Control Points in the Idioverse - AI, McLuhan & Media pt.7

Ok... I've been letting my mind wander through some pretty abstract ideas, but I think I might be on to something concrete here...

In my last post, I explored the concept of the idioverse—an AI-driven entertainment platform that generates personalized narratives tailored to each individual's tastes. I framed the challenge of the idioverse through Marshall McLuhan's concept of figure and ground, suggesting that hyper-personalized stories risk becoming figures without a stable ground, leaving us with compelling experiences that feel oddly hollow, like vivid dreams no one else can relate to.

But I also promised a way to bridge this gap. A method to retain the thrill of personalized content while fostering shared cultural touchstones. Enter...

🔹 The Theory of Control Points 🔹 

(Props to Matthew MacLaurin for framing the problem this way first.) In early vector illustration software like MacDraw, artists created complex shapes using a few fixed control points, with smooth curves generated between them. Change the position of the control points, and the entire shape transforms. (You may know them as anchor points.) But no matter how fluid the lines, those points provide structure.

Applied to narrative design, control points are the non-negotiable elements created by a narrative designer within an AI-generated framework. They could be:

⚓ Key Characters

⚓ Core Events

⚓ Thematic Pillars

⚓ Shared Lore

While the AI fills in the curves—plot twists, character arcs, world details, even genre elements—these control points ensure a cohesive framework across personalized experiences.

🌌 The Magic of Shared Ground🌌

Here’s the exciting part: even though every user’s story might be unique, the control points create overlaps that become fertile ground for fandom. Imagine:

🪭 Two people comparing their stories and discovering their protagonists met the same mysterious figure, though under different circumstances.

🪭 Entire online communities debating the implications of a fixed event that appeared differently across countless narratives.

🪭 Fan theories emerging around immutable lore elements, fueling collective speculation despite personalized plots.

This approach could work for new IP, or for established ones. Imagine a limited series from Doctor Who or Star Trek executed like this!

This isn’t just about preserving fandom; it’s about evolving it. We shift from sharing identical experiences to sharing rhyming ones, where the joy comes from both commonality and contrast.

Now, I'm honestly not ready to bet that the idioverse will materialize anymore than the metaverse did, and you may find it problematic in other ways. But, the idioverse doesn’t have to be a lonely figure floating in the void. With control points thoughtfully designed by skilled storytellers, it can become a constellation—individual stars connected by invisible threads, forming patterns we recognize together.