What happens when storytelling is no longer something you watch, but something you enter?

In a recent session of the Master’s Degree in Screenwriting at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, students explored this question through an immersive exercise developed within the framework of the European project UPRAISE (Virtual Worlds Innovation Masters).

The goal was clear: move from traditional audiovisual writing to designing narrative experiences in virtual environments.

From screen to virtual world

Working with the series Machos Alfa as a narrative base, students were asked to imagine an experience titled “Before Being Alpha”: a prequel set in the characters’ adolescence, designed for fans to explore through VR or WebXR.

Instead of writing scenes, they had to build them as spaces.

Each team selected characters and reimagined them as teenagers, focusing on a key challenge: how to translate narrative elements (personality, conflict, relationships) into avatars and environments that could be explored interactively.  

Designing the avatar, designing the story

The exercise, led by Professor Manuel Gértrudix, highlighted a key insight: in immersive storytelling, the avatar is not merely a form of representation, it functions as a core narrative structure.

Students worked under strict constraints (only a few traits, one defining object, one key space), forcing them to synthesise what really defines a character. The result was a shift from descriptive writing to decision-making through design.

This process connects directly with research on the Proteus Effect and projects like DGAMES, where avatar design shapes user perception and behaviour.  

Using tools such as Avatar SDK, Skybox AI and FrameVR, students quickly moved from concept to prototype: generating avatars, creating 360º environments, and testing how these elements could form a coherent immersive experience.

This hands-on approach reflects the core ambition of UPRAISE: to develop practical skills in virtual worlds, XR and interactive storytelling.  

A shift in how we teach storytelling

The session highlights an ongoing transformation in screenwriting education.

Writing is no longer limited to scripts—it extends to designing experiences that users inhabit. Characters are no longer only interpreted by actors, but also by users through avatars. And narrative unfolds not only in time, but in space.

This is the kind of hybrid, transmedia and immersive competence that projects like UPRAISE aim to bring into higher education.