Narrative and Interaction Getting Natural Enemies to Work Together

Ken NewmanSchool of Computing and Information Technology,

Griffith University, AUSTRALIA

k.newman@griffith.edu.au

Overview

• Why humans are wired for narrative • Ways of thinking about narrative • The ComeRideWithMe project• Albert Goes Latin• Lessons from Improvisational Theatre • Future Directions

– Albert In Africa

– Measuring experience

Wired For Narrative

• Narrative focuses our attention

• We build internal structures from narrative elements

• We look for the familiar

• We filter the irrelevant

• We construct expectations

• We recognize the new and unexpected

• We store templates

Group Narrative

• Tuned to people around us

• Group emotional responses.

• Experience a sense of cohesion, identity

• Shared joke, story, play can be a defining communal activity

Narrative must engage the listener

No matter what you're talking about - gardening, economics, murder - you're telling a story. Every sentence should lead to the next sentence. If you say a dull sentence people have a right to switch off. (Cooke, 1997)

Ways of Looking at Narrative

• Aristotelian narrative – beginning, middle, end.• Constructivist Theory of Narrative

– Fabula• Elements of narrative, location, characters, events.

– Story• Story time, real time, narrators voice/point of view, pacing,

anticipation, resolution.

– Treatment – (means of communication)• Text, language, use of words• Audio/Visual – visual style, pace, cutting, juxta positioning,

music and sfx.

Interaction and Narrative  

• Invitation to engage• The narrator is in control• Interjections will probably weaken the structural integrity of

the story.• How can a user interact with narrative in a game

1. The linking-scene model2. The theme park ride model3. The role-playing model

The linking scene – Not integrated• The narrative is cinema – minimal interaction

• May be different art style, view (Warcraft – 1st person/map)

The linking scene - Integrated

• May be integrated into action (Doom 3 – communications via headset)

The theme-park ride • A defined path\s that the player works through

– Illusion of narrative ‘free roaming’

• Usually involves – a conversation system

– Inventory system

– Puzzle solving via interaction with characters and environment

Role Playing

• Massively Multi-player games• Role-playing elements around ‘macro-narratives’• Everquest – strong role playing elements• Story outcomes are unpredictable

Game-like Communities

• Simple shared environment –e.g. Habbohotel – we are all in a hotel

• No quest or meta-narrative• Stories emerge at an

individual level• Unpredictable and

unstructured - like life.

ComeRideWithMe Project

• Provide engaging experiences for the children while hospitalized • Reduce their sense of isolation by stimulating interaction and communication

with others.• Promote good role models, fun, coping, and dealing with difficulties.• Tap into the interests of this age group.

        Be appropriate to patients’ conditions.

Possibilities;

       forum style communications

      real-time chat facility

      multi-user games

interactive narrative structure

World Motorbike Tour

•Meta-narrative – the road trip

•No constructed virtual environment

•Use of episodic stories, images

•Interaction via forum to central character ‘Albert’

Albert takes over

…Albert spins around. Behind us on the footpath there is a small crowd gathered around a man sitting playing a flute. There is a snake weaving and bobbing to the music. Phil is impressed,

"How cool, a snake charmer, Let's check it out."

But something weird is happening to Albert. His little eyes seem to be all glassy and in an instant he has pushed through the crowd and is bobbing and swaying and curling around the end of the flute. Charmer-guy stops playing in astonishment. The moment the music stops the snake drops and Albert slumps. Charmer-guy looks at me. I shrug. He shrugs back and give the little head waggle. He starts playing again. Instantly Albert and the snake are swaying and bobbing again. For the next 10 minutes the astonished crowd are treated to a highly unusual bear-snake dance combination. After it finishes it takes Albert a few minutes to get his thoughts back together…

Sharing the StoryHi Miss APosted by CheerUp Wed May 1 12:47:05 UTC+1000 2002 Hope you are having a good time. We've been following your trip on my Dad's computer. I hope Albert cheers up, tell him me and Melissa will give him a hug when he gets back. I miss you and hope you come back to class soon........Breeana W. PS. My mum and dad said it was good to see you smiling again....you must be having a good time.

Poor Albear …Posted by robert Wed May 8 23:18:01 UTC+1000 2002 Hey Albert, Look, I have to say that I'm on your side here mate, what with everyone being hard on you for being homesick. I know how you feel, and your travelling companions could be a little more understanding, couldn't they? Especially that Ken Character. Honestly, I think it's discrimination, just because you're a celebrity bear, and they are not! I say, if you feel miserable, there's no point pretending otherwise mate, if you're homesick (and who wouldn't be, considering where we live), then you are entitled to be a bit blue. To quote Khamal, "why are you people so terribly unkind?" I'm here for you Albear! Rob...

Re:Hi Breeana and MelissaPosted by albert_pronounced_albear Wed Jun 5 03:52:49 UTC+1000 2002 Hi sweeties! Thank you for your lovely sympathetic message when I was a bit blue in Greece. Everyone else was really horrible except you two and Rob. Needless to say everybody else off my present list for this trip ... Love and hugs to you both, Albert

Albert as a narrative device • Albert was useful as a narrative device for telling the story of a particular location• Able to involve complete strangers very easily• Able to embrace archetypes• Promoted playfulness among the community members.

• · Algeria – Albert becomes a foreign legoinaire• ·         Barcelona – a toredor• ·         Sicily – a mafia don• ·         Tunis – a slave trader• ·         Oran – a barbary coast pirate• ·         Ephesus – a roman orator

Some future directions for Albert

• Video interviews– Can the ease of engagement and shared ‘joke’ of Albert be

extended into a real-time video interview.

• Virtual environment– Developing an isometric multiplayer environment to promote

Albert’s community

• Using Albert to develop test scenarios for measuring user engagement, fun.

Video Interviews With Albert

Initial results from unscripted, impromptu interviews indicate;

•Postive response

•Subjects willing to talk

•Willing to engage in ‘shared fantasy’

Albert’s virtual Environment

- System designed to integrate with Albert-related activity- Real time avatar based chat- Journal articles- Threaded forum discussion- Video streaming- User built rooms, artefacts.

Measuring ExperienceThe Fun Unification Model

The Fun Unification Model draws on …absorption (Tellegen and Atkinson 1974; Agarwal and Karahanna 2000), immersion (Witmer and M.J.Singer 1998), narrative engagement (McNeil 1996; Newman 2004), playfulness (Webster and Martocchio 1992), emotional useability (Logan 1994; Kim 1997), hedonic quality (Hassenzahl, Platz et al. 2000), foundational elements of experience (Marsh 2003), fun-scale rating (Read and MacFarlane 2000), and humor mechanisms (Meyer 2000).

Individual Responses

Temporal Dissociation

Environmental

Affordances Communication

activity

Heightened Enjoyment

Focused Immersion

Immersive tendencies

Focused Immersion,

Involvement, Gaming

Narrative Tendencies

Finding, Creating

Narrative Engagement

and Playfulness

Individual Predispositions

Fun

Intention to re-

visit, Learning outcomes

Lessons from Improvisational Theatre:

Albert In Africa Scott: helloAlbert: ey scottAlbert: how ya doing mate?Scott: I am pretty goodScott: I just watched the documentaryAlbert: yeah? having a good day?Albert: oh yeah? im famous!Albert: did you like it?Scott: Yeah, it was pretty good, they seem to really really like sticky date

puddingAlbert: yeah and i DIDNT!Albert: i like SAUSAGES!Scott: was there much to eat then?

Narrative Contracts

- Any new narrative element introduced by a participant is an offer.

-The respondent can

- Accept offer

- Block the offer

- Make a counter-offer

Narrative ContractsExamples of acceptance

… but your so little, Al.

… i choose to beleive that

… if I am ever in Tunsia, sure.

…Yes.I'd love to! But u should pay for my flight tickets!

…and the coast, you are lucky teddy bear

… You are the smartest bear I know

 

… teddy bear's are too small to ride motor bikes

… i'll think about it!

… your famous? i've never heard of you

… sorry, are we still playing?

…no, i've never seen a bear in a film

… nah.. i like my life :P

 

Examples of blocking

Correlations between predisposition, narrative contracting and response.

 Focus Involve Game Listen Tell

TemD-0.03031 0.805253*** 0.195449 0.515083* 0.394389

Focus-0.17636 0.472739* -0.13421 0.39416 0.479508*

Enjoy-0.04558 0.341245 0.12537 0.248957 0.608748**

Play0.025085 0.219252 0.013885 0.413426 0.504366*

Intent-0.10866 -0.02305 0.182185 0.347102 0.472026*

Pearson correlation coefficient probabilities: * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001

1. Subjects with strong narrative tendencies are expected to experience high levels of narrative engagement and innovative play.

2. Subjects with strong narrative tendencies are expected to exhibit a higher incidence of acceptance than blocks.

3. Subjects with strong narrative creating tendencies are expected to exhibit a higher incidence of counter-offers than others.

Predispositions

Responses

Conclusions• Narrative elements within games follow three basic models

– Linkage, theme park ride, role playing

– Role playing presents the most valid blend of narrative and interaction

• The ComeRideWithMe project demonstrates the power of narrative to promote playful, ‘game-like’ activity within a community.

• The Albert interviews demonstrates the possibilities of taking the narrative into a video format

• The Fun Unification Model and Narrative contracting provides an insight into measuring users’ engagement and response to narrative games.

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• Hassenzahl, M., A. Platz, et al. (2000). Hedonic and ergonomic quality aspects determine a software's appeal. SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, The Hague, Netherlands., ACM Press.

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