A Formal Architecture of Shared Mental Models for Computational Improvisational Agents

This paper proposes a formal approach of constructing shared mental models between computational improvisational agents (improv agents) and human interactors based on our socio-cognitive studies of human improvisers. Creating shared mental models helps improv agents co-create stories with each other and interactors in real-time interactive narrative experiences. The approach described here allows flexible modeling of non-Boolean (i.e. fuzzy) knowledge about scene and background concepts through the use of fuzzy rules and confidence factors in order to allow reasoning under uncertainty. It also allows improv agents to infer new knowledge about a scene from existing knowledge, recognize when new knowledge may be divergent from the other actor’s mental model, and attempt to resolve this divergence to reach cognitive consensus despite the absence of explicit goals in the story environment

A system for creating virtual reality content from make-believe games

International audiencePretend play is a storytelling technique, naturally used from very young ages, which relies on object substitution to represent the characters of the imagined story. We propose a system which assists the storyteller by generating a virtualized story from a recorded dialogue performed with 3D printed figurines. We capture the gestures and facial expressions of the storyteller using Kinect cameras and IMU sensors and transfer them to their virtual counterparts in the story-world. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate our system with an improvised story involving a prince and a witch, which was successfully recorded and transferred into 3D animation

PHISH-nets : planning heuristically in situated hybrid networks

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-105).by Bradley James Rhodes.M.S

Metalinear cinematic narrative : theory, process, and tool

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-218).Media entertainment technology is evolving rapidly. From radio to broadcast television to cable television, from motion picture film to the promise of digital video disks, as the media evolves, so do the stories told over these media. We already share many more stories and more types of stories from many more sources than we did a decade ago. This is due in part to the development of computer technology, the globalization of computer networks, and the emerging new medium which is an amalgam of television and the internet. The storyteller will need to invent new creative processes and work with new tools which support this new medium, this new narrative form. This thesis proposes the name Metalinear Narrative for the new narrative form. The metalinear narrative is a collection of small related story pieces designed to be arranged in many different ways, to tell many different linear stories from different points of view, with the aid of a story engine. Agent Stories is the software tool developed as part of this research for designing and presenting metalinear cinematic narratives. Agent Stories is comprised of a set of environments for authoring pieces of stories, authoring the relationships between the many story pieces, and for designing an abstract narrative structure for sequencing those pieces. Agent Stories also provides a set of software agents called story agents, which act as the drivers of the story engine. My thesis is that a writing tool which offers the author knowledgeable feedback about narrative construction and context during the creative process is essential to the task of creating metalinear narratives of significant dimension.by Kevin Michael Brooks.Ph.D

Identifikation in digitalen Lernspielen: der Einfluss der Identifikation mit Spielercharakteren auf das Lernen und die Motivation

The present research project deals with the medium of digital learning games. First, digital learning games will be described. Then the “player character,” a major element of digital learning games, will be described in depth. A preliminary definition for both concepts will be advanced. The goal of this research project is to prove (theoretically and empirically) and to describe in detail the (initiating) relationship between the player of digital learning games and the “player characters.” First we will consider if and how a relationship between player and player character develops, and if this relationship is an identification or another (more or less close related) process (i. e., parasocial interaction, similarity, or wishful identification). Furthermore, the processes of learning and motivation will be integrated into the research on digital learning games--i. e., is the process of identification influenced by the learning process or by motivation? The empirical part of this research project starts with a pilot study, in which subjects were observed and afterwards interviewed. The aim of this pilot study was to find out whether player characters are relevant components for the players of digital learning games, which elements of player characters are important for players, and to what extent a relationship, or even an identification, between player and player character can be observed. For the following master study a digital learning game (probably a fantasy game) will be developed. Using this learning game, we will investigate to what extent players identify with their player characters and how the identification influences learning and the motivation to continue playing the game. The empirical results from both studies, combined with theoretical insights, will give indications and suggestions for the future development, creation and design of player characters in digital learning games

Statusbasierte Verhaltenssteuerung von virtuellen Charakteren

Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert einen Ansatz zur statusbasierten Verhaltenssteuerung von virtuellen Charakteren, der auf der Erweiterung eines sozialpsychologischen Statusmodells beruht. Im Mittelpunkt stehen interaktive Anwendungen mit mehreren Charakteren, die ein rollengerechtes und sozial adäquates Verhalten erfordern. In dieser Arbeit wird die These vertreten, dass dramaturgische und sozialpsychologische Ansätze für derartige Anwendungen besonders geeignet sind. Es wird gezeigt, wie Konzepte aus dem Improvisationstheater und dem Metatheater operationalisiert und in unterschiedlichen Anwendungskontexten zur Verhaltenssteuerung eingesetzt werden können. Für die Statusberechnung wurden geeignete Modelle aus der Statustheorie identifiziert und formalisiert. Auf der Grundlage eines solchen formalen Statusmodells wurde das Exstasis Modul entwickelt, das ausgehend von den Statusmerkmalen und den Verhaltensmustern der virtuellen Charaktere, den Status und die Verhaltenstendenzen aller Interaktionsteilnehmer ermittelt. Exstasis ist als konfigurierbarer Softwarebaustein konzipiert und kann daher in bestehende Systeme zur Kontrolle des Interaktionsverhaltens integriert werden. Die Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Exstasis werden anhand eines Beispielszenarios demonstriert, in dem die berechneten Statusinformationen für die Steuerung des Blickverhaltens und für eine statusbasierte Dialogsteuerung verwendet werden.This dissertation presents a novel approach for controlling the behavior of virtual characters that is based on an extension of a social psychological status theory. The research focuses on interactive applications in which the virtual characters should display a behavior that is appropriate to their individual role and the social context. The central assumption is that both socio psychological and dramaturgical concepts are particularly suitable for this task. This dissertation shows how concepts from improvisational theater and meta theater as well as socio psychological status theories can be formalized and used to control the expressive and social behavior of virtual characters in different application areas. For this purpose the Exstasis module was developed that computes the status and the action tendencies of all actors in a situation based on their status characteristics and behavior patterns. Exstasis is a configurable software component that can be integrated in existing systems to extend the social capabilities of the virtual characters. Its applicability is demonstrated in a quiz show scenario, in which the computed status information is used to control the gaze behavior of two virtual characters as well as the course and style of their simulated conversation