Children now have the power to decide the outcome of their favourite Netflix shows as the streaming giant branches out beyond linear television.

Beginning with Dreamworks' Puss in Boots: Trapped in an Epic Tale, Netflix's new "branching" narrative titles let viewers dictate the outcome of the story. The Netflix Originals interactive content is compatible with iPhones and iPads along with some smart televisions and games consoles, letting children tap on the touchscreen or use a remote control to decide what happens next.

Trapped in an Epic Tale is available today as a standalone episode of Netflix's The Adventures of Puss in Boots series, to be followed by an interactive episode of Buddy Thunderstruck in July and Stretch Armstrong next year.

The interactive television launch follows two years of development and extensive research, working with both content creators and viewers to better understand what they want from the new medium, says Netflix's director of product innovation Dr Carla Fisher.

"Interactive content is perfect for kids because they already interact with their favourite characters," Fisher says. 

"Kids talk to screens, they touch screens and there's this notion that everything is something to be interacted with".

"Meanwhile parents like the fact their child can sit in the director's chair and make decisions, rather than just sitting back on the couch and passively watch television. We see creators telling non-linear stories in lots of different formats, whether it's choose your own adventure novels or computer games, and it's great to bring that to Netflix."

Starting with children's content is also a good fit for Netflix when more than half the members worldwide stream children's content each month and the kids/family audience is growing more rapidly than the overall Netflix membership base.

The flexibility of Netflix means that storytellers aren't beholden to the traditions of linear broadcast television, says DreamWorks Animation Television's Doug Langdale, executive producer of The Adventures of Puss in Boots and writer of the first interactive episode.

"On Netflix you don't have to air at a certain time or fit in within a locked timeslot, plus telling non-linear stories offers a whole new level of freedom," Langdale says.

"Of course creative freedom is a double-edged sword and it actually turned out to be a lot harder than we expected it to be."

The Adventures of Puss in Boots is set in the enchanted town of San Lorenzo, which Puss in Boots vows to protect after accidentally breaking the spell which had kept the town hidden. In Trapped in an Epic Tale, Puss in Boots becomes trapped in a storybook and must find his way to the end of the story to escape, with a narrator talking the viewer through their choices.

The story presents viewers with 13 choices, leading to two possible endings, with a running time from 18 to 39 minutes. Meanwhile Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile will only offer eight choices, but with four possible endings.

"For now there are no plans to produce branching narrative titles for adult audiences," Fisher says," but now that the groundwork is laid we're interested to see how our members will interact with it and what kinds of stories our creators choose to tell."