LCC 6317 Interactive Narrative Lecture 3 January 18, 2005

Additive forms Additive forms mimic an earlier medium Additive forms mimic an earlier medium Early movies as photo-plays Multimedia (computer as a playback device) Can you think of examples of additive approaches in interactive narrative? Can you think of examples of additive approaches in interactive narrative?

The properties of digital environments Procedural Procedural Digital environments are fundamentally processes. They are composed of algorithms, heuristics and data structures bearing complex relations to each other. Participatory Participatory The actions of a user induce the behaviors (the procedural potential) of digital environments. Spatial Spatial Interaction with a digital environment is structured as navigation through a space. Encyclopedic Encyclopedic Digital environments have huge data capacities.

Examples of properties in interactive narrative Procedural Procedural Participatory Participatory Spatial Spatial Encyclopedic Encyclopedic

Process Intensity Process intensity - term coined by Chris Crawford Process intensity - term coined by Chris Crawford Refers to the “crunch per bit” ratio Refers to the “crunch per bit” ratio How much processing does the computer do on the data? Instantial assets – data displayed by computer Instantial assets – data displayed by computer Sound files Bitmaps Text Animations …

Instantial assets: a temptation When first learning to program, instantial assets provide immediate reward When first learning to program, instantial assets provide immediate reward For art and humanities students, might feel more “safe” But, instantial assets But, instantial assets Don’t make use of the unique properties of computational media Limit possibilities for interaction Create an authorial bottleneck Are computationally “opaque”

The essence of the medium The essence of the computer as a representational medium is not The essence of the computer as a representational medium is not Intervention in the production or display of 3 dimensional forms or visual imagery (tools) Interaction with a participant/observer (interactivity) Control of electro-mechanical devices (installation) Mediation of signals from distant locations (communication) The essence of the computer as a medium is… The essence of the computer as a medium is… Computation, processes of mechanical manipulation to which observers can ascribe meaning

Instantial assets limit interaction More degrees of interactive freedom require more complexity of response More degrees of interactive freedom require more complexity of response As the interactor can do more, the program needs to do more Responses generated from instantial assets… Responses generated from instantial assets… Limit response to combinations of assets Require more assets as the range of response grows Can be an authorial bottleneck Instantial design tends to limit interaction or collapse response Instantial design tends to limit interaction or collapse response

Computational opacity The meaning of instantial assets are opaque to code The meaning of instantial assets are opaque to code Example: code that triggers video clips can’t reason about or manipulate the meaning of the clips This opacity limits the code’s ability to resequence these assets in meaningful and interesting ways This opacity limits the code’s ability to resequence these assets in meaningful and interesting ways Assets must be designed for sequencibility or… Assets must be “opened-up” to the code

But instantial assets aren’t “bad” Can tap into rich meaning systems Can tap into rich meaning systems Complex connotations, emotional flavor… We don’t know how to procedurally generate rich instantial assets We don’t know how to procedurally generate rich instantial assets This can quickly become an AI complete problem Purely procedural work may be overly abstracy Need to appropriately balance the use of instantial assets and procedurality Need to appropriately balance the use of instantial assets and procedurality Develop strategies for manipulation of instantial assets

Geeks vs. freaks: why IN doesn’t exist Here are a few gross generalizations Geeks (techies) Geeks (techies) Limited range of cultural experiences – only pay attention to a small subset of books, movies, etc. View interactive narrative as an engineering problem Art reserved for the chrome (e.g. to pretty up a game) Freaks (arts and humanities) Freaks (arts and humanities) Constitutionally unable to learn programming (how should programming be taught/enabled for this group?) View interactive narrative as a design problem Write a lot of useless theory (what is the relationship of theory to practice?)

Disciplinary challenges Development of the medium will require artist/programmers Development of the medium will require artist/programmers Won’t happen on the large, specialized teams that build AAA titles Interdisciplinarity in one head will always beat interdisciplinarity across heads Interdisciplinarity in one head will always beat interdisciplinarity across heads It is possible to be comfortable in multiple intellectual cultures It is possible to be comfortable in multiple intellectual cultures

Electronic literature Interactive fiction (IF) Interactive fiction (IF) Segmentation: places and objects Major trope: the puzzle Hypertext Hypertext Segmentation: links and lexia Major trope: association

Defining properties of interactive fiction Textual representation of the world Textual representation of the world Natural language understanding Natural language understanding Simulated setting Simulated setting

Zork

Elements of IF Locations Locations Objects Objects Player character Player character Non-player characters Non-player characters

IF: Design dimensions Segmentation Segmentation Places and objects Narrativity Narrativity Heroic quest organized around puzzle obstacles Interaction Interaction First-person – identification between PC and player Representation Representation Descriptive prose

IF: Digital Affordances Procedural Procedural Participatory Participatory Spatial Spatial Encyclopedic Encyclopedic

Photopia

Shrapnel

For a Change

Hypertext vs. IF Digital narratives primarily follow the trajectory of Adventure, a work considered venerable only by the techies who first played it in the 1970s, cybergaming geeks, and the writers, theorists, and practitioners who deal with interactivity. Hypertext fiction, on the other hand, follows and furthers and trajectory of hallowed touchstones of print culture, especially the avant-garde novel. – J. Yellowlees Douglas The End of Books — Or Books Without End?: Reading Interactive Narratives

Afternoon

Hypertext: Design dimensions Segmentation Segmentation Lexia and links Narrativity Narrativity Finding/untangling the narrative Interaction Interaction Third-person – exploring a text Representation Representation Prose

Hypertext: Digital Affordances Procedural Procedural Participatory Participatory Spatial Spatial Encyclopedic Encyclopedic

Fair-e-tales

Diagrams Series 5