Prom Week Josh McCoy, Mike Treanor, Aaron Reed EGG 16 February 2012 About social interactions in interactive stories. Paris AI talk outline: Motivation/Introduce CiF and Prom Week (15-20 minutes) Prom Week demo/explanation (5 minutes) CiF in detail. (15? minutes) Design challenges (10 minutes) Gimmicky lead-in to questions: Transition into more Demo addressing the design challenges. EGG 16 February 2012

What is Prom Week?

Static Media http://dohistory.org/film/index.html Social reasoning and rich narratives exist in commonly-found static media artifacts such as those seen in the slides. http://dohistory.org/film/index.html

Static Story Graph http://dohistory.org/film/process_preprod.html Example of complex story lines traveling up and down dramatic arcs. They represent the drama around specific characters and rise and fall based on dramatic tension. http://dohistory.org/film/process_preprod.html

Interactivity UFO 54-40 - http://samizdat.cc/cyoa/ Journey Under the Sea http://flowingdata.com/2009/08/11/choose-your-own-adventure-most-likely-youll-die/ Trans: If you want to build an interactive story with the interpersonal richness of a movie with equally rich interactivity, the authoring required would be immense. UFO 54-40 http://samizdat.cc/cyoa/ Journey Under the Sea http://flowingdata.com/2009/08/11/choose-your-own-adventure-most-likely-youll-die

Price of Interactivity: Authoring Explosion http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/interact.html This is representative of the complexity of interaction colliding with deep stories with complex social spaces. Also, this is an underrepresentation as this is only a two dimensional graph and would only capture the states and transitions of a single modeled dimension (such as dramatic tension vs characters – says nothing of things like romantic interest or religious tensions). World of Music http://www.stanford.edu/~dgleich/demos/worldofmusic/interact.html

Managing Authorial Burden Marie-Laure Ryan Peeling the Onion: Layers of Interactivity in Digital Narrative Texts http://users.frii.com/mlryan/onion.htm This is how CRPGs typically handle the problem – beads on a string. The second graph features multiple starting locations and a few paths to a small number of end states.

Useful Patterns of Social Interaction Façade is an example of an interactive story with a structure that is much more complicated than the beads-on-a-string model. Façade has patterns of social interaction encoded to play with the users. Therapy game Affinity game – I like your decoration. I don’t like my decoration. What do you think, player? During the development of Façade, these games became known as Social Games. Façade http://www.interactivestory.net/

Social Science + Media = Social Exchange Using analytic tools from social science (transactional and dramaturgical analysis featured) to encode media (mean girls & SatC chosen to have a source of highly-dramatic content – could be comedies if we wanted to create a game about comedy) into forms for knowledge representation that can be reasoned over by algorithms. The goal is to create a readable and appropriate model of social interaction while preserving social norms and personality specific variation. Maybe update the pre-existing media experiences to ones we used in Prom Week? How about Twilight, Mean Girls, and Glee? Social Exchange

Social Exchange A pattern of multi-character social interactions whose function is to modify the social state existing within and across the participants. Personality specific variation phrase; appear on next slide? This kicks off previous work section. The emphasis of the system is on Social Games which are: A pattern of multi-character social interactions whose function is to modify the social state existing within and across the participants. In social games, the social state change is brought about by choices taken in a pattern of interaction informed by a description of a character’s personality. A critical part of social games is that they are representations of common patterns of interactions or a distillation and encoding of social norms. When employed, a social game enforces local normal social behavior. --- In the same way that playable models of physics in combat games do not seek to model real physics, but rather take inspiration from physics to create a compelling experience, our playable model of social games does not seek to accurately model social cognition, but rather takes inspiration from a variety of social and psychological theories to create a model that underwrites compelling, playable experiences.

Social Exchange A pattern of multi-character social interactions whose function is to modify the social state existing within and across the participants. Enable re-usable, dramatic patterns of interaction a that feature personality-specific variation in behavior. Personality specific variation phrase; appear on next slide? This kicks off previous work section. The emphasis of the system is on Social Games which are: A pattern of multi-character social interactions whose function is to modify the social state existing within and across the participants. In social games, the social state change is brought about by choices taken in a pattern of interaction informed by a description of a character’s personality. A critical part of social games is that they are representations of common patterns of interactions or a distillation and encoding of social norms. When employed, a social game enforces local normal social behavior. --- In the same way that playable models of physics in combat games do not seek to model real physics, but rather take inspiration from physics to create a compelling experience, our playable model of social games does not seek to accurately model social cognition, but rather takes inspiration from a variety of social and psychological theories to create a model that underwrites compelling, playable experiences.

More Examples of Social Exchange Goffman’s Dramaturgical analysis provides a method to capture normal interaction patterns. To create dramatically interesting base of social games for our model, we applied dramaturgical analysis to the HBO show Sex and the City. We used sex in the city because the volume knob turned up to 11! This study gave us an idea as to what the basic structure of social games needed to be and how personality specific variation looked. Sex and the City Season 4 Episode 1 http://www.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city/index.html

Sex and the City Example A video clip displaying social exchanges and personality-specific variation.

Computational Models Angry Birds http://www.rovio.com/index.php?page=angry-birds World of Goo http://www.worldofgoo.com/ With these social games encoding portions of normal social behavior with personality-specific outcomes, they need a framework to be used in. We need playable models similar to those governing the physics in World of Goo and Angry Birds. We need a system that plays allows the play of social games within social norms, performs the personality-specific performances, and properly maintains the social environment. Replace bioshock with angry birds. Computational model of social interaction that allows us to procedurally respond to changes in the social state much like these computational models of physical spaces.

Benefits of a Playable Social Model CiF Prom Week Dragon Age 2 The Sims 3 With this approach, we wish to model richly-realized characters interacting in highly dynamic social spaces. Richly-realized characters are socially coherent (clothes match station in life, accent matches background) – this is not photorealism. Highly dynamic social spaces are like the Sims; the player can modify the social space and the world/characters react appropriately. Modify diagram to show CiF or Prom Week in the top right corner instead of Social Games (new branding needed!).

Being in accord with conventions or accepted standards; proper. Comme il Faut (CiF) as it should be Being in accord with conventions or accepted standards; proper. Maybe remove the literal translation. Comme il Faut (CiF) is a playable computational model of social interactions designed specifically to allow autonomous characters to play social games. The design goal of CiF is to represent and reason over compelling social situations along with the variations of the resultant behavior that arise from different personalities being placed in similar roles. Authoring Strategy for Game-based Interactive Narrative

Play in Social Space Goal is to make a entertaining, readable, playable model of social interaction that is appropriate for media. Goal is not to create a ground-truth model of social interaction. What new and interesting playable media experiences could be created? What new genres of games would be discovered? It is our goal to make a playable model based on social space. However, it is not or goal to create a ground truth model of everyday social interaction.

Prom Week In the following discussion of CiF, examples from The Prom will be used. Restate and clarify they are playing social games. The Prom is a game about solving social puzzles. The game is made of up stories that each contain several scenarios. Scenarios have goals achievable via social games. An example goal is having Maeve (the goth girl) and Nelson (the computer geek) to date. The player gets to select characters and choose social games to play between them to progress toward the scenario’s goal. Zoomed screenshot of interface. Demo UI in game. Frontload with two juicy interactions.

CiF’s Architecture Distinction between what needs to be authored (green) and what CiF does with the authored parts (orange). Introducing these is a slog – should we assume this is obvious given the game design saavy crowd?

Social Exchange Ask on a Date Show Off Idolize Share Interest Conversational Flirt “You’re hot when you’re angry” Open Up Text Message Break Up Make Plans Insult Friend Of Sabotage Relationship Bully and more…

Relationships, Statuses, Character Desc. Friends Dating Enemies Statuses Heartbroken Cheerful Popular … Reiterate that these are from the prom, not cif generally Character Description Traits (compassionate, sex magnet) Character-specific locutions (“noob”, “word”)

Social Networks 10 Buddy Romance Cool 80 95 50 50 90

The Social Facts Database Get the names straight.

The Cultural Knowledgebase

Predicates and Influence Rules Detailed example of rules that trigger given state changes. Types of things characters can care about. Influence rules influence character’s decisions (metric crapton). Some rules are true and motivate how characters interact with each other. Here’s an example of some rules that fire for a character in a specific state. (flirted with gf so now I want to do something mean to you). Diagrams form AIIDE paper. Introduce initiator, responder, and other. Keep rules using I,r,o.

Social Considerations Influence rules are social considerations. Stored in microtheories and social exchange rule sets. Roles in social exchange: Initiator Responder Other This slide needs something.

Example Influence Rules Weight Intent friends(i, r) +4 nice(i, r) friends(i, r) and lowRomance(i,r) and romantic(r, i, recently) -2 friendly(i, r) friends(i, r) and hasCrushOn(i, o) and romantic(r, o, recently) +2 mean(i, r) Communicate intents of the outer rules. Incode many rules like being in the “Friends zone” – I becomes uncomfortable with R due to the romance. If you’re friends with someone and they do something romantic to you, intent to romDown is increased, intent to be mean to them is increased.

Example Influence Rules Weight Intent friends(i, r) +4 nice(i, r) friends(i, r) and lowRomance(i,r) and romantic(r, i, recently) -2 friendly(i, r) friends(i, r) and hasCrushOn(i, o) and romantic(r, o, recently) +2 mean(i, r) Communicate intents of the outer rules. Incode many rules like being in the “Friends zone” – I becomes uncomfortable with R due to the romance. If you’re friends with someone and they do something romantic to you, intent to romDown is increased, intent to be mean to them is increased. And 4,300 more!

Processing Social Exchanges Overview of the top levels: Intent formation Choosing SGs SG Play Performance Realization Fall Out More info on performance realization. Add an example of effects -> instantiations -> an NLG template. See how the traits, social considerations determine how the game plays out. Something smarter and more interesting than the norm in games.

Desire Formation Pick an example to talk about that is shown on the slide.

Performing a Social Exchange

Performing a Social Exchange

Choosing the Most Salient Effect Accept i has done something to embarrass o recently responder is enemies with o

%i% reminisced to %r% about embarrassing %o% Responder: Hey %i%. Man, I can't stand %o%... Initiator: Tell me about it. Hey, remember that time when %SFDB_(embarrassing,i,o,0)%? Responder: Oh god, I totally do! Man, that was so embarrassing. %pronoun(o,he/she)% is such a %pejorative%! Initiator: I know! You should totally join me next time. I feel another practical joke coming on! Responder: Totally! Text me!

Performance Realization and Fallout

Social Trigger Rules Cascading consequences of social exchanges Cheating(i,r): Dating(i,r) then Dating(i,o) AnnoyedWith(i,r): Dating(i,r) and Flirt(r,o) AngryAt(i,r): AnnoyedWith(i,r) and Flirt(r,o) Conceptually doesn’t belong in SGs.

Prom Week Gamplay Demo

Design Challenges ? AI-based design iterative in an intense way; there are major tweaks and changes on all sides. Talk about big, sweeping changes in both AI and game design and how they settle into smaller changes as the design both settle. Throwing out entire sets of implemented psychological theory (motivational analysis). Not becoming a spreadsheet game. Connecting the exchanges into stories (possibly describe story sequences). Rules and dialogue. Writing the rules (show tool). Very emergent space and not wanting invalidate player choices that seem meaning – we just allow the player to go on even if they don’t match the goals. Time ordered rules.

AI-based Game Design The development methodology we used in Prom Week. Start with an AI system. Prototype experiences in the domain of the AI system. Use the feedback from the prototype to inform the AI system. With the new capabilities of the AI system, make a new prototype. Repeat and periodically release good prototypes or demos for external feedback. The following slides are of The Prom going through this process: paper prototype, GDC demo, beta testing, and release. Emphasis on how feedback loop and how it concretely affected the game design and the AI system.

Assisted Paper Prototype

Lots of Authoring Thousands of rules Hundreds of dialogue instantiations Multiple authors Some not technical… If we think it’s interesting, some time can be spent on the in-studio design tool for creating social games, levels, microtheories, etc.

Design Tool A pic of the design tool If we think it’s interesting, some time can be spent on the in-studio design tool for creating social games, levels, microtheories, etc.

Making CiF Approachable Showing System State VS Tension between system complexity and fun Performance vs Spreadsheet Translating system detail into performance Synthesizing information into palpable form without eliminating the need for CiF Subjective opinions Character Performance

Constructing Stories with Social Exchanges Series of social exchanges sometimes lacked dramatic narrative Story Sequences: sequential social exchange effects across social exchanges Popular person agrees to date with nerd if he will let her cheat on bio final Popular person dumps nerd after test “Someone else “ was the third bullet point and seemed to be an unfinished progression to the story sequence example.

Meaningful Choices and Puzzles Failure invalidates player choices Players move on whether they win or not Future levels may be harder Who knows! Emergent solutions… Narrative coherence is maintained win or lose Slide about not invalidating meaningful choices

Take Aways CiF Prom Week

University of California at Santa Cruz Questions? University of California at Santa Cruz http://promweekgame.com Josh McCoy mccoyjo@soe.ucsc.edu Mike Treanor mtreanor@soe.ucsc.edu

Additional Slides

Related Work: Playable Models of Social Life Virtual Sex Little Red Riding Hood Story The Tactical Language Training Project (Tactical Iraqi) PsychSim Decision Theoretic Social Behavior Theory of Mind Reward-based Goal Persual Goal Weight Fitting Thespian Socially Normative Behavior Turn taking Conversation Flow Character Affinity Obligation Management Authored Plot Development

Related Work: Playable Models of Social Life Pataphysic Institute Fear Not! ORIENT Lots of pictures of other systems. Keep them here for reference. Pataphysic Institute Fear Not! ORIENT (narrative Overcoming Refugee Integration with Empathic Novel Technology) – interactive agents for stage-based role-play Restaurant Game Virtual Beer Garden

Goal: Have Zack Date Someone Popular

The Social Landscape Note that Monica is already popular and Zack has a crush on her. Zack has no romance for his friend, Simon, or the bully, Buzz.

2 Possible Strategies Make Popular Get New Girlfriend Either (1) make your current girlfriend cool/popular or (2) get a new girlfriend who is already popular.

Date Monica

Obstacles Doug

Overcoming Obstacles Show some state or a social game that shows what happens when Zack dates Monica. (Break up with Cassie or have Zack cheat on her)

Overcoming Obstacles Zack flirts with monica.

Overcoming Obstacles Zack goes over to butter up his girlfriend

Overcoming Obstacles But she’s not happy about how Zack just flirted with Monica

Overcoming Obstacles Talk And they break up, which now opens up the possibility the Monica and Zack might want to start dating

Now Monica Wants to Ask Zack Out!