The holonovel — A powerful methodology for prototyping and creating the future

The holonovel, which originates from the TV series Star Trek, is a means of representing a scenario and narrative within a space, the holodeck, in which simulations of people, objects and places appear to be real and can be interacted with. The overall environment can be seen as the future which virtual/augmented reality will develop towards and this paper explores the ideas and techniques it inspires. The paper examines the connection of the concept to Science Fiction Prototyping, used to explore future scenarios for business and industry. This was originally implemented in textual form but now uses many media formats, including VR and mixed reality environments. The importance of the fictional and narrative aspects of the genre is analysed and the possibilities of ecosystems of interacting scenarios and collaborative networks involved in the creation of holonovels discussed. The holonovel and its associated methodologies can be seen to have significant and widespread potential. They are intrinsically cross-disciplinary and can be developed and deployed to imagine, prototype and create the future with diverse applications in learning, research and development, design and business.