The Virtual Storyteller: story generation by simulation

The Virtual Storyteller is a multi-agent framework that generates stories based on a concept called emergent narrative. In this paper, we describe the motivation and approach of the Virtual Storyteller, and give an overview of the computational processes involved in the story generation process. We also discuss some of the challenges posed by our chosen approach

The effect of priming on physics perception in small-scale virtual environments

Abstract. For humans, it is difficult to understand how physics would work in an environment in which they are not the size they normally are, but their size has been altered. A good way to experience it is in a simulated virtual environment run by a computer, and with a virtual reality headset. What humans think physics and the environment should look and feel like often differs from what would happen in a similar situation. This thesis focuses on whether priming the participants’ experience in a virtual environment before altering their size affects their perception of physics, specifically, rigid body dynamics. The hypothesis is, that priming would make participants feel that real-life physics is how objects in virtual reality should act, instead of how small-scale phenomena are usually depicted in media. To test the hypothesis experimentally, a VR environment was developed. This environment contained many different perception clues to inform the participants they have been shrunk tenfold and that this environment corresponds to reality. In the experiment, the representation of rigid body dynamics played a huge part as it affects how participants perceive the environment when interacting with physically simulated objects and items. More specifically, the participants experienced two different physics representations; one in which objects behaved similarly to what would be realistic at that scale, and another one closer to what is usually shown in movies and television. The participants were surveyed, and their answers were analyzed, giving insights into their physics perception in the virtual environment. The study found that priming the participant gave them a point of comparison to real life. They felt that it helped them choose the correct scenario when they were presented with scenarios with realistic physics and physics usually seen in movies and other media. Although they felt that the priming helped, the participants nevertheless considered the physics representation corresponding to movies and television to be the more realistic one. This was further confirmed by statistically comparing the results of this study to a similar, previous study in which no priming process was utilized.Perehdytyksen vaikutus fysiikan havainnointiin pienen mittakaavan virtuaaliympäristöissä. Tiivistelmä. Ihmisille on vaikeaa havainnoida fysikaalisia ilmiöitä, kuten kiinteiden kappaleiden liikeratoja, tavallisista poikkeavissa mittakaavoissa. Paras tapa kokea se on tietokoneen simuloimassa virtuaaliympäristössä virtuaalitodellisuuslasien luoman immersiivisen kokemuksen kautta. Se, mikä vastaa ympäristöön ja fysikaalisiin ilmiöihin liittyviä ennakko-odotuksia voi monin tavoin poiketa todellisuudesta. Esimerkiksi kymmenen kertaa pienemmässä mittakaavassa realistisesti kuvatut kappaleiden liikeradat näyttäytyvät ihmisille äkillisinä kiihtyvyyksinä ja lyhyinä lentoratoina, kuten aiemmassa tutkimuksessa on osoitettu. Sen sijaan, epärealistiset fysikaaliset mallit joissa liikeradat vastaavat normaalia mittakaavaa suhteessa käyttäjään itseensä vaikuttaisi näyttäytyvän realistisena simuloidusta mittakaavasta huolimatta. Tässä opinnäytetyössä pyritään selvittämään, voiko virtuaalitodellisuusjärjestelmän käyttäjiä perehdyttää fysikaalisten ilmiöiden suhteen siten, että se muuttaisi heidän käsitystään simuloitujen fysikaalisten ilmöiden suhteen virtuaaliympäristössä. Työssä kuvataan tutkimus jossa koehenkilöille esitettiin perehdytysvaihe jossa havainnollistettiin erilaisten esineiden liikeratoja jonka jälkeen heidän tuli valita oikea fysiikkamalli realistisen ja väärän mallin välillä. Tätä tarkoitusta varten kehitettiin virtuaalitodellisuusympäristö, jossa oli lukuisia erilaisia havaintovihjeitä, joiden tarkoitus oli havainnollistaa käyttäjälle fyysisesti simuloitujen kappaleiden liikeratoja. Koehenkilöt käsittelivät fyysisesti simuloituja esineitä kahdessa eri mittakaavassa realistisessa painovoimassa. Tämän jälkeen he käsittelivät simuloituja esineitä sekä realistisessa, että epärealistisessa painovoimassa, jonka jälkeen heidän tuli valita kumpi simulaatioista vastasi paremmin todellisuutta. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että koehenkilöiden perehdytys näyttäytyi heille hyödyllisenä antaen vertailukohdan todellisuuteen. Vastausten mukaan he kokivat, että perehdytys auttoi heitä valitsemaan oikean fysiikkamallin. Tästä huolimatta epärealistinen fysiikkamalli näyttäytyi heille todellisempana merkittävästi useammin kuin realistisesti simuloitu malli. Tämä voitiin vahvistaa myös vertaamalla tilastollisesti tässä tutkimuksessa kerättyä aineistoa aiempaan vastaavaan tutkimukseen jossa perehdytysvaihetta ei ollut. Tästä voidaan päätellä, että koeasettelussa käytetty perehdytysmenetelmä ei pystynyt muuttamaan koehenkilöiden ennakkokäsityksiä fysikaalisten ilmöiden havainnoimisessa

The experience of enchantment in human-computer interaction

Improving user experience is becoming something of a rallying call in human–computer interaction but experience is not a unitary thing. There are varieties of experiences, good and bad, and we need to characterise these varieties if we are to improve user experience. In this paper we argue that enchantment is a useful concept to facilitate closer relationships between people and technology. But enchantment is a complex concept in need of some clarification. So we explore how enchantment has been used in the discussions of technology and examine experiences of film and cell phones to see how enchantment with technology is possible. Based on these cases, we identify the sensibilities that help designers design for enchantment, including the specific sensuousness of a thing, senses of play, paradox and openness, and the potential for transformation. We use these to analyse digital jewellery in order to suggest how it can be made more enchanting. We conclude by relating enchantment to varieties of experience.</p

From paradox to pattern shift: Conceptualising liminal hotspots and their affective dynamics

This article introduces the concept of liminal hotspots as a specifically psychosocial and sociopsychological type of wicked problem, best addressed in a process-theoretical framework. A liminal hotspot is defined as an occasion characterised by the experience of being trapped in the interstitial dimension between different forms-of-process. The paper has two main aims. First, to articulate a nexus of concepts associated with liminal hotspots that together provide general analytic purchase on a wide range of problems concerning “troubled” becoming. Second, to provide concrete illustrations through examples drawn from the health domain. In the conclusion, we briefly indicate the sense in which liminal hotspots are part of broader and deeper historical processes associated with changing modes for the management and navigation of liminality

Augmenting Immersive Telepresence Experience with a Virtual Body

We propose augmenting immersive telepresence by adding a virtual body, representing the user's own arm motions, as realized through a head-mounted display and a 360-degree camera. Previous research has shown the effectiveness of having a virtual body in simulated environments; however, research on whether seeing one's own virtual arms increases presence or preference for the user in an immersive telepresence setup is limited. We conducted a study where a host introduced a research lab while participants wore a head-mounted display which allowed them to be telepresent at the host's physical location via a 360-degree camera, either with or without a virtual body. We first conducted a pilot study of 20 participants, followed by a pre-registered 62 participant confirmatory study. Whereas the pilot study showed greater presence and preference when the virtual body was present, the confirmatory study failed to replicate these results, with only behavioral measures suggesting an increase in presence. After analyzing the qualitative data and modeling interactions, we suspect that the quality and style of the virtual arms, and the contrast between animation and video, led to individual differences in reactions to the virtual body which subsequently moderated feelings of presence.Comment: Accepted for publication in Transactions in Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), to be presented in IEEE VR 202

Virtual Consumption, Sustainability & Human Well-Being

There is widespread consensus that present patterns of consumption could lead to the permanent impossibility of maintaining those patterns and, perhaps, the existence of the human race. While many patterns of consumption qualify as ‘sustainable’ there is one in particular that deserves greater attention: virtual consumption. We argue that virtual consumption — the experience of authentic consumptive experiences replicated by alternative means — has the potential to reduce the deleterious consequences of real consumption by redirecting some consumptive behavior from shifting material states to shifting information states

Paralympic VR: an immersive experience

Paralympic VR: an immersive experience is based on exploratory research and consists in the production of a 360 video-prototype that aims to give special access to the wheelchair basketball training universe, bringing the users close to Paralympic athletes without the need to hide the impairment or hyper focus on the stories behind the disability. Media coverage of Paralympic sports and the representation of disabled athletes have been changing, but still present a medicalised framing, a narrative where the athletes are commonly portrayed as heroes due to the overcoming of difficulties related to the impairment and not to the sports results. This present project work considers immersive journalism and the use of virtual reality technologies as the means by which an alternative approach and a better representation of Paralympians are possible. The project presents the description of the workflow process, detailing conceptualization decisions, technical aspects and, mainly, the challenges and lessons learned. A user study combining focus groups and online survey was also conducted in order to have insights about the experience of watching the video with the headset Samsung Gear VR. Feedback provided by participants indicated that the prototype accomplished its aim. Recommendations to improve future work were also gathered.Paralympic VR: an immersive experience baseia-se em investigação exploratória e consiste na produção de um vídeo 360 graus que visa dar acesso especial ao universo de treino do basquete em cadeira de rodas, aproximando os utilizadores dos atletas paralímpicos sem a necessidade de ocultar a deficiência ou dar grande enfoque às histórias por detrás da deficiência. A cobertura do desporto paralímpico nos media e a representação dos atletas com deficiência está a transformar-se, mas ainda apresenta uma abordagem medicalizada, uma narrativa em que os atletas são comumente retratados como heróis devido à superação de dificuldades relacionadas à deficiência e não em virtude aos resultados desportivos. O jornalismo imersivo e o uso de tecnologias de realidade virtual são considerados no presente trabalho de projeto os meios pelos quais é possível uma abordagem alternativa e uma melhor representação dos atletas paralímpicos. O projeto apresenta a descrição de todo o processo de produção do vídeo-protótipo, detalhando decisões de conceito, aspectos técnicos e, principalmente, os desafios e lições aprendidas. Um estudo com utilizadores combinando grupos de foco e questionário on-line também foi conduzido para a recolha de perceções sobre a experiência de assistir ao vídeo com o headset Samsung Gear VR. Os comentários fornecidos pelos participantes indicaram que o protótipo atingiu seu objetivo. Importantes recomendações para a melhoria de futuras experiências também foram reunidas

Perception and Emotion in Virtual Reality: The Role of the Body and the Contribution of Presence

This thesis reports four studies in the context of virtual reality (VR), feelings of presence, emotion, and perception. Previous research established the existence of cross-dimensional perceptual interrelations such as the interconnection between experienced motion and subjective time. This is thought to result from a common perceptual system. However, the specifics of this system are a matter of ongoing research. An important binding factor between perceptual dimensions is the bodily self, which was described as a reference for perception. In Study I, manipulations of the size of a virtual self-representation were shown to affect the spatial judgment of objects. In Study II, the degree of self-motion in an immersive virtual environment (IVE) influenced the subjective perception of time, corroborating previous findings about the common perceptual system. Besides the virtual self-representation, there is another important variable in VR experiments: Presence is described as the feeling of being in a mediated environment. Presence was not associated with improved performance in the spatial and temporal judgments of Studies I and II. However, in Study III, presence in a gaming activity was linked to improved mood after an experimental stress-induction. This especially applied to VR gaming, where impressions about the subjective realism of the IVE might have been crucial for mood repair. As outlined in Study IV, it is important to distinguish between presence as an attentional allocation to the mediated world and as an individual judgment about its realism. Taken together, the results from all studies corroborate the idea of the self as a fundamental perceptual reference, confirm results about the psychological connection between space and time, emphasize the benefits of VR gaming in improving mood, and elucidate the role of perceived realism in assessing presence in IVEs

Europa Universalis IV and Fairly Radical History(ing)

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan Europa Universalis IV-strategiapeliä historioimisen (history(ing)) kannalta kolonialismin kautta. Työssä määritellään peli historiana, jonka lisäksi arvioidaan pelaajien osallistumista ”suhteellisen radikaaliin historioimiseen” pelin yhteisöfoorumeilla. Lähdemateriaali koostuu siis itse pelistä ja sen lisäosista sekä tekstuaalisesta osasta valikoitujen pelin kehittämistä koskevien keskustelujen muodossa. Työssä tutkitaan pelin kehittäjä-historioitsijan ja pelaaja-historioitsijan (developer-historian ja player-historian) historioimisen tasoa ja mahdollista kohtaamista em. keskusteluissa, jossa he ottaisivat osaa dialogiseen ja dialektiseen historioimiseen. Tutkielman metodologia rakentui yhdistämällä kaksi käsitteellistä tasoa: historiallinen-tarina-pelitila ((hi)story-play-space; Chapman 2016) ja ongelmatila (problem space; McCall 2012). Tämä mahdollisti sekä pelin mekaanisen retoriikan (procedural rhetoric) ja sen tekemien historiallisten väittämien avaamisen että myös syvällisen analyysin siitä, minkälaista historiaa peli pelaajille tarjoaa. Tekstuaalisen osion laadullinen analyysi keskittyi keskustelun tasoon molempien näiden näkökulmien osalta. Pelin laajuuden vuoksi materiaalia rajaamaan valittiin esimerkkitapaukseksi kolonialismi, jonka voi nähdä yhtenä tärkeimmistä pelimekaniikoista. Tutkielman tuloksena näyttää siltä, että yhteisöfoorumeilla todella osallistutaan ”suhteellisen radikaaliin historioimiseen”, vaikka kyseessä onkin vain pieni osa kaikista pelaajista. Keskustelussa käytettyjä väittämiä perusteltiin ajoittain tutkimuskirjallisuuden avulla, eikä keskustelu päättynyt historiallisiin aiheisiin, vaan jatkui itse pelin pohtimiseen historiallisen kerronnan muotona. Mikäli lähdemateriaalia olisi valittu yhteisöfoorumeilta tarkemmin, olisi saattanut olla mahdollista arvioida osallistumista historioimiseen vielä kattavammin. Lisäksi tässä materiaalissa pelin kehittäjän ja pelaajan välinen dialogi jäi todella vähäiseksi ja mahdollinen tuleva tutkimus voisi keskittyä tutkimaan nimenomaan kysymyksiä siitä, miten pelin muutettavat seikat valitaan ja ovatko muutokset jotenkin neuvoteltuja kehittäjän ja pelaajien välillä.This thesis defined the grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV as a historical piece, as well as looked into the engagement of players into fairly radical history(ing) on the community forums. The primary material for analysis consisted of the game itself with its expansions, along with a textual component in the form of selected Developer Diary entries. The aim was to explore the level of history(ing) by developer-historians and player-historians alike, and their possible confrontations in these Diaries, i.e., the engagement in dialogic and dialectical process of history(ing). The methodology was synthetized by merging two conceptualizations: (hi)story-play-space (Chapman 2016) and problem space (McCall 2012). This allowed not only to look at the procedural rhetoric of EUIV and the claims made about history in the game, but also at what kind of history it afforded to the players. The qualitative analysis for the text component concentrated on the level of discussion on both of these aspects. Colonialism provided a case study for analysis since it has central gameplay mechanics. In essence, the results of this study found that there certainly is some ”fairly radical history(ing)” (Chapman 2016) going on in the community forums, albeit by a small minority of the players. The discussion was sometimes backed by actual sources, and not only was history debated, but also the game form itself in respect to history. With a more carefully planned selection of primary material from the community forums, it would have been possible to estimate the actual level of participation, which was not possible with the current data. Furthermore, there was very little dialogue between the Developer and the player-base, and more research should go into how the mechanics to be altered are chosen, and whether these changes are negotiated or not