods, machinery, etc., it might even
become a staple export.
Corn is cultivated everywhere in all kinds of soil from sea level up
to 9000 feet, but it grows best between 1500 and 3000 feet. About
75,000 acres are devoted to its production; 150,000 tons are raised,
some being exported. It is the real bread plant of the country
especially in the interior.
Beans in large variety are produced, black beans being greatly in
demand and some exported.
Indigo was once cultivated and in 1802 was exported to the value
of $2,500,000, but its production was abandoned owing to higher
returns from coffee.
Vanilla grows well in the rich lands of Falcón, Lara, Bolívar,
Zamora, and Anzoátegui. Its cultivation might be developed.

Forestry

The forest resources are inexhaustible but hardly touched, the


zone comprising about half of Venezuela of which 98 per cent is
virgin territory. Nearly three-quarters of this area is public land, over
100,000 square miles. With more capital and labor, better means of
transport, and modern implements and machinery a great
development will result. The chief forest products are rubber, balatá,
tonka beans, divi-divi, and various medicinal plants. There are many
dyeing and tanning plants, and gums and resins abound. In the
forests a great amount of timber exists including the finest varieties;
but as usual these are scattered, and with present facilities, difficult
to get out with a profit. Of the 600 species of wood 5-10 per cent are
marketable. 145 varieties used for ornamental purposes and 20
kinds of woods and barks suitable for dyeing and tanning were
exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The great mora tree,
three feet in diameter, is excellent for ship building; mahogany,
rosewood, and other trees of hard wood abound.
Rubber, chiefly of the hevea variety, is found and exported both
from the Casiquiare-Amazon section and more from Yuruary in East
Bolívar. It is cultivated near Ocumare del Tuy, each tree there giving
460 grams of juice, 95 per cent pure rubber. Several million people
are needed to exploit the industry, in which $1,200,000 has been
invested.
Balatá, procured from forest trees in a manner similar to rubber, is
allied to gutta percha, and is employed with this for many purposes.
Divi-divi, one of the best and cheapest plants for tannin, grows
wild throughout the country, chiefly along the coast and on the edge
of the llanos at the foot of the south slope of the Coast Mountains.
Hot lowlands with a minimum average of rain suit it best. It grows to
a height of 20-30 feet. The brown pods three inches long contain 30-
40 per cent of tannin, sometimes even 50. The seeds have little. In
wet weather the tannin is liable to sudden fermentation especially in
electrical storms, when the tanning is impeded, and the leather may
be stained. Some trees 90 years old still produce a full crop. Near
Cumaná, a tree may yield 275 pounds a year, but in the west, 25-50
pounds only. It is an extremely cheap source of tannin though not
largely used. Venezuela probably has more frequent stands of this
tree than any other country. 5000 men are said to leave Ciudad
Bolívar yearly for its collection in the interior. As cultivated in
Curaçao plantations, the pods have 20 per cent more tannin and
bring 25 per cent higher price.
The Mangrove bark is another important source of tannin; the tree
growing in swampy ground is useful in reclaiming land at the ocean’s
edge. The bark has 22-33 per cent tannin, the leaves nearly 20, the
wood some. The stands are unlimited in number.
The Tonka Bean, a black almond with delicious perfume, is the
fruit of the serrapia tree. The beans are used in the preparation of
chewing tobacco and in making perfumes. The price varies from 50
cents to $5 a pound. This is a staple of great value in the Orinoco
forests, but many gatherers die of fever or starve. A few concessions
have been granted for the cultivation of tonka trees, in the public
lands of the Caura district. In one year over $700,000 worth of the
beans were exported.
Chicle, used to make chewing gum, comes from the sap of a tree
called pendare which has a delicious fruit, sapodilla. The tree may
be tapped continuously 8-15 years. The sap is boiled in the forest.
The Caoba or mahogany tree grows from sea level to about 3000
feet. It may be seen along the streets of Valencia. It grows to a
height of 130 feet with a diameter of four feet at the base. It is
exported to Europe and to the United States.
The Moriche Palm grows in clumps on the llanos. From the sap
the Indians make wine, vinegar, oil, soap, starch; and from the
leaves, hats, clothes, hammocks, baskets, mats, etc.
Fibre plants of superior quality exist in great variety and quantity.
Among these are the cocuiza sisal called equal or superior to the
sisal (hemp) of Yucatan; ramie, jipijapa, flax, and other varieties.
Plants for making paper grow in profusion, desirable for use rather
than wood to save the destruction of forests. The most abundant and
desirable is bamboo, but many other plants are serviceable including
the residue from sugar cane. The by-product of three tons of sugar
would be roughly two tons of fibre, worth about $120. Bitter cane and
other rushes might be so used, either exported as pulp, or in some
localities made into paper.

Cattle Industry
Goats have been spoken of as raised with great profit on the well
adapted lands near Barquisimeto, comparatively high, and on
lowlands in the regions of Coro and Maracaibo.
Cattle. The cattle industry has still greater possibilities. The
pastoral zone extends from Barrancas to Colombia and from the
Vichada River to the mountains in Carabobo. While a portion of the
llanos like those in Colombia suffers from severe drought in the
summer, and though in places the grass is thin, in this immense
region there is room for an enormous number of cattle where the
grasses are rich. Hence stock raising can be carried on to great
advantage. There is some difficulty in transportation, but this is
gradually improving, and with the erection of more packing and
slaughter houses, and with improvements in breeding, the industry
has a sure future. Some stock raisers, especially General Gomez,
have made great efforts for improvement, importing full blooded
cattle of different breeds to produce a better kind, perfectly adapted
to the climate of Venezuela. Modern methods are being employed,
and in the valley of Maracay a large number of live stock is fattened
ready to supply the 500 cattle daily killed at Puerto Cabello by the
Refrigerating Company which exports them. A new packing house is
to be erected at Turiamo. It is reported that a contract has been
made for 200,000 acres to be colonized by Germans, who wish to
control the meat packing industry. The number of cattle in Venezuela
is estimated at 3,000,000.
Sheep, horses, hogs are also raised in the valley of Maracay;
acclimated specimens of special breeds have been obtained for
reproduction in other parts of the country. At present horses and
mules are raised in comparatively small numbers.

Mining

There is hardly a precious metal or valuable mineral which does


not exist in Venezuela, though little has been done to exploit them.
Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, antimony, tin, quicksilver, asphalt,
petroleum, coal, sulphur, asbestos, platinum, diamonds, and other
precious stones are found; 25 years ago 226 deposits had been
located: 62 gold, 29 coal, 14 copper, 10 iron, etc.
Gold, the most exported metal, while found in every State, has
been chiefly sought and profitably worked in Guayana, where in the
Yuruary region considerable mining has been done. True alluvial
belts are found, zones of shale, and quartz veins. The alluvial
deposits known are mainly near the British Guiana border in the
Cuyuni and El Dorado districts. Placer gold exists along the Caroni
River and in smaller tributaries of the Orinoco above Ciudad Bolívar.
The rock formation shows the gold to be in stingers and crystalline
grains of arsenical pyrite, from which the placers and pockets have
been formed.
The quartz veins are more northerly near El Callao, where
$50,000,000 are said to have been produced in thirty odd years. One
mine in the Yuruari district has yielded 35,000 ounces. Metal is found
in pockets 50-100 feet deep about 150 miles from the Orinoco. An
English company has mining claims west of El Callao, where the ore
is treated with quicksilver and cyanide, yielding 1-4 ounces per ton.
Another company is working on the La Paz Bonanza, where 10,000
ounces were taken out by crude methods from rich veinlets and
pockets almost at the surface. Several other companies are
engaged, French and Venezuelan, one along the Cicapra River, a
branch of the upper Yuruari. It is estimated that several million cubic
yards with an average yield of $1.00 each are here available at a
cost of 50 cents per yard. With better transportation and other
facilities this section may come into the front rank of gold mining
districts in South America. At present it is said to be better adapted
to individual operators than to large companies. The climate is not
unhealthful if suitable precautions are taken. The country is well
wooded except near Callao. The average yearly production of gold is
900,000 grams.
Copper is known to exist in several States: Falcón, Carabobo,
Mérida, Lara, a rich deposit in the northern part of Cojedes; but the
only one vigorously and very profitably operated is that of Aroa in
Yaracuy, where dividends have been 75-350 per cent. Near Nirgua
in the same State other copper mines have been worked.
Coal is found in various sections. Where outcroppings occur in
Táchira, Mérida, and Trujillo small operations have been carried on.
There are other deposits but the principal mines worked are in Sucre
and Falcón. Naricual, 16 miles from Barcelona, has produced the
most coal, but not of a very good quality. It is used on local steamers
and railways, and some, with pitch from Trinidad, is made into
briquettes. A little west, another mine with coal of better quality has
been opened within five miles of tide water on the bank of a river.
The mines of Falcón near Coro have been developed further and
production is increasing. Coke ovens have been established. Coal is
found in several places near Lake Maracaibo. In the deposit 60 miles
northwest of Maracaibo the coal is of high grade, better than Middle
West coal and equal to the Pocahontas; hard, bright, black, excellent
for steaming. Some veins are 8-20 feet thick, and when the railway
to Castilletes is completed the annual export is expected to reach
500,000 tons. Lignite, bituminous, and semi-anthracite varieties are
found.
Iron ore deposits occur in the eastern hills or mountains south of
the Delta, but in the Delta Territory at Imataca. It is 67 per cent pure
and almost free from sulphur and phosphorus. In 1914 some
Americans secured options. Iron is also found near Coro, Barinas,
Barcelona, and Cumaná.
Salt is found on the island of Coche, on the peninsula of Araya
near Cumaná, in the vicinity of Barcelona and of Maracaibo, and
elsewhere.
Sulphur appears to exist in commercial quantities about 11 miles
inland from Corúpano; and other minerals have been observed in
various States.
Diamonds and Pearls. There are said to be diamond mines in the
Orinoco region. Pearl fishing is carried on among the islands, about
1600 persons being so engaged. Rakes are now used as diving is
prohibited. Recently $600,000 worth were exported within a few
months.
Asphalt, found in the Bermudez Pitch Lake five miles from
Guanoco in the State of Sucre, is an important source of wealth. This
lake, the largest known deposit in the world (1100 acres), has more
than ten times the area of the famous Trinidad Lake, though it is not
so deep. It is regarded as the residue of evaporated petroleum, the
asphalt here representing the outflow of 80,000,000 barrels of oil.
The flow continues, the oil spreading over the lake and replenishing
it. This with active seepages near indicates enormous oil bearing
formations below.
The General Asphalt Company and its subsidiaries have a 30 year
lease of nearly 12,000 acres including the lake. The structure of the
lake includes faulting, folding, and fracturing of strata, with
formations of black shale, sandstone, and fossiliferous limestone, the
last supposed to be the source of the oil, and the sandstone its
reservoir, whence from pressure of gas it escapes to the surface. A
narrow gauge railway is in use. From lack of transport hardly 20,000
tons of asphalt were shipped from Bermudez Lake in 1920
compared with over 40,000 in 1919; from Trinidad Lake, about
70,000 in 1919 and over 108,000 in 1920. In the Bermudez
concession is a large asphalt deposit 100-200 yards across, on the
Island of Capure in the Orinoco Delta.
In the Maracaibo Basin are other beds. One near the Lake at
Inciarte, 27 miles from navigable water, is 94 per cent pure; but
transportation is difficult.
The Petroleum prospects of Venezuela are excellent. The chief
work accomplished is in the Maracaibo Basin, which is regarded as
one of petroleum as well as of water. Many companies are engaged
in development work. After two years of preliminary examination by
35 experienced geologists, the Caribbean Petroleum Company
selected 1000 areas averaging 1250 acres each for further
investigation. Of these they now retain 250, covering 312,500 acres.
With a lease concession for 30 years, a tax of eight cents an acre is
paid annually and a royalty equal to about ten per cent on oil shipped
from the country. On one section, the Mene Grande Field, ten miles
east of Lake Maracaibo to which a road through swamps was built,
about a dozen wells have been drilled, in all of which oil has been
found. The first were capped, but with present facilities flow is
permitted. The character of the oil improves with depth. Three
55,000-barrel steel tanks have been erected, and pumping stations
on the field and at the port. A pipe line was laid 11 miles to the shore
at San Lorenzo, where, 70 miles southeast of Maracaibo, storage
tanks and a refinery were built. The latter, now in operation, will
refine every grade of oil except lubricants. The capacity is 2000
barrels daily (42 gallons each). One well is said to rank in output with
some of the Mexican. Much of the oil is now used by some
Venezuelan railways, and by industries of the country. Part of the
crude oil is carried by three barges and eight converted monitors of
450-500 tons each to a refinery at Curaçao, which has larger storage
tanks, pumping station, etc. The refinery has been running 1000 tons
of crude oil daily, but can take care of 4000 tons. The swift current of
the Maracaibo Channel makes management of the monitors difficult.
This Company has other wells at Perija, 50 miles west of the Lake.
The first, which struck oil at 1227 feet, was shut in. One in the Limón
Field, drilled to 2752 feet, was abandoned.
Other companies have concessions for work near the Lake, at the
east, south, and southwest. One was hampered by wild Indians,
compelling the employment of armed guards, another by extremely
unhealthful conditions; but both after some unsuccessful work have
found promising wells. The Colon Developing Company, with a large
property 100 miles west of Encontrados and near the Colombian
border, has struck oil at less than 1300 feet, close to the Rio de Oro.
Two thousand barrels of high grade oil were produced within 24
hours, but as no facilities for transport existed the well was capped.
This oil is said to be of quality superior to that east of the Lake, which
is better than the Mexican.
East of the Lake, another field, north of the Mene Grande, is
owned by the Venezuelan Oil Concessions. Wells drilled here have
passed through three oil bearing sands; the deeper, the better and
lighter the oil. One has spouted 80 feet high; another over the top of
the derrick. An area of several square miles is proved. This
Company has 3000 square miles of oil bearing land near the Lake
for 50 years. In Mexico wells producing 100,000 barrels a day are
seen. The general manager of this Company believes the
Venezuelan wells will be bigger.
The Venezuelan Falcón Oil Syndicate, which has a 50 year
concession of over 2000 square miles in Falcón, expects to open up
many fields. Pipe lines could converge and refineries be installed
within 50 miles of the farthest point. The first well drilled is 37 miles
from the seaboard. Motor tractors are employed. The British
Controlled Oilfields has taken over the Bolívar Concessions, which
has the right to bore in 7,000,000 acres in Falcón.
On the Island of Trinidad 362,800 barrels of crude petroleum were
produced in 1920. Near this Island, corresponding to the oil region at
the northwest of Venezuela, is one at the northeast around the Gulf
of Paria, especially at the south, and comprising the Orinoco Delta.
Here is found the heavier form of petroleum in large quantities.
Some wells have been drilled on the Peninsula of Paria with no good
result. The Guanoco Field, south, is believed to cover the axis and
flanks of the Guanoco anticlines, of which the southern is thought to
be responsible for the great oil seepages of the Asphalt Lake. The
field is believed to extend 60 miles southwest, to and beyond the
San Juan River. The first well was drilled (1912) in the Lake. Heavy
oil, specific gravity 1.02, was found under enormous gas pressure,
making operations difficult. Production of 1000 barrels a day was
secured at 615 feet, but the well was closed to avoid waste. Later it
produced in three months 50,000 barrels. Other wells have been
drilled in the vicinity, also on Pedernales Island in the Delta; the oil
from the latter of lighter gravity. For some purposes the heavy oil is
of special value. It is too heavy to pump, but the strong gas pressure
makes it available. The areas are swampy, difficult to work, and
unhealthful.

Manufactures

As might be expected, the manufacturing industries of Venezuela


are few in number and rely in the main on a protective tariff for
existence. The principal articles made are cotton goods, paper,
glass, cement, cordage, soap, candles, shoes, alpargatas, leather
goods, cigars, cigarettes, etc. The five cotton factories produce 80
per cent of the ordinary cloth consumed in the country. In Mérida are
woolen and hat factories. In Caracas good furniture is made,
macaroni, paper, etc. There is a paper factory also at Maracay. Ten
miles from Caracas the waterfall of Naiguatá, over 3000 feet, makes
available 30,000 horse power, of which 9000 is used.

Investments

Among the various opportunities for the investment of foreign


capital, including all of the industries mentioned, the safest are
agriculture and stock raising; perhaps also small factories. Land is so
cheap that little capital is needed for the agriculturist unless
engaging on a very large scale. Coffee, cacao, sugar cane, castor
beans, and many other articles may be raised with profit. Factories
large or small may be operated to advantage. Cumaná and Puerto
Cabello are good places for canning tropical fruits. Oil may be
extracted for edible or industrial purposes from coconuts, peanuts,
and other fruits or vegetables. Chocolate may be made, cotton mills
established. A mill is suggested for Margarita, where fine cotton is
grown. Rope and bag factories might employ Venezuelan cocuiza or
henequen to make the 2,000,000 bags needed annually in the
country. Saw mills at Cumaná, Maracaibo, La Ceiba, Tucacas, etc.,
would be extremely useful.
Large capitalists may find opportunities for the construction of
public utilities such as street railways, electric light and power plants,
water works, sewers; also in bridge building, railway construction,
etc. Some might be interested in mining, especially of iron, which is
found favorably located for transportation within half a mile of a
navigable river about 50 miles from the mouth of the Orinoco. To
individuals with small capital the gold region would be more
attractive. An important development of the large deposits of bauxite
is attracting much attention.
CHAPTER XII
GUIANA AS A WHOLE: BRITISH GUIANA

The name Guiana has been applied to the entire country between
the Orinoco and the Amazon. We have observed that in Venezuela
the region south of the Orinoco is called the Guiana Highlands. We
shall notice later that the section south of the dividing mountain
range and north of the Amazon as far west as the Rio Negro is called
Brazilian Guiana; but the country which is more strictly Guiana is
east and north of these, though here, too, adjectives are applied as
there are three divisions: British, Dutch, and French Guiana, the
British on the west, the French farthest east.

Area

The area of them all is about 170,000 square miles, of which


British Guiana has 90,000, Dutch 46,000, and French 33,000 square
miles.
As these countries are colonies instead of republics their
governments are naturally different.
Although sighted by Columbus in 1498 and visited not long
afterward by traders, as there was a large Indian population, the
country was settled later than Venezuela and Colombia. After
various vicissitudes the earliest colonies were abandoned. The
difficulties of the later settlements, the changes, insurrections,
massacres, wars, and troubles of various kinds following are too
numerous to recount, and we come immediately to conditions of the
present time.

Physical Characteristics

The three divisions of Guiana are similar, having first a low marshy
coast land, rising at the back very slightly for a distance of 10 to 40
miles. A broader, more elevated tract of sandy or clayey soil follows
with a still higher region in the rear. Of the southern section the
eastern part is almost all forest, the central and southwest portions
have more grass clad savannas, which might support thousands of
cattle if there were any way to get them out. There is a vast network
of water ways, many rivers in their lower sections near the coast
being connected by caños. The forest varies, being dense in river
bottoms and thin on sandy soils. The longest river, the Essequibo, is
about 600 miles, others a little less. At from 50 to 100 miles inland,
all the rivers are blocked by rapids, but some are accessible to large
vessels as far as these. There are various hills and mountains, the
highest, the Pacaraima Range, marking in part the boundary with
Venezuela, the Acarai Mountains with Brazil; the two form the water
shed between the Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Essequibo rivers.
Mt. Roraima, altitude 8635 feet, rising as a red rock 1500 feet above
the forest, is said to have as its top a tableland of 12 square miles.
Several other mountains are from 7000 to 8000 feet high. Ranges of
hills and mountains from 2000 to 3000 feet traverse the country
elsewhere. In Dutch and French Guiana are almost impenetrable
forests, less explored than those of British Guiana, especially
towards the south. A splendid waterfall is the Kaieteur, nearly five
times as high as Niagara, 741 feet, with 81 feet of cataracts just
below, in the midst of lovely tropical vegetation. Many other beautiful
falls of less height, and cascades provide an immense amount of
water power.
The climate is considered good in most places though there is
large rain-fall, at Georgetown averaging 93 inches a year, in some
places 100; but there is no yellow fever, and other diseases except in
certain localities may be guarded against.

British Guiana

Area. This colony has an area of 90,000 square miles, exceeding


that of Great Britain, a sea coast of 270 miles, and a depth varying
from 300 to 535 miles.
The Population according to the official report of 1919 is 310,000.
Boundary. British Guiana has the Atlantic Ocean on the
northeast, Dutch Guiana east, the Corentyn River serving most of
the way as the boundary line; Brazil is on the south, and Brazil and
Venezuela are west.
The Government is practically that of a Crown Colony with a
Governor who has almost absolute power. He is assisted by a
legislative council which has no great influence.
The Population is mixed, East Indians and negroes forming by far
the greater proportion of the total, some mestizos, Chinese, Indians,
and 10,000 whites. The large majority of the people live in the
coastal belt. Many negroes were brought from Africa as slaves, who,
after their emancipation, in large numbers refused to work on the
plantations as before. East Indians were then brought in, who though
not so strong are more industrious and have better health than those
of other races; for one reason because they dress to suit the climate,
draping themselves with a few yards of cotton cloth in a really artistic
manner. The native Indian is useful to the traveler as boatman,
wood-cutter, or huntsman, also to gold diggers, and seekers of
balatá. Some of the half civilized are fairly reliable. If they become
friends they are of great value. The wild Indians are disappearing,
perhaps going farther back.
Education is mainly carried on by religious denominations, with
missions in outlying districts; 224 schools receive government
assistance; there is one government free school in Georgetown
where students may be prepared for English universities or for
ordinary fields of labor. Of course there is full religious liberty, but the
government subsidizes the principal churches, especially the English
and Scotch, in the country the parishes alternating. The Roman
Catholic and the Methodist churches also receive annual grants.
Other denominations are represented, but receive no assistance
except in some cases for schools.
The Post Office is up to date with telephone (1800 miles of wire),
telegraph (575 miles), and savings bank attachments, the last having
over a million dollars on deposit. There is cable communication with
the West Indies and wireless. British money is not in general use;
dollars and cents according to the decimal system of America are
the common currency. The weights and measures are naturally
British like our own.
The Capital of British Guiana, Georgetown, population 54,000,
located at the mouth of the Demerara River, is a tropical garden city
with broad streets, interesting stores, a club, a museum, a curious
market. On account of dampness the houses are all built on pillars.
The city has 50 miles of paved streets with good tramways, etc.

Ports and Transportation

The chief ports of the Guianas are the three capitals, which are
connected with the outside world by the West Indies Mail Services of
the three mother countries, while other steamship lines run regularly
to London, Liverpool, and Glasgow. There is mail service with
Canada and regular steamers from New York. Coast and river
steamers ply regularly along the coast of British Guiana from the
northwest extremity to the Berbice River, at the mouth of which is the
city of New Amsterdam, called a smaller Georgetown, not very far
from the boundary of Dutch Guiana. The country has 95 miles of
railway, 450 of navigable rivers, 39 miles of canals, and 322 of good
roads.
A railway 60 miles long connects Georgetown with New
Amsterdam, i.e., it reaches a point on the Berbice River opposite the
latter city. Five miles of this road from Georgetown to Plaisance,
completed and opened for traffic in 1848, is actually the oldest
railway in South America. Another 19 mile line goes from Vreeden
Hook opposite Georgetown on the Demerara River to Greenwich
Park on the Atlantic at the mouth of the Essequibo. Another short
line running through primeval forest has been laid from Wismar on
the Demerara, 65 miles from its mouth, to Rockstone on the
Essequibo to give access to the upper part of the latter river above
extensive and dangerous rapids, and further to the Potaro and other
gold fields. The Road, besides passenger and tourist traffic handles
a variety of timber. Its owners, (Sprostons Ltd.), who employ over
1000 men, maintain a coast and river service, and own a foundry,
lumber yard, etc. A railway to the Brazil boundary, long planned,
would open up the interior and its valuable resources. From
Rockstone, launches run 90 miles up the river to Potaro Landing. A
service was to be organized to the Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro
River.
Ferries cross the mouths of the three principal rivers, the
Essequibo, the Demerara, and the Berbice. The estuary of the
Essequibo River is 15 miles wide. It contains several large islands,
on some of which are plantations. Vessels drawing less than 20 feet
can enter the river and go up 50 miles. The mouth of the Demerara
River, two miles wide, has a sand bar prohibiting the entrance of
vessels drawing more than 19 feet. To such as enter, the river is
navigable for 70 miles. The Berbice River, two miles wide at its
mouth, is navigable 105 miles for vessels drawing 12 feet and 175
miles for boats drawing 7 feet. The Corentyn River with an estuary
14 miles wide is navigable for 150 miles; this river is the boundary
between British and Dutch Guiana. Roads good enough for
automobiles and carriages, which use them, extend from the
Corentyn River along the coast some miles beyond the mouth of the
Essequibo and a few miles up the rivers.

Resources

At present agriculture and mining are the leading industries.

Agriculture

Sugar, the chief source of revenue for the colony, in slavery days
brought great wealth to the planters; but after the emancipation
some estates were divided, the negroes refused to work steadily if at
all, and production greatly declined. At length East Indians who were
imported helped to revive the industry. Of 105,000 agricultural
laborers 73,000 are East Indians. The plantations are mostly in the
coastal lowlands where 77,000 acres are cultivated. Attention to the
dams needed to keep out the sea in front and water from the morass
at the side, also to the drainage ditches, necessary on account of the

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