This dissertation is about how the Metaverse - i.e. the virtual community – changes our “narrative mode”; namely, the way people tell stories through moving image. It will critically analyse the difference between narratives within and outside the Metaverse (a term first used in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in Snow Crush). Storytelling has been affected by the evolution of technology, from stroboscopic animation, to celluloid photography, to the computer and the digital camera. Though case studies, this research conducts a comparative analysis of traditional (linear) narrative, non-narrative, anti-narrative forms on the one hand and non-traditional decentralized narrative on the other. Chapter One will analysis TV series The Calabash Brothers (dir. Hu Jinqing, Ge Guiyun, and Zhou Kepin, 1986-7); the non-narrative interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (dir. David Slade, 2018); the anti-narrative, via the video game Back to the Dawm (developed by Metal Head Games, 2023). Chapter Two will analyse the Metaverse counterpart, its decentralized narrative, through the video game platform The Sandbox (2021). It will help creators adapt to the needs of market and audience, and provide new creative ideas. Analyses the fusion of moving image narrative and Metaverse, providing theoretical support and emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration to address future opportunities and challenges.

The main question is How do changes in narrative modes affect the creation and information communication of moving image in the Metaverse?

To easy understand, the meaning of this question is the metaverse environment provides what kind of possibilities for narrative, and how do different narrative forms affect the creation of moving image.

This thesis through literature review and case studies to explore my research question and main field.

Literature review can help me understand how moving image and narrative beginning and developed, this can help me to make an informed analysis of the current development of these fields, and it can also provide theoretical support for my research through others research.

Since this research involves a variety of narrative modes, the case study method allows me to select some representative works for analysis, conduct detailed comparative analysis, and get the difference between different narratives.

In chapter one, I made a comparative analysis of 12 different narrative elements through three cases, and showed the differences between linear narrative, non-narrative and anti-narrative works through tables. Through chapter one, can further understand the contemporary moving image art and prepare for the analysis of the Metaverse narrative in chapter two.

In chapter two, I take The Sandbox, a Metaverse platform, as an example to analyse the characteristics of Metaverse narrative, and compare it with three different narratives in chapter one. Finally, I find that it is different with other narrative modes. The Metaverse narrative has the unique characteristics of decentralization, multi-subject participation and user-generated content.

My positioning for this research is to supplement the moving image narrative. I want to though my research, people can understand more diverse narratives. So, I think it can be used as a complement to knowledge to narrow the theoretical gap between the moving image in the Metaverse environment.

The Metaverse narrative is a kind of decentralized narrative, except that, Metaverse narrative also has other characteristics, like multi-subject participation and user-generated content. This high-collaboration model enhances user creativity and interactivity, but also brings challenges such as harmonization, content quality, and copyright protection.

Expect that, in this research, there are still some limitations. First, the case study is not comprehensive enough, and a single case is not enough to cover all the characteristics of Metaverse narrative. Secondly, the study lacks the interview of Metaverse narrative experience, which is difficult to show all user needs. In the future, I hope to continue to explore the possibility of virtual storytelling in the field of moving image, and try to improve the research through practice.