Interweaving story coherence and player creativity through story-making games

In story-making games, players create stories together by using narrative tokens. Often there is a tension between players playing to win using the rules of a story-making game, and collaboratively creating a good story. In this paper, we introduce a competitive story-making game prototype coupled with computational methods intended to be used for both supporting players’ creativity and narrative coherence.peer-reviewe

Guidelines for digital storytelling for Arab children

Children are getting more exposed to various technologies in teaching-learning. Various types of teaching-learning have been designed, including interactive digital storytelling. In Malaysia, local children have been clear about story-based learning materials. However, the situation is a little bit different with Arab children. Because the number of Arab children migrating into Malaysia is increasing, for following their parents who are studying at higher levels, they have to also make themselves familiar with the local scenario. In accordance, this study is initiates, to identify their acceptance towards story-based learning materials, or specifically interactive digital storytelling. Hence, this study reacts proactively, by approaching Arab children asking for their feedback on whether they have any desire for interactive digital storytelling. Through a series of interviews, this study found that they have a strong desire and tendency. Then, the following objectives have been stated: (1) to determine the components for the interactive digital storytelling for Arab children, (2) to design and develop a prototype of the interactive digital storytelling, and (3) to observe on how the Arab children experience the interactive digital storytelling. User-centered design (UCD) approach has been gone through in ensuring that the objectives are achieved. The process of determining the components for the interactive digital storytelling was carried out by directly involving Arab children and their teachers from three preschools in Changlun and Sintok. It was similar with the efforts in determining the contents, and interface design until the prototype development. Having the prototype ready, user testing was carried out to explore the way Arab children experience the prototype. All the processes involved various techniques through observation, interviews, and noting. Specifically, the user testing involved qualitative and empirical data. Qualitative data were gathered through observation, meanwhile the empirical data were gathered using Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) tool. In the end, having data processed, the findings show that Arab children are highly satisfied with the prototype. Scientifically, the developed prototype is a mirror of the obtained guidelines, obtained through the UCD seminars. Hence, the positive acceptance on the prototype reflects positive acceptance on the guidelines, as the main contribution of this study. Besides the guidelines as the main contribution of this study, the developed prototype is also a wonderful contribution to the Arab children and their teacher. They will be using it as part of their teaching and learning material

The effect of interactive digital storytelling gamification on microbiology classroom interactions

In this research, we study the use of interactive digital storytelling in teaching microbiology. More specifically, we carried out an exploratory study assessing the effect of using the gamification of an interactive digital storytelling on classroom dynamics and students’ interaction. The results show that the presence of gamification led to an increase in classroom discussions and in students’ engagement with the learning objectives taught by the interactive digital storytelling

Cultivating empathy through VR engagements with lived experience

This volume contains a record of artworks from the 14th ICIDS 2021 (International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling) Art Exhibition (held at Tallinn University and online), alongside essays by the artists contextualising their ..

Interactive Digital Storytelling: Towards a Hybrid Conceptual Approach

1 Introduction In this contribution, Interactive Digital Storytelling is viewed as a hybrid form of game design and cinematic storytelling for the understanding and making of future learning and entertainment applications. The paper shall present formal design models that provide a conceptual bridge between both traditional linear narrative techniques as well as agent-based emergent conversations with virtual characters. In summary, a theoretical classification of thinking models for authors and interactive experiences for users will be presented. The conceptual work is based upon practical experiments within several research projects on edutainment, which employ conversations with virtual characters to convey information and to entertain. By building several prototypes, two different approaches where explored to combine plot-based interactive storytelling with character-based emergent conversations. Visual impressions of the examples are shown in Fig. 1 and will be explained in more detail in the full paper. In both examples, several virtual animated characters converse digitally with each other and with a user who mainly types text with the keyboard, optionally complemented by choice functionality and special hardware interfaces. The resulting conversations differ in their direction of approaching a middle ground between predefined narrative presentations and emergent conversations with a user, by combining emerging chatterbot dialogues with a story structure. The user experiences a semi-autonomous behaviour of interacting agents. This paper is not about the difference between stories and games. The motivation is on the potential of both to offer structures for learning and entertainment. Instead of trying to draw a distinct line between them, conceptual models for authors have to be defined, who are responsible to flesh out a suitable design within a variability of forms. Design elements include aspects of drama and filmmaking, dialogue design, as well as game design and game tuning. The actual challenge for the design of learning applications with conversational agents is the necessity that authors have to take on responsibility concerning the intended outcome and effect. In fact, they have to balance the bias between a pre-structured storyline (and possibly a timeline) which they may have strictly defined, and the agency that users shall experience through the design of the author. However, there is no one-dimensional borderline between both. In the following, the paper presents a model with several levels which shall help to form a more differentiated picture. 2 Conceptual Models for Storytelling and Agency In Fig. 2, a traditional modus operandi is sketched at four abstract levels. The distinction between levels may vary from project to project. The four levels were found to be suitable for the addition of interaction at each of the levels to form a classification of genres. On the top level of highest story abstraction, the overall dramatic outline is sketched. For example, there may be a hero’s journey in 3 acts, or a Propp model. Further, authors break down the story into scenes which are handled at the next level. Each scene will be defined by a scene script. Within a scene, dialogues and interactions between actors are defined, and lead to stage directions. If producing for an animated film, these directions are strictly mapped onto virtual actors by a skilled animator, who defines the way the virtual actors move and behave. When storytelling gets interactive, the user can influence the storytelling. In fact, in games as well as in constructivist scenarios for learning, users need to experience agency within a story. However, there are different levels at which to affect the outcome. In Fig. 3, the first author model (compare Fig. 2) has been extrapolated according to the need of introducing agency at each level. Opposed to the author, a participant is modelled who now may contribute to each level. The first implication for the author is that it’s not enough to just model a database of descriptions, but to add rules and models, which control an autonomous behaviour at each level in reaction to the participants. Then, it is possible to think of gradations of granted agency versus authored determination. Within Fig. 3 this is indicated by the sliders between control and autonomy at each level. The levels rather represent conceptual stages for authoring than elements of software architecture, though there are parallels to architectures of a number of existing systems of game and story engines. Semi-autonomy occurs on the edge between predefined factual information and rules for each level. The more rules on one level, the more agency can be experienced by potentially affecting the respective level. For example: It is imaginable that participants only experience agency on the lowest level, as a feeling of presence in a scenario. In this case, everything is predefined, but avatars would still react with nonverbal cues to the visitor and recognize her, comparable to a virtual cursor that shows a live status. At the conversation level, participants can for example have agency in an entertaining and informative chatbot dialogue with the characters. They may even not be able to affect anything in the story logic, but participate at dialogue level with speech acts. Agency at scene level would mean to have real choices about the outcome of a scene, for example, the story of the game would have to change according to user’s actions. On the top level, players would influence the whole story of the application, if the "agency slider" would be at a 100% to the right. For example, a simulation such as "The Sims" (Electronic Arts) can be put into the classification here. For factual knowledge transfer in a didactic lesson situation, the highest level could stay predefined, while the lower levels allow for conversational interaction, however constrained. If authors only provide a rule base with little pre-scripted structuring, they achieve a conceptual model more like an exploration or gaming experience depending completely on the action of the player. While arranging the bias at each level to various slider positions, several abstract genres of Interactive Digital Storytelling can be rebuilt in the model, which helps to specify exactly what kind of user experience an application shall provide. It is a conceptual model that can be used to classify story-related games, and it particularly supports authors coming from linear media, stepping into interactive storytelling. 3 Further Work In the full paper, I will also tackle related work while comparing with other theoretical models between games and stories, including references of the taxonomies of C. Lindley, M. Leblanc, J. Klabbers, B. Laurel, C. Pearce, and traditional classifications such as of R. Caillois. I will give more examples how existing products of Interactive Storytelling fit into the classification, and raise the question if new genres have to be defined particularly for Interactive Digital Storytelling. Literature Caillois, Roger: Man, Play and Games. (orig.: Les Jeux Et Les Hommes 1958) University of Illinois Press, Reprint (2001) Hunicke, Robin; LeBlanc, Marc; Zubek, Robert: MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. In: Workshop Proceedings: Challenges in Game AI. 19th National Conference on Artificial Intelligence AAAI (2004) Klabbers, Jan H.G.: The gaming landscape: A taxonomy for classifying games and simulations. In Copier & Raessens (Eds.) Level up: Digital Games Research Conference. Utrecht University (2003) Lindley, Craig: Narrative, Game Play and Alternative Time Structures for Virtual Environments. In: Proc. TIDSE 2004, Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment, Darmstadt, Springer LNCS vol. 3105, 2004 Pearce, Celia: Emergent authorship: The next interactive revolution. In: Computers & Graphics 26, p. 21-29 (2002) Spierling, U.: Conceptual Models for Interactive Digital Storytelling in Knowledge Media Applications. In: Proc. TIDSE 2004, Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment, Darmstadt, Springer LNCS vol. 3105, 200

Defining a game-based learning proposal to work with teachers\u27 professional wellbeing. The Teaching to Be video game

This chapter investigates the intersection of professional wellbeing among teaching staff and the potential of educational video games as a tool for improvement as part of the European Project “Teaching to Be”. A novel design model is proposed, rooted in interactive digital storytelling principles. The model is applied in the development of Teaching to Be: A Path to Wellbeing, a video game crafted specifically to enhance the professional wellbeing of educators. The study critically assesses the model’s strengths and weaknesses, offering insights into its applicability in educational game design. By examining the impact of Teaching to Be: A Path to Wellbeing, this research contributes to the growing discourse on the role of interactive digital storytelling in fostering positive outcomes for teaching professionals. The nuanced evaluation provides a foundation for refining future iterations of the model and offers practical considerations for those venturing into the realm of educational game design for teacher wellbeing. (DIPF/Orig.

From Personalization to Adaptivity: Creating Immersive Visits through Interactive Digital Storytelling at the Acropolis Museum

Storytelling has recently become a popular way to guide museum visitors, replacing traditional exhibit-centric descriptions by story-centric cohesive narrations with references to the exhibits and multimedia content. This work presents the fundamental elements of the CHESS project approach, the goal of which is to provide adaptive, personalized, interactive storytelling for museum visits. We shortly present the CHESS project and its background, we detail the proposed storytelling and user models, we describe the provided functionality and we outline the main tools and mechanisms employed. Finally, we present the preliminary results of a recent evaluation study that are informing several directions for future work

Interactive digital storytelling in the Sarajevo survival tools virtual environment

Virtual museums enable Internet users to explore museum collections online. The question is how to enhance the viewer's experience and learning in such environments. In the Sarajevo Survival Tools virtual museum we introduced a new concept of interactive digital storytelling that will enable the visitors to explore the virtual exhibits - objects from the siege of Sarajevo - guided by a digital story. This way the virtual museum visitors will learn about the context of the displayed objects and be motivated to explore all of them. In this paper we present the virtual environment we developed and our experience with it. The results from three empirical studies we conducted, indicate the positive influence of digital storytelling and sound effects on visitors' perceptual response, resulting in increased motivation and enjoyment, and more effective information conveyance