contextfictional

Contextfictional is a term used to describe fiction whose meaning or form is significantly shaped by the context in which it is encountered. The term emphasizes the relationship between a narrative and its surrounding environment, including cultural, technological, linguistic, and social factors. It is often employed as a flexible label rather than a fixed theory, and its exact scope varies among writers and scholars.

Core ideas include context-driven interpretation, adaptive or dynamic storytelling, and the blending of fictional content with real-world information or platforms. Works described as contextfictional may reveal, through their form, how meaning depends on how and where they are accessed, who engages with them, and what assumptions accompany that access. The concept is closely related to, but distinct from, metafiction, transmedia storytelling, and context-aware design.

Common practices discussed under contextfictional include interactive fiction and video games that alter narrative based on player location, language, or device; transmedia projects that distribute story fragments across media tied to a real world context; and online or fan-created narratives that embed fictional events within current events or cultural conversations. It can also describe offline formats, such as performances or zines, whose reception shifts with the audience and setting.

As a relatively young or contested term, contextfictional lacks a single agreed-upon definition. It is used more as a heuristic for examining how context informs meaning rather than as a strict category. Critics note that the term can risk vagueness or overextension, while proponents view it as a useful lens for examining how digital environments reshape storytelling.

Related terms include contextual storytelling, metanarrative, transmedia storytelling, ambient narrative, interactive fiction, and alternate reality games.