Invented in 2000 by Berlin-based artist Florian Thalhofer, Korsakow allows users without any programming expertise to create and interact with non-linear or database-driven narratives, referred to as Korsakow-Films or K-Films.

In the late 1990s, Florian Thalhofer began developing a software program to produce a documentary about alcohol consumption to accompany his Master's thesis.

During his research, Thalhofer learned about an effect of extreme alcoholism known as "Korsakoff's Syndrome," characterized by short-term memory loss and a compulsion to tell stories.

The new version of the application can export as a .swf file which requires flash player to view, currently a much more common browser extension than Shockwave.

Instead, the intention of the software is to create narratives based on dynamic relationships between very short video clips, rather than on predetermined paths.

The term "SNU" (smallest narrative unit) was coined by experimental filmmaker Prof. Heinz Emigholz at a lecture at the University of the Arts in Berlin on February 6, 2002.

The following file formats can be accepted by the software: Films output on Korsakow version 3 or earlier could only be viewed online in a single generic interface.