LCC 6317/4720 Interactive Narrative

Lecture 1

LCC 6317/4720 Interactive Narrative

Lecture 1

January 10, 2005January 10, 2005

Class mechanicsClass mechanics

Organization: design issuesOrganization: design issues

• Interaction – interactor’s relationship to narrativeInteraction – interactor’s relationship to narrative

• Narrativity – in what sense is the experience Narrativity – in what sense is the experience narrative?narrative?

• Segmentation – what are the pieces?Segmentation – what are the pieces?

• Representation – sensory display, conventionsRepresentation – sensory display, conventions

Organization: narrative modes/genresOrganization: narrative modes/genres

• Multiform story – a single situation in multiple versionsMultiform story – a single situation in multiple versions

• Kaleidoscopic narratives – simultaneous, intersecting actionKaleidoscopic narratives – simultaneous, intersecting action

• Rhizomatic narratives – story webs that refuse closureRhizomatic narratives – story webs that refuse closure

• Morphing story environments – construct stories out of Morphing story environments – construct stories out of formulaic piecesformulaic pieces

• Variant stories – parameterized story piecesVariant stories – parameterized story pieces

Organization: technical modes/genresOrganization: technical modes/genres

• Computational narrative traditionsComputational narrative traditions• History of work and criticism

• Specific design commitmentsSpecific design commitments

• Can be orthogonal to narrative modesCan be orthogonal to narrative modesThough each tradition has a common narrativity commitment

Electronic literatureElectronic literature

• Interactive fiction (IF)Interactive fiction (IF)• Segmentation: places and objects

• Major trope: the puzzle

• HypertextHypertext• Segmentation: links and lexia

• Major trope: association

Games vs. narrativeGames vs. narrative

• Contemporary game trend – large, simulated Contemporary game trend – large, simulated worldsworlds• Black & White, The Sims 1/2, Grand Theft Auto 3 (all), Fable

Narrativists Ludologists

Paradigmatic form: hypertext Paradigmatic form: gamesAcademic pedigree: literary theory Academic pedigree: games studies

Story generation I: Morphemes & grammarsStory generation I: Morphemes & grammars

• Morphemes – story events or “functions”Morphemes – story events or “functions”• Vladimir Propp analyzed Russian folk tales

• Example morphemes: The hero leaves home, the hero is given a difficult task, the hero defeats the villain

• Grammars – hierarchic combination rulesGrammars – hierarchic combination rules• Story grammars – use story functions by analogy to linguistic

elements

Sample output & story grammarSample output & story grammar

once upon a time there lived a dog. one day it happened that farmer evicted cat. when this happened, dog felt pity for the cat. in response, dog sneaked food to the cat. farmer punished dog.

Joseph story generator – R. Raymond Lang

story setting + episodesepisodes episode + episodesepisode story_event + emotional_response + action_response

Story generation II: Author simulationStory generation II: Author simulation

• Model authorial knowledge beyond story Model authorial knowledge beyond story structurestructure

• Examples: Authorial goals, plans, Examples: Authorial goals, plans, knowledge about the worldknowledge about the world

Terminal TimeTerminal Time

Collaborators:

Paul Vanouse, Art Department, SUNY Buffalo

Steffi Domike, Design Department, Chatham College

History engineHistory engine

Goal trees (ideology)Historical eventsAudio-visualelements

Audience feedback

Knowledge BaseEvent

EventEvent

EventEvent

Event

Rhetorical Goal Trees

Biased event

StoryboardRhetorical Devices

Natural Language Generation

Media Retrieval & Sequencing To multi-

media front end

Terminal Time architecture

Characters I: ChatterbotsCharacters I: Chatterbots

• Canonical chatterbot is ElizaCanonical chatterbot is Eliza

• Stateless (or minimal state) response to input based Stateless (or minimal state) response to input based keywords and templateskeywords and templates

• Temporal coherency (or lack thereof) comes from human Temporal coherency (or lack thereof) comes from human interactorinteractor

My 1 is 2 How long has your 1 been 2?1 thinks I am 2 Do you think you are 2?

My luck is down How long has your luck been down?Everyone thinks I am crazy Do you think you are crazy?

Characters II: Reactive planningCharacters II: Reactive planning

• Have state – goals, emotions, memoryHave state – goals, emotions, memory

• Select behaviors to accomplish goalsSelect behaviors to accomplish goals

• Dynamically mix goalsDynamically mix goals

• Examples: Examples: PetzPetz, A Behavior Language (ABL), A Behavior Language (ABL)

Interactive DramaInteractive Drama

Plot structurePlot structure

Tension/C

omplexity

Time

Exposition Incitingincident

Rising action

Crisis

Climax

Falling action

Denouement

CharactersCharacters• Personality• Emotion• Self motivation• Change• Social relationships• Consistency• Illusion of life

FaçadeFaçade

• Dramatic world inhabited by computer controlled characters (believable agents)

• The user (player) plays a protagonist within the story, first-person point of view

• The player experiences a story with a dramatic arc

Collaborator: Andrew Stern, independent artist and researcher