Mauri Kaipainen Narratology and ontological spaces

Mauri Kaipainen Narratology ≈Studies continuation of stories WP definition

Mauri Kaipainen Narration, narrative Narration ≈ storytelling Narrative ≈ story

Mauri Kaipainen Why on this course? Story matters! Items floating in a space do not suffice to make sense in all respects. Interactive storytelling now possible Demand for interactive storytelling Hot development in arts, tech and business! Because soft ontology & multi- perspective offer a general narrative logic

Mauri Kaipainen Linear narratives The story has only one sequential way of unfolding. Fox example: Books, articles Movies Music Etc.

Mauri Kaipainen Linear ≠ chronological Linear storytelling seldom sticks to chronological order => Natural to let the mind construct the story in a nonlinear context

Mauri Kaipainen Nonlinear narratives & navigable narrative spaces The story can unfold in many ways, along alternative tracks in the ontological space (Linear?) story constructed cognitively experientially emotionally

Mauri Kaipainen Types of nonlinear storytelling Interactive games, e.g. hockey, flight simulators Interactive books Interactive cinema Interactive TV Interactive commercials Interactive music?

Mauri Kaipainen Ontology of narrative elements

Mauri Kaipainen Narrative elements in ontological space Ontological space (constituted by a soft ontology) inhabited by narrative elements Ontology derived by hand or automatically Mutual similarity relations depend on perspective chosen

Mauri Kaipainen Database media Stored as a database Can be retrieved in any order Require an algorithm to compose to a story Related concepts Database art

Mauri Kaipainen Soft Cinema Lev Manovich’ database cinema concept Video Samples

Mauri Kaipainen Types of narrative elements video clips audio clips generative parameters behavioral gestures of –humans (theatre) –avatars –robots

Mauri Kaipainen Solution 1: Explicit rules Randomness Hand-set Automatically from event stream Learning supervised

Mauri Kaipainen Recency rule Problem: How to guarantee that all elements are used? Solution: Some recency function determining how soon after last occurrence a narrative element can reoccur => All material rotate

Mauri Kaipainen Explicit ”soft” rules example

Mauri Kaipainen Obsession Soft Ontology-background Story driven by emotional perspective to narrative space, measured by biosensorsbiosensors Introduction video

Mauri Kaipainen Solution 2: Proximity- based rules Soft-Ontology supports logics based on Smooth change with respect to some perspective Contrast with respect to some perspective Recency rule applies Perspective is crucial!

Mauri Kaipainen Input mapped to perspective Perspective dictates smooth movements in ontological space, or Perspective dictates jumps in ontological space

Mauri Kaipainen Input options Conventional mouse & keyboard Anything! Consider alternative i/o! Movement tracking Biosensors (e.g. Obsession)

Mauri Kaipainen Key issues Guided navigation vs. free exploration Author’s role and purpose? Top- down vs. bottom-up? Told story vs. understood story?

Mauri Kaipainen Literature Manovich, L.; Kratky, A. (2005) Soft Cinema: Navigating the Database. DVD-video with 40 page color booklet The MIT Press, 2005 ISBN X Kaipainen, M.; Thomas, M. (Eds.) (2006). Computational and spatially organised narrativity. Digital Creativity 2006, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp (Ask me)Ask me Murray, J. (1997). Hamlet on the Holodeck. MIT Press.

Mauri Kaipainen Last time Coordinates latitude & longitude experiential dimensions = communities = concepts

Mauri Kaipainen Hands on Try to match concepts and Consider ´narrative aspects of your concepts (”guided tours”)