The Motivational Appeal of Interactive Storytelling. Towards a Dimensional Model of the User Experience (original) (raw)
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How does an interactive story feel like? Theory and measurement of the user experience
This workshop is dedicated to discussing the user experience of an emerging new type of entertainment computing: Interactive stories. Technology development in Interactive Storytelling (IS) has made substantial progress recently, but theory and empirical studies on the user perspective have not received much attention in the entertainment computing community so far. The workshop introduces a measurement toolkit for testing user experiences in IS prototypes and stimulates discussion on conceptual as well as methodological issues in user-focused research on IS.
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Many virtual and alternate reality projects create narrative experiences in the digital medium. These are Interactive Digital Narratives (IDN), a form of expression at the intersection of different artistic approaches, research fields (humanities, computer science), and emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, virtual reality, generative content), with a wide potential for different applications. A key element towards fulfilling this potential is the creation of a satisfying user experience. In this paper we present a toolbox for the evaluation of the user experience that connects which enables the systematic and quantitative study of IDN user experiences. This approach connects research in psychology [27] based on Entertainment Theory [5] with a humanities-based perspective. Specifically, we map Murray’s influential theoretical framework [22] to Roth’s empirical dimensions and thus connect an analytical framework to empirical research.
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International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology
The concept of user experience is the subjective relationship between the user and the application, with special emphasis on interaction. Accordingly, the concept of player experience is the subjective relationship between the player and the game, again with special emphasis on interaction but the interactive nature of digital games necessitates different methods to analyze user experience since the player is not merely an interactor but an active participant that shapes his/her own experience with his/her actions and choices. In this regard, modeling player experience is a diverse field of research. Wiemeyer et al. (2016) divided psychological models of player experience into two, general models that have been developed for a wide range of application areas including gaming and domain-specific models that have been developed especially for gaming. The general psychological models are Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Ryan and Deci (2000), the Flow model of Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi (2002), Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction (ARCS) model of Keller (1987), and the various presence/immersion studies in literature. These generic models were developed for other fields of study and although there were attempts to apply them to gaming, narrative is not an individual dimension of player experience in any of them. SDT was extended and applied to gaming with the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) model (Ryan et al. 2006) and the three dimensions of player experience are: PENS in-game autonomy, PENS in-game competence, PENS ingame relatedness. Flow model has been modified by Sweetser and Wyeth (2005) as GameFlow and consists of eight elements: concentration, challenge, skills, control,
2010
Advances in gaming and other entertainment technologies are evolving rapidly and create new conceptual challenges for understanding and explaining the user experiences they can facilitate. The present article reports a prospective study on a particularly promising entertainment technology of the future: Interactive storytelling (IS). Integrating various streams of computing technology, such as advanced visualization, natural speech processing, and autonomous agents, IS systems are envisioned to offer new, personalized and thus unique kinds of entertainment to mass audiences of the future. The authors refer to existing models of media entertainment for a theoretical analysis and analyze expert interviews with members of the international IS development community to lay out the foundations for a forecast model of the entertainment experience of future IS systems. The resulting model organizes fundamental requirements, modes of users' information processing, and specific types of (pleasant) experiences, which holds implications for (future) entertainment theory and research that accompanies further development of IS media.
Engagement in Interactive Digital Storytelling: Sampling Without Spoiling
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2018
Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) enables users to influence the unfolding of a story at the plot level using Artificial Intelligence techniques for generating and balancing narrative paths on the fly. Despite their promise, most IDS systems are still unable to consistently deliver engaging user experiences. To further understand the characteristics of this new media, particularly user engagement, we apply the concept of Continuation Desire to an existing Interactive Narrative to dynamically sample engagement during a play session. We use a comparative study to assess the effects of interrupting users during gameplay. This study found no evidence that, if done properly, interrupting the experience spoils it. We find no significant impact on the desire to play again as a result of introducing interruptions either.
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This article suggests an integrated view of media entertainment that is capable of covering more of the dimensional complexity and dynamics of entertainment experiences than existing theories do. Based on a description of what is meant by complexity and dynamics, the authors outline a conceptual model that is centered around enjoyment as the core of entertainment, and that addresses prerequisites of enjoyment which have to be met by the individual media user and by the given media product. The theoretical foundation is used to explain why people display strong preferences for being entertained (motivational perspective) and what kind of consequences entertaining media consumption may have (effects perspective, e.g., facilitation of learning processes).
The 'Interactive'of Interactive Storytelling: Customizing the Gaming Experience
Entertainment Computing-ICEC 2010, 2010
In this article, we define interactive storytelling as a gaming experience where the form and content of the game is customized in real time and tailored to the preferences and needs of the player to maximixe enjoyment. The primary focus of interactive storytelling should not be on the attributes of the technology or characteristics of the medium, such as the AI techniques, planning formalisms, story representations, etc. but on different interaction levels provided by computer games and basic components of player enjoyment such as difficulty levels and gaming rewards. In conducting an analysis of interactive storytelling systems, we propose a user-centered approach to interactive storytelling by defining different customization levels for an optimum gaming experience.
On Player Motivation and the Appeal of Games: An Exploration of Player Motivation
Digital games and learning 2, 2019
The creation of games and good reception by the public, either through commercial success, good critics or just to cause enjoyment on players. Rarely such a feat is accomplished casually; the iteration of the prototyping and testing stages in the development of a game generates the core around which every aspect of the game design stage will revolve. The concepts regarding the feeling of fun and immersion may help the development of new and captivating experiences in games. In this paper some of the current theories will be explored, focusing on the theories of Flow, the Magic Circle and the PENS theory among others which address player motivation and the creation of compelling games.
While replay value is a common term in interactive entertainment, psychological research on its meaning in terms of user experiences is sparse. An exploratory experiment using the interactive drama ''Façade'' was conducted (n = 50) to examine shifts and continuities in entertainment-related user experiences between first and second exposure to the same system. A questionnaire with brief scales measuring various user-experience dimensions (interaction-related facets such as usability, flow, and presence, as well as narrative-related facets such as suspense and curiosity) was administered after the first and the second round of exposure. Findings suggest that replay produces gains in action-related experience components such as presence and effectance, whereas narrative-related experiences such as curiosity and suspense remain stable across exposures. Implications for theorizing on interactive entertainment experiences are discussed.