Nowadays computer science can create digital worlds that deeply immerse
users; it can also process in real time brain activity to infer their inner
states. What marvels can we achieve with such technologies? Go back to
displaying text. And unfold a story that follows and molds users as never
before.Comment: Pervasive Play - CHI '16 Workshop, May 2016, San Jose, United State

Frey, Jérémy

English

arXiv

International audienceNowadays computer science can create digital worlds that deeply immerse users; it can also process in real time brain activity to infer their inner states. What marvels can we achieve with such technologies? Go back to displaying text. And unfold a story that follows and molds users as never before

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HAL Id: hal-01305799https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01305799v2Submitted on 7 Jun 2016HAL is a multi-disciplinary open accessarchive for the deposit and dissemination of sci-entific research documents, whether they are pub-lished or not. The documents may come fromteaching and research institutions in France orabroad, or from public or private research centers.L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, estdestinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documentsscientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non,émanant des établissements d’enseignement et derecherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoirespublics ou privés.VIF: Virtual Interactive Fiction (with a twist)Jérémy FreyTo cite this version:Jérémy Frey. VIF: Virtual Interactive Fiction (with a twist). Pervasive Play - CHI ’16 Workshop,May 2016, San Jose, United States. ￿hal-01305799v2￿VIF: Virtual Interactive Fiction (with atwist)Jérémy FreyUniv. Bordeaux351 Cours de la Libération33400 Talence, Francejeremy.frey@inria.frFigure 1: View of the virtual environment. Part of the text isdynamically mapped to player’s physiology, such signals alsoinfluence the narrative.Paste the appropriate copyright statement here. ACM now supports three differentcopyright statements:• ACM copyright: ACM holds the copyright on the work. This is the historicalapproach.• License: The author(s) retain copyright, but ACM receives an exclusivepublication license.• Open Access: The author(s) wish to pay for the work to be open access. Theadditional fee must be paid to ACM.This text field is large enough to hold the appropriate release statement assuming it issingle spaced in a sans-serif 7 point font.Every submission will be assigned their own unique DOI string to be included here.AbstractNowadays computer science can create digital worlds thatdeeply immerse users; it can also process in real time brainactivity to infer their inner states. What marvels can weachieve with such technologies? Go back to displaying text.And unfold a story that follows and molds users as neverbefore.Author KeywordsStorytelling; Physiological Computing; Brain-ComputerInterface; Adaptive Systems; Virtual RealityACM Classification KeywordsH.1.2 [User/Machine Systems]: Human information pro-cessing; H.5.1 [Multimedia Information System]: Artificial,augmented, and virtual realitiesFigure 2: The Oculus Rift DK1HMDa is combined withNeuroelecronics Enobio EEG capband OpenBCI amplifierc to bothimmerse and monitor user’s brainactivity.ahttps://www.oculus.com/bhttp://www.neuroelectrics.com/chttp://www.openbci.com/IntroductionOn the one hand, we have devices that are more than evercapable to create a variety of illusions and to draw attentionup to the point that users will forget about the real world –the notion of virtual presence [12]. The paragons of suchdevices are probably at this moment head-mounted dis-plays (HMD), that, literally, replace what people see with avirtual world – so called virtual reality (VR). Combined withheadphones, the reality gets obliterated for most1.1Even though the focus is here on textual stories with (optional) ambi-ent sounds, any other combination of input modalities – e.g. narrate a storyand display (optional) colors – is of course suitable.On the other hand, physiological computing is matureenough to asses mental states and emotions [3]. In par-ticular, mobile brain imaging techniques alike electroen-cephalography (EEG) can be employed to measure a vari-ety of constructs such as workload or attention; cognitiveprocesses that were harder to monitor in the past [4]. Phys-iological sensors are not restricted to the laboratory, nowa-days they can be used the field through carefully craftedwearables, e.g. [5]. These technologies make computerscomprehend users [11].On the other other hand, is lying interactive fiction (IF), sto-ries that depend on the actions of the readers/players2, agenre that is gaining increased attention from outside itsoriginal community [8]. The form of IF evolved from choice-based adventure games to complex generative systemsthat can narrate a living world [7]. Besides advances in nat-ural language processing, IF attracted new game-makersthanks to writing tools – based on markup languages orgraphical programming – easier to handle3.Figure 3: Prototype of a HMDdevice that directly embeds EEGelectrodes – here a Vrvana Totema.Picture © Alexandre Girardeau.ahttp://www.vrvana.com/Figure 4: Various sensors couldbe integrated, e.g. a belt thatmeasures breathing. From [5].Figure 5: Users can interact withtext elements in a more traditionalway, using their gaze.Putting hands back together, physiological sensors andbrain computer interfaces could be added to the repertoireof IF makers in order to craft more resonating stories, thatcan both adapt and react to players. A narrative branchcould be generated based on the (past) affect of the user,in order to favor or avoid an emotion. The events or thephrasing could be driven by the attentional state of the userto increase comprehension and seek a state of flow. Evenmore involving and pervasive, the user could be asked toperform breathing exercises and get actually relaxed beforestarting an adventure in a gloomy dungeon – a journey of2In the present document I consider a broad definition of IF, that en-compasses both Choose-Your-Own-Adventure (CYOA) games and gameswhere users have to actually type text to interact.3One could find a variety of commented IF works on https://emshort.wordpress.com/.initiation for the wannabe warrior that will echo within thereader.While rich inputs derived from physiology are already inves-tigated with traditional video games [10, 9], the “form factor”of IF should ease the integration of these modalities to thefabric of the story. Indeed, readers are used to filling thegaps between ellipses or suggested details; through theirimagination they seize the content and make it their own. Tochange the mood of a scene, whereas a AAA video gamewill have to smoothly adapt assets that where expensiveto build in the first place, a writer will lightly tune the rightadjective. Simple and seamless.Far from being a trendy gimmick, the use of HMD and VRlet readers focus entirely on the text, preventing stimuli ex-ternal to the narrative to reach them and distract them fromthe story4. The simplicity of the scene will hopefully reduceperceptual load, freeing more cognitive resources to letthem build their own representations, increasing engage-ment. At the same time, HMD could be used to design sim-ple game mechanisms based on gaze and head tracking,yet another input modality for readers to physically interactwith IF (see System Description below).First and foremost, this technology is really a mean to putupfront one medium that shaped for ages humanity [1]. Ifthe word is mightier than the tools, now it shall be exaltedby computer science to help twist our minds for the better.Description of the systemThis section describes a proof of concept that implementsa basic set of features to support the ideas discussed pre-viously. The program and its source code are available onhttps://github.com/jfrey-xx/vif.4Resulting in an immersive book indeed.RenderingThe graphics are kept simple on purpose. As an emanationof IF – even in 3D and in stereoscopy – the virtual world ismostly composed of text blocks. Generative typography andcolors can impersonate the narrator or characters. Theycan also be used to give a biofeedback – e.g. “your heartbeat” could pulse toward the camera and change coloralong each heartbeat (Figure 1) – depending on the controlor awareness given to users (see also [5]).Other graphical elements are present, but only to fulfillparticular functions. A grid on the floor gives a sense ofposition in space. The day/night cycle has two purposes: togive a sense of orientation (the trajectory of the sun givescardinal directions) and to give a sense of time (Figure 6).InteractionThe main contribution comes from the events that can betriggered depending on the physiology and on the mentalstate of the players – e.g. three deep breaths, getting re-laxed, . . . However, alike choice-based adventures, playerscan also select explicitly interactive chunks of words – e.g.“open the box” / “feed the box to my pony”. They use theirgaze to do so (Figure 5).Time passing by can be measured to drive the narrationand the text could change accordingly to the time of the day– e.g. wolves are obviously out at night.The virtual world surrounding players, the text can be posi-tioned at various places, both related to the orientation ofthe player or to cardinal directions (e.g. “behind”, “North”).Then the field of view of the player can be taken into ac-count in order to show or hide text blocks based on what isseen (Figure 8). Sentences that could creep from behind:ideal for an horror novel.SensorsWearables such as belts measuring breathing (Figure 4)or smartwatches measuring heart rate can be plugged tothe system. However, since players are already equippedwith HMD, this latter piece of hardware can be used at thesame time to embed sensors. For instance, thanks to af-fordable hardware coming from the DIY movement, a (very)early prototype of a HMD with integrated EEG electrodeswas crafted to measure brain activity (Figure 3). RegularEEG caps could also be combined with HMD (Figure 2).Eventually, a whole array of physiological measures maybe inferred directly from a device placed on the head – see,e.g. [6].Figure 6: Besides text, graphicalelements are kept minimal. Theenvironment serves purposes, e.g.to give a sense of time or a senseof orientation.Figure 7: Game-makers / writerscan use their favorite text editorand a markup language to createnew content.Writing 101Game-makers with a background in programming can suitthe engine behind VIF to their needs, for example add newtypographic effects. However, for regular users that sim-ply wish to create new content, a text parser based on amarkup language has been implemented (Figure 7).Beyond: going socialSince communications between the game engine and phys-iological measures rely on a network protocol, it would betrivial to share and sync data between multiple instancesof the system. Doing so would extend the system with mul-tiplayer elements. Several in-game characters could thenbe personified by others users – the states and choices ofeveryone influencing the overall story –; direct or intimateinteractions that could deeply connect players, help themshare an experience.InspirationsThe idea of using processed physiological signals as apervasive element roots to the affective computing move-ment [11], even though since these debuts the spectrum ofavailable measures has widened beyond emotions throughphysiological computing [3] and neuroadaptive technologies[13].My personal (re)discovery of the IF genre comes fromthe productions of the Inkle Studios5. Whereas I couldnot achieve a CYOA book when I was a child, their clevergames designs kept me engaged throughout the stories,giving a clue on how to hook readers. Later on I found in-teresting perspectives on the whys and hows we may relyso much on stories within the preliminary chapters of [1],Bruno Bettelheim’s book describing how significant fairytales could be during child development.However, these cornerstones are a mere retcon of whataroused my interest for interactive and adaptive fictions inthe first place. All started as it should, with a story withina story. In Ender’s Game[2], Orson Scott Card describeshow a RPG-like video game used by the military to monitoryoung recruits’ mental health is “hijacked” by an alien racein order to reach out for the hero and plead for empathy6.Figure 8: Events can occurdepending on what players seeand on texts’ position, resulting inemerging game mechanisms thatare physically involving.SuperpowersAs per workshop requirement, few lines about my abilities.During my PhD I started to explore how physiological com-puting can contribute to human-computer interaction andfoster new communication channels among people. In par-ticular, I have been using EEG and machine learning tomeasure constructs such as workload, comfort or attention– dimensions of the user experience that I was able to graspthanks to my background in cognitive science. With hackingspells, I helped to craft sensors more practical to use in thefield, an opportunity to investigate multi-users scenariosand playful contexts. I also participated in the developmentof novel physiological feedback, that could be integratedseamlessly to the physical surroundings through spatialaugmented reality and tangible user interfaces. Science-fiction reader at night to fetch ideas, daydreamer to create5http://www.inklestudios.com/6Note that novel’s background is itself a (too) serious game.new ones, I am not afraid to get my hands dirty to imple-ment them, more eager to do so when they sound crazyor stupid, even when I have already too many projects run-ning for my own good. In the end I seek to use computerscience as a mean to enhance well-being and facilitatehuman relationships on the whole. Mandatory website:http://phd.jfrey.info/.AcknowledgementsAfter months toying with the idea, I finally had the oppor-tunity (and the liberty!) to implement a first version of thisproject while I was visiting the MuSAE Lab in late 2015, un-der the kind supervision of Tiago H. Falk. During my stay inMontreal, the HMD+EEG cocktail would never have cometo life without the vivid Breathe@Work crew that gatheredduring the Hacking Health event, and for that to happen, Iwas lucky to meet two wonderful communities there, namelyNeuroTechX and Highway 101. Since VIF is but a spin-offof the Tobe toolkit, I shall not to forget my usual co-authors[5]. Finally, Joan Sol Roo is the one who made me realizethe connection with Ender’s Game, that explained it all.REFERENCES1. Bruno Bettelheim. 1976. The Uses of Enchantment:The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Knopf,New York. 352 pages.2. Orson Scott Card. 1985. Ender’s Game. Tor Books. 384pages.3. Stephen H. Fairclough. 2009. Fundamentals ofphysiological computing. Interacting with Computers21, 1-2 (Jan. 2009), 133–145.4. Jérémy Frey, Christian Mühl, Fabien Lotte, and MartinHachet. 2014. Review of the use ofelectroencephalography as an evaluation method forhuman-computer interaction. In PhyCS ’14.5. Renaud Gervais, Jérémy Frey, Alexis Gay, FabienLotte, and Martin Hachet. 2016. Tobe: TangibleOut-of-Body Experience. In TEI ’16.6. Javier Hernandez, Yin Li, James M. Rehg, andRosalind W. Picard. 2015. Cardiac and RespiratoryParameter Estimation Using Head-mountedMotion-sensitive Sensors. EAI Endorsed Transactionson Pervasive Health and Technology 1, 1 (may 2015),e2.7. Nick Montfort. 2011. Curveship’s automatic narrativestyle. In FDG ’11. 211–218.8. Nick Montfort and Emily Short. 2012. Interactive FictionCommunities From Preservation through Promotionand Beyond. Dichtung Digital 41 (2012).9. Lennart E. Nacke. 2011. Directions in PhysiologicalGame Evaluation and Interaction. In CHI ’11 BBIWorkshop. 1–4.10. Anton Nijholt, Danny Plass-Oude Bos, and BorisReuderink. 2009. Turning shortcomings into challenges:Brain–computer interfaces for games. EntertainmentComputing 1, 2 (apr 2009), 85–94.11. Rosalind W. Picard. 1995. Affective computing.Technical Report 321. MIT Media Laboratory.12. Mel Slater, Beau Lotto, Maria Marta Arnold, andMaria V. Sanchez-Vives. 2009. How we experienceimmersive virtual environments: the concept ofpresence and its measurement. Anuario de psicología40, 2773 (2009), 193–210.13. Thorsten O. Zander and Christian Kothe. 2011.Towards passive brain-computer interfaces: applyingbrain-computer interface technology to human-machinesystems in general. J. Neural. Eng 8, 2 (apr 2011).

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